Attention-based view

Willian Ocasio and E. Geoffrey Love

Chapter 9 in A Guide to Key Theories for Strategic Management, 2026, pp 147-168 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: The attention-based view (ABV) is an interdisciplinary perspective that explains heterogeneity in strategic behavior, adaptation, and innovation through emphasizing the role of collective attention patterns. This chapter traces the ABV's theoretical development from its original focus on strategic decision-making toward an integrative approach that more fully incorporates evolutionary, cognitive, and communicative processes and practices. Accounting for these historical developments, we propose five foundational principles for the ABV: strategy as focused attention, situated attention through communication, firms as complex adaptive systems, guided evolution through communication networks, and cross-level dynamic attentional control. We also highlight how the ABV can be used in complementary ways with other prominent perspectives on strategy.

Keywords: Attention-based View; Behavioral Strategy; Strategic Adaptation; Complex Systems; Attentional Control; Communication Channels (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035342846
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