IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/jomstd/v32y1995i1p1-22.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Interpreting Event Causes: The Complementary Role Of Categorization And Attribution Processes

Author

Listed:
  • Richard Z. Gooding
  • Angelo J. Kinicki

Abstract

This study examined the complementary role categorization and attribution processes play in managers’interpretations of event causes. Categorization theory suggests that events with distinctive internal or external causes should be interpreted, respectively, as internal and external. Attribution theory and research on self‐serving attributions, on the other hand, suggest that events with positive outcomes should be attributed to internal causes and events with negative outcomes to external causes. Study results showed a very significant interaction between distinctiveness of event causes (internal‐external) and the valence of event outcomes (positive‐negative). This interaction suggests that managers use categorization processes to interpret positive events, but more effortful attributional processes to interpret events with negative outcomes. There also was evidence of self‐serving attributional biases in managers’interpretations of event causes, especially events with equivocal causes. Study findings appear to be unaffected by managerial position or background. We discuss the contribution this study makes to extant research and its implications for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard Z. Gooding & Angelo J. Kinicki, 1995. "Interpreting Event Causes: The Complementary Role Of Categorization And Attribution Processes," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 1-22, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jomstd:v:32:y:1995:i:1:p:1-22
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-6486.1995.tb00643.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.1995.tb00643.x
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1467-6486.1995.tb00643.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mantere, Saku & Aula, Pekka & Schildt, Henri & Vaara, Eero, 2013. "Narrative attributions of entrepreneurial failure," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 459-473.
    2. Istipliler, Baris & Ahrens, Jan-Philipp & Bort, Suleika & Isaak, Andrew, 2023. "Is exposure to the family firm always good for the next CEO? How successor pre-succession firm experience affects post-succession performance in family firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    3. France Belanger & Rosann Webb Collins & Paul H. Cheney, 2001. "Technology Requirements and Work Group Communication for Telecommuters," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 12(2), pages 155-176, June.
    4. Ulrich Lichtenthaler & Holger Ernst & Martin Hoegl, 2010. "Not-Sold-Here: How Attitudes Influence External Knowledge Exploitation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(5), pages 1054-1071, October.
    5. Mandy M Cheng & Habib Mahama, 2011. "The impact of capital proposal guidelines and perceived preparer biases on reviewers’ investment evaluation decisions," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 36(3), pages 349-370, December.
    6. Fuller, Sally Riggs & Aldag, Ramon J., 1998. "Organizational Tonypandy: Lessons from a Quarter Century of the Groupthink Phenomenon," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 73(2-3), pages 163-184, February.
    7. Oleg Gorbaniuk & Adam Żaliński, 2019. "Attribution Asymmetry in Perception of Companies’ Successes and Failures," Contemporary Economics, University of Economics and Human Sciences in Warsaw., vol. 13(1), March.
    8. Claude Obadia, 2013. "Foreigness-induced Cognitive Disorientation," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 53(3), pages 325-360, June.
    9. Short, Jeremy C. & Palmer, Timothy B., 2003. "Organizational performance referents: An empirical examination of their content and influences," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 90(2), pages 209-224, March.
    10. Samu, Sridhar & Wymer, Walter, 2009. "The effect of fit and dominance in cause marketing communications," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 62(4), pages 432-440, April.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:jomstd:v:32:y:1995:i:1:p:1-22. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0022-2380 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.