DETERMINANTS OF EXECUTIVE BELIEFS: COMPARING FUNCTIONAL CONDITIONING AND SOCIAL INFLUENCE

摘要

Executive beliefs influence strategic decision making in organizatins, and thus they ultimately influence organization performance. The factors that might determine upper-echelon execuitive beliefs, however, have reciewed scant empirical attention; certainly, little is known about their relative influences. In contrast to the oft-asserted influence of functional experiences, our results indicate that beliefs held yb upper-echelon execuitives are better explained with an alternate theoretical model based on social influence. Our pattern of results indicates support for the argument that belifs are socially reproduced through interaction among executives.