Organizational aspirations, reference points, and goals: Building on the past and aiming for the future

Journal of Management

Volumn 38, Issue 1, 2012, Pages 415-455

  Shinkle, George A ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES   (Australia)

Author keywords

organizational aspiration; organizational goal; performance referent; reference point

Indexed keywords

EID: 83655192451     PISSN: 01492063     EISSN: 15571211     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/0149206311419856     Document Type: Review

References (134)

1. Alwin D. F.,Krosnick J. A.The measurement of values in surveys: A comparison of ratings and rankings.Public Opinion Quarterly. 1985;49:535-552.
2. Ansoff I. H.Strategic management. London: Macmillan; 1979:.
3. Ansoff I. H.Implanting strategic management. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall; 1984:.
4. Ansoff I. H.The emerging paradigm of strategic behavior.Strategic Management Journal. 1987;8:501-515.
5. Argote L.,Greve H. R.A behavioral theory of the firm-40 years and counting: Introduction and impact.Organization Science. 2007;18:337-349.
6. Audia P. G.,Brion S.Reluctant to change: Self-enhancing responses to diverging performance measures.Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. 2007;102:255-269.
7. Audia P. G.,Greve H. R.Less likely to fail: Low performance, firm size, and factory expansion in the shipbuilding industry.Management Science. 2006;52:83-94.
8. Audia P. G.,Locke E. A.,Smith K. G.The paradox of success: An archival and a laboratory study of strategic persistence following radical environmental change. Academy of Management Journal. 2000;43:837-853.
9. Bandura A.Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman; 1997:.
10. Barney J.Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage.Journal of Management. 1991;17:99-120.
11. Bascle G.Controlling for endogeneity with instrumental variables in strategic management research.Strategic Organization. 2008;6:285-327.
12. Baum J. A. C.,Dahlin K. B.Aspiration performance and railroads' patterns of learning from train wrecks and crashes.Organization Science. 2007;18:368-385.
13. Baum J. A. C.,Rowley T. J.,Shiplov A. W.,Chuang Y.Dancing with strangers: Aspiration performance and the search for underwriting syndicate partners.Administrative Science Quarterly. 2005;50:536-575.
14. Baum J. R.,Locke E. A.The relationship of entrepreneurial traits, skill, and motivation to subsequent venture growth.Journal of Applied Psychology. 2004;89:587-598.
15. Bolton M. K.Organizational innovation and substandard performance: When is necessity the mother of innovation.Organization Science. 1993;4:57-75.
16. Bromiley P.Testing a causal model of corporate risk taking and performance.Academy of Management Journal. 1991;34:37-59.
17. Bromiley P.Looking at prospect theory.Strategic Management Journal. 2010;31:1357-1370.
18. Bromiley, P., Miller, K. D., & Rau, D. 2001. Risk in strategic management research. In M. A. Hitt, R. E. Freeman, & J. S. Harrison (Eds.), The Blackwell handbook of strategic management: 259-288. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
19. Campion M. A.,Lord R. G.A control systems conceptualization of the goal setting and changing process.Organizational Behavior and Human Performance. 1982;30:265-287.
20. Carver D. S.,Scheier M. F.Attention and self regulation: A control-theory approach to human behavior. New York: Springer-Verlag; 1981:.
21. Cavusgil S. T.Organizational characteristics associated with export activity.Journal of Management Studies. 1984;21:3-22.
22. Cavusgil S. T.,Nevin J. R.Internal determinants of export marketing behavior: An empirical investigation.Journal of Marketing Research. 1981;18:114-119.
23. Chandler A. D.Strategy and structure: Chapters in the history of American enterprise. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press; 1962:.
24. Chatterjee S.,Wiseman R. M.,Fiegenbaum A.,Devers C. E.Integrating behavioural and economic concepts of risk into strategic management: The twain shall meet.Long Range Planning. 2003;36:61-79.
25. Chen W.,Miller K. D.Situational and institutional determinants of firms' R&D search intensity.Strategic Management Journal. 2007;28:369-381.
26. Cheng M.,Luckett P.,Mahama M.The effect of perceived conflict among multiple performance goals and goal difficulty on task performance.Accounting and Finance. 2007;47:221-242.
27. Child J.Organizational structure, environment and performance: The role of strategic choice.Sociology. 1972;6:2-22.
28. Crossan M. M.,Lane H. W.,White R. E.An organizational learning framework: From intuition to institution.Academy of Management Review. 1999;24:522-537.
29. Cyert R. M.,March J. G.A behavioral theory of the firm. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall; 1963:.
30. Deephouse D. L.,Wiseman R. M.Comparing alternative explanations for accounting risk-return relations.Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization. 2000;42:463-482.
31. Denrell J.Organizational risk taking: Adaptation versus variable risk preferences.Industrial and Corporate Change. 2008;17:427-466.
32. Denrell J.,March J.Adaptation as information restriction: The hot stove effect.Organization Science. 2001;12:523-538.
33. Desai V. M.Constrained growth: How experience, legitimacy, and age influence risk taking in organizations.Organization Science. 2008;19:594-608.
34. Diecidue E.,Van de Ven J.Aspiration level, probability of success and failure, and expected utility.International Economic Review. 2008;49:683-700.
35. DiMaggio P.,Powell W.The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality.American Sociological Review. 1983;48:147-160.
36. Eisenhardt K. M.Control: Organizational and economic approaches.Management Science. 1985;31:134-149.
37. Eisenhardt K. M.,Zbaracki M. J.Strategic decision making.Strategic Management Journal. 1992;13:17-37.
38. Ethiraj S. K.,Levinthal D.Hoping for A to Z while rewarding only A: Complex organizations and multiple goals.Organization Science. 2009;20:4-21.
39. Felin T.,Foss N. J.Organizational routines and capabilities: Historical drift and a course-correction toward microfoundations.Scandinavian Journal of Management. 2009;25:157-167.
40. Fiegenbaum A.Prospect theory and the risk-return association: An empirical examination in 85 industries.Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization. 1990;14:187-203.
41. Fiegenbaum A.,Hart S.,Schendel D.Strategic reference point theory.Strategic Management Journal. 1996;17:219-235.
42. Fiegenbaum A.,Thomas H.Dynamic and risk measurement perspectives on Bowman's risk-return paradox for strategic management: An empirical study.Strategic Management Journal. 1986;7:395-407.
43. Fiegenbaum A.,Thomas H.Attitudes toward risk and the risk-return paradox: Prospect theory explanations. Academy of Management Journal. 1988;31:85-106.
44. Fiegenbaum A.,Thomas H.Strategic groups as reference groups: Theory, modeling and empirical examination of industry and competitive strategy.Strategic Management Journal. 1995;16:461-476.
45. Fischer R.Standardization to account for cross-cultural response bias: A classification of score adjustment procedures and review of research in JCCP.Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. 2004;35:263-282.
46. Fried Y.,Slowik L. H.Enriching goal setting theory with time: An integrated approach.Academy of Management Review. 2004;29:404-422.
47. Gary S. M.Implementation strategy and performance outcomes in related diversification.Strategic Management Journal. 2005;26:643-664.
48. Gary S. M.,Wood R. E.Mental models, decision rules, and performance heterogeneity.Strategic Management Journal. 2011;32:569-594.
49. Gooding R. Z.,Goel S.,Wiseman R. M.Fixed versus variable reference points in the risk-return relationship.Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization. 1996;29:331-350.
50. Greve H. R.Performance, aspirations, and risky organizational change.Administrative Science Quarterly. 1998;43:58-86.
51. Greve H. R.Sticky aspirations: Organizational time perspective and competitiveness.Organization Science. 2002;13:1-17.
52. Greve H. R.A behavioral theory of R&D expenditures and innovation: Evidence from shipbuilding.Academy of Management Journal. 2003a;46:685-702.
53. Greve H. R.Investment and the behavioral theory of the firm: Evidence from shipbuilding.Industrial and Corporate Change. 2003b;12:1051-1076.
54. Greve H. R.Organizational learning from performance feedback. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press; 2003c:.
55. Greve H. R.A behavioral theory of firm growth: Sequential attention to size and performance goals.Academy of Management Journal. 2008;51:476-494.
56. Grinyer P.,McKiernan P.Generating major change in stagnating companies.Strategic Management Journal. 1990;11:131-146.
57. Grouzet F. M. E.,Kasser T.,Ahuvia A.,Dols J. M. F.,Kim Y.,Lau S.,Ryan R. M.,Saunders S.,Schmuck P.,Sheldon K. M.The structure of goal contents across 15 cultures.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2005;89:800-816.
58. Haleblian J.,Devers C. E.,McNamara G.,Carpenter M. A.,Davison R. B.Taking stock of what we know about merger and acquisitions: A review and research agenda.Journal of Management. 2009;35:469-502.
59. Haleblian J.,Rajagopalan N.Top managerial cognitions, past performance, and strategic change: A theoretical framework.Advances in Strategic Management. 2005;22:63-91.
60. Hamel G.,Prahalad C. K.Strategic intent.Harvard Business Review. 1989;89:63-76.
61. Harris J.,Bromiley P.Incentives to cheat: The influence of executive compensation and firm performance on financial misrepresentation.Organization Science. 2007;18:350-367.
62. Herriott S. R.,Levinthal D.,March J. G.Learning from experience in organizations.American Economic Review. 1985;75:298-302.
63. Hofer C. W.,Schendel D.Strategy formulation: Analytical concepts. St. Paul, MN: West; 1978:.
64. Holmes R. M.,Bromiley P.,Devers C. E.,Holcomb T. R.,McGuire J. B.Management theory applications of prospect theory: Accomplishments, challenges, and opportunities.Journal of Management. 2011;37:1069-1107.
65. Ittner C. D.,Larcker D. F.,Meyer M. W.Subjectivity and the weighting of performance measures: Evidence from a balanced scorecard.Accounting Review. 2003;78:725-758.
66. Iyer D. N.,Miller K. D.Performance feedback, slack, and the timing of acquisitions.Academy of Management Journal. 2008;51:808-22.
67. Jones R. M.,Kashlak R. J.Socio-regulatory upheaval, reference points and strategic evolution of the cigarette industry.Journal of Business Research. 2001;51:193-200.
68. Kahneman D.,Tversky A.Prospect theory: An analysis of decision under risk. Econometrica. 1979;47:263-291.
69. Kaplan R. S.,Norton D. P.The balanced scorecard: Translating strategy into action. Boston: Harvard Business School Press; 1996a:.
70. Kaplan R. S.,Norton D. P.Using the balanced scorecard as a strategic management system.Harvard Business Review. 1996b;74:75-85.
71. Kaplan R. S.,Norton D. P.Transforming the balanced scorecard from performance measurement to strategic management: Part I.Accounting Horizons. 2001;15:87-106.
72. Kaplan S.Cognition, capabilities, and incentives: Assessing firm response to the fiber-optic revolution.Academy of Management Journal. 2008;51:672-695.
73. Kellermanns F. W.,Walter J.,Lechner C.,Floyd S. W.The lack of consensus about strategic consensus: Advancing theory and research.Journal of Management. 2005;31:719-737.
74. Ketchen D.,Palmer T.Strategic responses to poor organizational performance: A test of competing perspectives.Journal of Management. 1999;25:683-706.
75. Kiesler S.,Sproull L.Managerial response to changing environments: Perspectives on problem sensing from social cognition.Administrative Science Quarterly. 1982;27:548-570.
76. Klein H. J.An integrated control theory model of work motivation.Academy of Management Review. 1989;14:150-172.
77. Knudsen T.Reference groups and variable risk strategies.Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization. 2008;66:22-36.
78. Kolvereid L.Growth aspirations among Norwegian entrepreneurs.Journal of Business Venturing. 1992;7:209-222.
79. Labianca G.,Fairbank J. F.,Andrevski G.,Parzen M.Striving toward the future: Aspiration-performance discrepancies and planned organizational change.Strategic Organization. 2009;7:433-466.
80. Lant T. K.Aspiration level adaptation: An empirical exploration.Management Science. 1992;38:623-644.
81. Lant T. K.,Hewlin P. F.Information cues and decision making: The effects of learning, momentum and social comparison in competing teams.Group and Organizational Management. 2002;27:374-407.
82. Lant T. K.,Mezias S. J.An organizational learning model of convergence and reorientation.Organization Science. 1992;3:47-71.
83. Lant T. K.,Milliken F. J.,Batra B.The role of managerial learning and interpretation in strategic persistence and reorientation: An empirical exploration.Strategic Management Journal. 1992;13:585-608.
84. Lant T. K.,Montgomery D. B.Learning from strategic success and failure.Journal of Business Research. 1987;15:503-518.
85. Lant T.,Shapira Z.Managerial reasoning about aspirations and expectations.Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization. 2008;66:60-73.
86. Lehman D. W.,Ramanujam R.Selectivity in organizational rule violations.Academy of Management Review. 2009;34:643-657.
87. Lehner J. M.Shifts of reference points for framing of strategic decisions and changing risk-return associations.Management Science. 2000;46:63-76.
88. Levinthal D.,March J. G.A model of adaptive organizational search.Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization. 1981;2:307-333.
89. Levitt B.,March J. G.Organizational learning.Annual Review of Sociology. 1988;14:319-340.
90. Lipe M. G.,Salterio S. E.The balanced scorecard: Judgmental effects of common and unique performance measures.Accounting Review. 2000;75:283-298.
91. Locke E. A.,Latham G. P.Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey.American Psychologist. 2002;57:705-717.
92. Locke E. A.,Latham G. P.New directions in goal-setting theory.Current Directions in Psychological Science. 2006;15:265-268.
93. Locke E. A.,Shaw K. N.,Saari L. M.,Latham G. P.Goal setting and task performance.Psychological Bulletin. 1981;90:125-152.
94. Lomi A.,Larsen E. R.,Wezel F. C.Getting there: Exploring the role of expectations and preproduction delays in processes of organizational founding.Organization Science. 2010;21:132-149.
95. Manns C. L.,March J. G.Financial adversity, internal competition, and curriculum change in a university.Administrative Science Quarterly. 1978;23:541-552.
96. March J. G.Variable risk preferences and adaptive aspirations.Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization. 1988;9:5-24.
97. March J. G.Exploration and exploitation in organizational learning.Organization Science. 1991;2:71-87.
98. March J. G.,Shapira Z.Managerial perspectives on risk and risk taking.Management Science. 1987;33:1404-1418.
99. March J. G.,Shapira Z.Variable risk preferences and the focus of attention.Psychological Review. 1992;99:172-183.
100. March J. G.,Simon H. A.Organizations. New York: John Wiley; 1958:.
101. Massini S.,Lewin A. Y.,Greve H. R.Innovators and imitators: Organizational reference groups and adoption of organizational routines.Research Policy. 2005;34:1550-1569.
102. Mathieu J. E.,DeShon R. P.,Bergh D. D.Mediational inferences in organizational research: Then, now, and beyond.Organizational Research Methods. 2008;11:203-223.
103. McNamara G.,Bromiley P.Decision making in organizational setting: Cognitive and organizational influences on risk assessment in commercial lending.Academy of Management Journal. 1997;40:1063-1088.
104. Meyer M. M.Rethinking performance measurement: Beyond the balanced scorecard. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press; 2002:.
105. Mezias S. J.,Chen Y.-R.,Murphy P. R.Aspiration-level adaptation in an American financial services organization: A field study.Management Science. 2002;48:1285-1300.
106. Mezias S. J.,Glynn M. A.The three faces of corporate renewal: Institution, revolution, and evolution.Strategic Management Journal. 1993;14:77-101.
107. Miller K. D.,Bromiley P.Strategic risk and corporate performance: An analysis of alternative risk measures.Academy of Management Journal. 1990;33:756-779.
108. Miller K. D.,Chen W.Variable organizational risk preferences: Tests of the March-Shapira model.Academy of Management Journal. 2004;47:105-115.
109. Miller K. D.,Leiblein M. J.Corporate risk-return relations: Returns variability versus downside risk.Academy of Management Journal. 1996;39:91-122.
110. Mishina Y.,Dykes B. J.,Block E. S.,Pollock T. G.Why "good" firms do bad things: The effects of high aspirations, high expectations, and prominence on the incidence of corporate illegality.Academy of Management Journal. 2010;53:701-722.
111. Moussetis R.Ansoff revisited: How Ansoff interfaces with both the planning and learning schools of thought in strategy.Journal of Management History. 2011;17:102-125.
112. Ocasio W.Towards an attention-based view of the firm.Strategic Management Journal. 1997;18:187-206.
113. Overby M. L.Partner selection criteria in strategic alliances: When to ally with weak partners. Copenhagen, Denmark: Danish Research Unit for Industrial Dynamics; 2007:.
114. Palmer T.,Wiseman R. M.Decoupling risk taking from income stream uncertainty: A holistic approach.Strategic Management Journal. 1999;20:1037-1062.
115. Panagiotou G.Reference theory: Strategic groups and competitive benchmarking.Management Decision. 2007;45:1595-1621.
116. Park K. M.Antecedents of convergence and divergence in strategic positioning: The effects of performance and aspiration on the direction of strategic change.Organization Science. 2007;18:386-402.
117. Reger R. K.,Huff A. S.Strategic groups: A cognitive perspective.Strategic Management Journal. 1993;14:103-124.
118. Rousseau D. M.Issues of level in organizational research: Multi-level and cross-level perspectives.Research in Organizational Behavior. 1985;7:1-37.
119. Schilling M. A.,Vidal P.,Ployhart R. E.,Marangoni A.Learning by doing something else: Variation, relatedness, and the learning curve.Management Science. 2003;49:39-56.
120. Seijts G. H.,Latham G. P.Learning versus performance goals: When should each be used?.Academy of Management Executive. 2005;19:124-131.
121. Shimizu K.Prospect theory, behavioral theory, and the threat rigidity thesis: Combinative effects on organizational decisions to divest formerly acquired units.Academy of Management Journal. 2007;50:1495-1514.
122. Short J.The art of writing a review article.Journal of Management. 2009;35:1312-1317.
123. Short J. C.,Palmer T. B.Organizational performance referents: An empirical examination of their content and influences.Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. 2003;90:209-224.
124. Simon H. A.A behavioral model of rational choice.Quarterly Journal of Economics. 1955;69:99-118.
125. Simon H. A.On the concept of organizational goal.Administrative Science Quarterly. 1964;9:1-22.
126. Singh J.Performance, slack, and risk taking in organizational decision making.Academy of Management Journal. 1986;29:562-585.
127. Sterman J. D.Modeling the formation of expectations: The history of energy demand forecasts.International Journal of Forecasting. 1988;4:243-259.
128. Suchman M.Managing legitimacy: Strategic and institutional approaches.Academy of Management Review. 1995;20:571-610.
129. Taylor F. W.The principles of scientific management. New York: Harper; 1911:.
130. Thompson J. D.,McEwen W. J.Organizational goals and environment: Goal-setting as an interaction process.American Sociological Review. 1958;23:23-31.
131. Vissa B.,Greve H. R.,Chen W-R.Business group affiliation and firm search behavior in India: Responsiveness and focus of attention.Organization Science. 2010;21:696-712.
132. Wiklund J.,Shepherd D.Aspiring for, and achieving growth: The moderating role of resources and opportunities.Journal of Management Studies. 2003;40:1919-1941.
133. Wiseman R. M.,Bromiley P.Toward a model of risk in declining organizations: An empirical examination of risk, performance and decline.Organization Science. 1996;7:524-543.
134. Wiseman R. M.,Catanach A.A longitudinal disaggregation of operational risk under changing regulations: Evidence from the savings and loan industry.Academy of Management Journal. 1997;40:799-830.