The mirror trap: Do managerial perceptions influence organizational responses to crises?
Fecha
2013-01-01
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EMERALD GROUP PUBLISHING LIMITED
Resumen
Purpose - This study aims to examine the influence of managerial perceptions on the strategic responses adopted by four Colombian organizations when facing a political crisis. Design/methodology/approach - To address this research, face-to-face interviews were conducted with Colombian managers, consultants, journalists, government officials, and industry experts, and triangulated with documents and archival data. Findings - The findings show that the response adopted by each organization was significantly influenced by their manager's perception of the crisis and, consequently, was prone to producing a particular performance outcome. Practical implications - The authors' findings constitute a strong warning call to managers and management teams about the possibility of falling into the ``mirror trap'', through which their organizations will adopt strategic responses influenced by their own perceptions of crises. Originality/value - These findings suggest that managers can affect performance through their individual assessment of a crisis as a threat, an opportunity, or neither one nor the other.