Communication and attention dynamics: An attention‐based view of strategic change

Research Summary : The attention‐based view (ABV) has highlighted the role of organizational attention in strategic decision making and adaptation. The tendency to view communication channels as “pipes and prisms” for information processing has, however, limited its ability to address strategic change. We propose a broader role for communication as a process by which actors can attend to and engage with organizational and environmental issues and initiatives and argue that such a view can significantly advance understanding of strategic change. On this basis, we offer suggestions for future research on communication practices, vocabularies, rhetorical tactics, and talk and text in shaping organizational attention in strategic change. We also maintain that this enhanced view of the ABV can help advance research on dynamic capabilities, strategy processes, strategy‐as‐practice, and behavioral strategy. Managerial Summary : To further enhance our capabilities to manage strategic change and renewal processes in organizations, we need a better understanding of how to manage organizational attention. In this article, we highlight the importance of understanding the role of communication and discuss the use of different communication practices, vocabularies, rhetorical tactics, and talk and text as possible levers that can be used to dynamically shape organizational attention. We call for further research to advance the understanding of how these levers can be used to influence the ways in which different sets of strategic issues, initiatives, and action alternatives are handled. We believe that such an enhanced view of organizational attention can enable the development of new, improved strategy practices to manage strategic change and renewal processes.     

Trends in disposable income among teenage boys and girls in Finland from 1977 to 2003

This article explores changes in the money Finnish young people aged 12–18 years have at their disposal, over a 26‐year period 1977–2003. Previous studies suggest that the amount of money young people have is not necessarily dependent on traditional socio‐economic variables, but there are no systematic studies on the development of the disposable income of the teenagers. The analyses of this study are based on a series of 14 biannual nationally representative surveys of 12‐, 14‐, 16‐ and 18‐year‐olds in Finland from 1977 to 2003, with a total of 84 404 respondents. Time‐trends are shown and analysed by gender, family structure, place of residence and socio‐economic status of family using analysis of variance and linear regression modelling. The results show that teenagers’ disposable money has increased little between 1977 and 2003 in comparison with the general income development. Economic booms and depressions can be seen in rising and falling amounts of disposal money, particularly among 16‐ to 18‐year‐old respondents. There were also significant differences between the genders. Young boys clearly had more money at their disposal than young girls. Children of single parents had more money than their peers from nuclear families. Urban youth had more money than those living in the countryside and the difference increased during the period under examination. The socio‐economic position of the family had little impact.     

Competitive dynamics,strategic consistency,and organizational survival

This study investigates strategic consistency in competitive behavior. We construct a logically consistent evolutionary model, providing a causal argument to link a level of strategic consistency to long‐term organizational survival. According to our results, strategic consistency seems to be related to both organizational survival and the most efficient change over time concerning the key elements of a firm's strategy. One of the benefits of the model is that some of the components and processes may be manipulated through experimental or simulation interventions. This means that the model can be formally tested in future studies and managers can use it to fine‐tune patterns of competitive behavior. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Functional Foods and the Young

Factors such as raised consciousness about human health, development of the food industry, and medicine and branches of natural science studying the relation between nutrition and health have led to the popularization of foods with proven health effects. Such foods are called functional foods. Although there is growing interest in functional foods, there are several groups of consumers that are, more than others, interested in functional foods. To examine buying behavior and attitudes toward functional food of young consumers (18–30 years old) and to determine the most interested consumers, we conducted a survey using a self-administered questionnaire on a sample of 570 Croatian students. The majority of the respondents purchase functional foods, usually in supermarkets. Apart from taste, the most important functional food attribute is price/quality ratio. Respondents are buying functional foods because they believe that those foods are healthier and safer than other products. Examined market segments were based on respondents’ attitudes toward functional foods. The results of this research could be used in planning further development of the functional foods market for young consumers.     

Using the UTAUT model to analyze user intention to accept electronic payment systems in Serbia

Portuguese Economic Journal - This study applies The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to explain the acceptance of electronic payment systems in Serbia. We used extended...     

Temporal Dynamics in Acquisition Behavior: The Effects of Activity Load on Strategic Momentum

Momentum theory suggests that acquisition experience leads to acquisition momentum in the form of a higher likelihood of subsequent acquisitions of the same type. However, this argument has been challenged theoretically and empirically. We reconcile conflicting predictions and findings of prior research and extend momentum theory by incorporating activity load as a novel causal mechanism to both replicate the base finding and explain deviations from it. We find that a high activity load due to increased acquisition activity acts as a counterforce to momentum, decreasing the likelihood of subsequent acquisitions of the same type. Moreover, we also find that the interplay of routines, cognitive frames, and activity load causes companies to alternate between different types of acquisitions – from small to large and from large to small – as management engages in attention modulation to preserve momentum. Taken together, our arguments and findings contribute to an improved understanding of temporal patterns of acquisition behaviour.