The Fog of Feedback: Ambiguity and Firm Responses to Multiple Aspiration Levels
Strategic Management Journal, Forthcoming
42 Pages Posted: 14 Aug 2014
Date Written: August 12, 2014
Abstract
This study examines firms’ responses to performance assessments relative to multiple aspiration levels. We argue that comparisons of performance to multiple aspiration levels over time affects the interpretative clarity of feedback and, consequently, shapes a firm’s responsiveness. We further conceptualize the relationship between performance relative to social and historical aspirations as ambiguous, inconsistent, and consistent performance feedback. Empirically, we examine the effects — on firms’ responsiveness — of respectively weak, negative, and positive correlations between performance relative to social and historical aspirations, where responsiveness is measured in terms of new product introductions. We find that both inconsistent and consistent feedback increase a firm’s responsiveness, whereas ambiguous feedback dampens responsiveness. Our focus on this type of feedback ambiguity is novel, and it establishes the functional form of the relationship between feedback clarity/ambiguity and responsiveness. This paper augments the behavioral theory of the firm and research on performance feedback; it also extends previous work on ambiguity in strategic decision making.
Keywords: Behavioral Theory of the Firm, Performance Feedback, Ambiguity, Innovation
JEL Classification: O33
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation