Patrick G. Maggitti

TMT Potency and Strategic Decision‐Making in High Technology Firms

Confidence is necessary for effective top management team (TMT) functioning, however overconfidence or hubris has been associated with poor outcomes. Researchers have struggled to untangle questions of how much confidence is functional and whether there are different forms of confidence. Using data from a field study of 54 public high‐technology firms we provide a richer understanding of the complex influence of one type of confidence, TMT potency on strategic decision‐making. Specifically, using a field study of TMTs of 54 public high technology firms we find potency at least partially mediates the relationship between TMT experience and knowledge, TMT interaction process, and strategic decision speed. Post‐hoc analysis of high potency teams suggests that potency may be either functional – leading to high performance, or dysfunctional – resulting in low performance. Potency appears to be a multi‐faceted construct consisting of both level and domain boundedness. We offer propositions that begin to untangle the origins of functional versus dysfunctional potency or hubris.

Reflexive and Selective Competitive Behaviors—Inertia, Imitation, and Interfirm Rivalry

ABSTRACT Competitive dynamics research has established the important impact that the level of firm competitive activity has on rival response and firm performance. Less understood, however, are inputs that influence firm activity, specifically, the extent to which firms reflexively repeat prior activity versus selectively taking actions. Drawing from the awareness–motivation–capability framework, we develop and test theory that firm decision makers are not only predisposed to behave reflexively, but are also influenced by contextual factors, suggesting cognitive selection. Utilizing a longitudinal sample of marketing activity of 58 firms and 2,164 firm–rival dyads in 11 industries, we find that firms undertake both reflexive and selective competitive processes. Positive effects of prior levels of activity are moderated by the firm’s own prior performance, as well as the rivals’ similarity and industry standing.

Knowledge Flows and Constraints to the Entrepreneurial Process

Abstract As a critical component in the entrepreneurial process, knowledge is essential to the study of how entrepreneurs compete under constraints. Research in this area is challenged by the unobservable and imprecise nature of knowledge which inhibits advanced theory building and testing, and we explore this problem by analyzing the relationship between the entrepreneurial process, constraints to the process, and knowledge flows. We apply and extend a systems-theoretic framework that identifies the knowledge system in entrepreneurial organizations, and develop an integrative model to guide future research.