Attention to Attention

William Ocasio ()
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William Ocasio: Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208

Organization Science, 2011, vol. 22, issue 5, 1286-1296

Abstract: Organizational theory and research has increased attention to the determinants and consequences of attention in organizations. Attention is not, however, a unitary concept but is used differently in various metatheories: the behavioral theory of the firm, managerial cognition, issue selling, attention-based view, and ecology. At the level of the brain, neuroscientists have identified three varieties of attention: selective attention, executive attention, and vigilance. Attention is shaped by both top-down (i.e., schema-driven) and bottom-up (i.e., stimulus-driven) processes. Inspired by neuroscience research, I classify and compare three varieties of attention studied in organization science: attentional perspective (top-down), attentional engagement (combining top-down and bottom-up executive attention and vigilance), and attentional selection (the outcome of attentional processes). Based on research findings, I develop five propositions on how the varieties of attention in organization provide a theoretical alternative to theories of structural determinism or strategic choice, with a particular focus on the role of attention in explaining organizational adaptation and change.

Keywords: attention; selective attention; executive attention; vigilance; cognition; adaptation; perspective; engagement; selection (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (209)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:22:y:2011:i:5:p:1286-1296

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