During prep for my comprehensive exams, I spent quite a bit of time compiling all the micro and macro theories we learned, discussed, or briefly highlighted throughout the seminars. I’m hoping by loading some onto the blog space it can help others with their own comps prep.

A rising tide lifts all boats, after all!

Attention Based View

  • Assumptions
    • Decision-makers (DM) actions depend on what issues they focus their attention on (attention focus)
      Context drives what issues and answers decision-makers focus on (situated attention)
      Rules, resources, and social relationships control the distribution of issues, actions, and communication the DM attends to (struct distro of attn)
  • Key tenets (Ocasio et al., 2018; Ocasio, 1997)
    • Attention: noticing, encoding, interpreting, and focusing of time and effort on the repertoire of issues and action alternatives facing the organization
      • Not just noticing an issue, but giving it attention and focusing on how to behave in the environment
    • A firm’s strategy is what it gives its attention to and the alternatives to the issues it gives its attention to
      • Focus on attention 
    • Communication is what’s used to guide attention
  • Predictions
    • Firm behavior is the result of how firms channel and distribute the attention of their decision-makers
  • Evidence
    • Ocasio et al., 2018: how communication in organizations influences information processing and what people pay attention to
  • Boundary conditions
    • Individuals can only give attention to things they understand (bounded rationality)
    • Organizational construct that is focused on social processes and social interactions
  • Interlinkages
    • Sensemaking (Weick, 1995)
    • Signaling theory (Spence, 1973; Connelly et al., 2011)
    • Information processing theory (Pfeffer & Salancik, 1978)