Abstract:

This study reinstates the role of human agency in the transfer of learning by examining how CEOs’ experiential and cognitive attributes shape organizational outcomes. In the context of domestic acquisitions by US firms, we find that firms with CEOs having greater unrelated industry acquisition experience face lower long-term acquisition performance due to negative transfers. Foregoing the assumption that the dissimilarity of prior experience uniformly results in negative transfers, we showcase the moderating impact of CEOs' cognitive characteristics. Specifically, we demonstrate that cognitive complexity enables CEOs to abstract, causally frame, and recombine knowledge, thereby mitigating negative transfers. By examining the interaction between CEO cognitive attributes and experiential learning, this study moves beyond transfer distance as the sole driver of outcomes and explains gradients in transfer effects.

Please choose your submission type: Full Paper

Primary Track: Strategy-as-Practice

Keywords: Meso and micro level responses to strategic challenges;Strategic performance;Strategy-as-practice

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Prof Manish Popli