Thorvald Hærem

Personality and Individual Differences 215 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2023.112383

In two preregistered online studies (NTotal = 984; Prolific), we examined how individual differences in fear and self-distancing predict information processing in decision-making involving risk in a business scenario. Dispositional fear was positively related to urgent and affective intuitive processing and negatively related to analytical processing. Self-distancing was positively related to analytical processing. These relations occurred indirectly via problem construal. Dispositional fear predicted less concrete problem construal, which in turn predicted more urgent intuitive processing and less analytical processing. In contrast, habitual self-distancing predicted more concrete problem construal, which in turn predicted more analytical processing and less urgent intuitive processing. Surprisingly, dispositional fear had a negative indirect relation with affective intuitive processing via more abstract problem construal, and habitual self-distancing had a positive indirect relation with affective processing via more concrete problem construal. Overall, these findings suggest that, in contrast to emotionally regulated decision-makers, fearful decision-makers’ tendency to construe problems less concretely (i.e., more abstractly) might hinder their ability to concretize and analyze problems involving risk.

Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology 97(1) p. 1-24 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12467

The impact of intuitive and analytic cognitive styles on task performance is a much-debated subject in the scientific discourse on decision-making. In the literature on decision-making under time pressure, intuition has been regarded as a fast and frugal tool. At the same time, the heuristics and biases tradition sees intuition as a source of errors, implying that more analytic decision-makers are less biased and better performers. We conducted two studies of the effects of interplay between intuitive and analytic cognitive styles on decision-making in a simulated wicked learning environment. The results of the first study revealed that the high-performing individuals were those who exhibited a strong preference for both cognitive styles, as well as those who showed a lack of preference for both. Individuals with a strong preference for only one of the styles were outperformed. In the second study, we replicated these findings in a team context. Post-hoc, we found that cognitive ability correlated highly with performance for the two high-performing style combinations but not for the two low-performing style combinations. Our results indicate that flexible style preferences boost the effect of cognitive ability, while strong preferences for a single style may entrench even those with high cognitive abilities.

Journal of Managerial Psychology 38(6) p. 404-418 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-03-2023-0140

Purpose: We draw on arousal-based models to develop and test a model of open-office noise and information processing. Specifically, we examined whether open-office noise changes how people process information and whether such a change has consequences for task performance. Design/Methodology/Approach: In a laboratory experiment, we randomly assigned participants (107 students at a business school) to either a silent condition or a condition that exposed them to open-office noise (irrelevant speech) while completing a task that requires cognitive flexibility. We measured participants’ physiological arousal and the extent to which they processed information intuitively and analytically during the task. Findings: Open-office noise increased urgent processing and decreased analytical processing, which led to a respective decrease and increase in task performance. In line with a neuroscientific account of cognitive processing, an increase in arousal (subjective and physiological) drove the detrimental effect of open-office noise on task performance. Practical Implications: Understanding the information-processing consequences of open-office noise can help managers make more informed decisions about workplace environments that facilitate performance. Originality: Our study is one of the first to examine the indirect effects of open-office noise on task performance through intuitive and analytical processing, while simultaneously testing and providing support for the accompanying physiological mechanism.

Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings 2023(1) Doi: https://doi.org/10.5465/AMPROC.2023.10126symposium

Frontiers in Psychology 13 Doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.864749

There is an increasing interest in how to organize operations carried out by multiteam systems (MTS). Large MTS typically operate with a dedicated integration team, responsible for coordinating the operation. We report a study of a military multiteam system that prosecute time-sensitive targets. We asked whether and how the integration team’s efficiency depends on its communication setting. Specifically, we studied how a co-located vs. a distributed communications setting influenced the shared situation awareness and whether the shared situation awareness again influenced the outcome of the decision processes. We found that performance fell when the integration team shifted from a co-located to a distributed setting. The fall in performance seemed to be mediated by a corresponding fall in situation awareness. Moreover, while the performance improved for each run in the co-located setting, we did not see such learning in the distributed setting. Qualitative observations revealed that misunderstandings lasted longer in a distributed configuration than in a co-located setting. We found that situation awareness at level 3 was the only level of situation awareness significant for predicting all dimensions of performance. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed.

International Journal of Organizational Analysis Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-02-2021-2626

Purpose –This paper aims to systematically review the extant research on social psychological aspects of civil-military inter-organizational collaboration, particularly in a total defense context. Design/methodology/approach –A systematic scoping studies review was performed. Peer-reviewed articles were searched in PsycInfo and Sociological Abstracts. Inclusion criteria were met by 25 articles. Findings –Four higher-order categories with underpinning categories were derived in the analysis. They were modeled as follows: antecedent conditions affect, informal processes and practical efforts, which, in turn, affect inter-organizational trust and collaboration. These higher-order categories are all influenced by formal organizational aspects and the society in which they arefound. Research limitations/implications –The existing literature covering the chosen study focus is limited. Further studies are needed and thepresented model can serve asa road map. Practical implications –Aseries of questions derived from the categories of the model is presented. The questions are included as a tool for practical reflection for collaborating actors in common education, training or exercise settings or in after-action reviews. Originality/value –The focus on social psychological aspects of civil-military inter-organizational collaboration, particularly in a total defense context, is new. The suggested relationship between superior themes addsknowledgetoaresearchfielddominatedbysociological andpolitical science approaches. Keywords Civil-military, Inter-organizational collaboration, Total defense, Leadership, Social psychological, Scoping review PapertypeLiterature review

Organization Studies Doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/01708406211069438

We use pattern mining tools from computer science to engage a classic problem in organizational theory: the relation between routinization and task performance. We develop and operationalize new measures of two key characteristics of organizational routines: repertoire and routinization. Repertoire refers to the number of recognizable patterns in a routine, and routinization refers to the fraction of observed actions that fit those patterns. We use these measures to develop a novel theory that predicts task performance based on the size of repertoire, the degree of routinization, and enacted complexity. We test this theory in two settings that differ in their programmability: crisis management and invoice management. We find that repertoire and routinization are important determinants of task performance in both settings, but with opposite effects. In both settings, however, the effect of repertoire and routinization is mediated by enacted complexity. This theoretical contribution is enabled by the methodological innovation of pattern mining, which allows us to treat routines as a collection of sequential patterns or paths. This innovation also allows us to clarify the relation of routinization and complexity, which are often confused because the terms routine and routinization connote simplicity. We demonstrate that routinization and enacted complexity are distinct constructs, conceptually and empirically. It is possible to have a high degree of routinization and complex enactments that vary each time a task is performed. This is because enacted complexity depends on the repertoire of patterns and how those patterns are combined to enact a task.

Cambridge Handbook of Routine Dynamics p. 329-342 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108993340.028

On Practice and Institution: New Empirical Directions p. 29-44 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/S0733-558X20200000071002

MIS Quarterly 44(1) p. 19-47 Doi: https://doi.org/10.25300/MISQ/2020/14458

This paper uses a simulation to build new theory about complexity and phase change in processes that are supported by digital technologies. We know that digitized processes can drift (change incrementally over time). We simulate this phenomenon by incrementally adding and removing edges from a network that represents the process. The simulation demonstrates that incremental change can lead to a state of self-organized criticality. As the process approaches this state, further incremental change can precipitate nonlinear bursts in process complexity and significant changes in process structure. Digital technology can be designed and used to influence the likelihood and severity of these transformative phase changes. For example, the simulation predicts that systems with adaptive programming are prone to phase changes, while systems with deterministic programming are not. We use the simulation to generate a set of theoretical propositions about the effects of digitization that will be testable in empirical research.

Whistleblowing, Communication and Consequences: Lessons from The Norwegian National Lottery

Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management 26(4) Doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5973.12217

Shared situation awareness (SSA) is critical for counterterrorism teams. We examined whether a rich media condition (co‐located face to face) and a lean media condition (distributed email) differentially influence SSA at levels 1, 2, and 3 and team performance, in 24 co‐located and 27 distributed teams. SSA at level 2—knowing who the terrorist is and their location—mediated and SSA at level 3—projecting future terrorist actions—marginally significantly mediated, a positive relationship between media richness and team performance. SSA at level 1—knowing objects—did not mediate such a positive effect. A co‐located setting leads to more convergence on situation awareness at levels 2 and 3, whereas a distributed setting leads to more convergence on level 1.

Academy of Management Global Proceedings Surrey

Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings 2017(1) Doi: https://doi.org/10.5465/AMBPP.2017.11476abstract

Journal of Professions and Organization p. 89-90 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/jpo/jox007

Krisehåndtering, planlegging og handling p. 377-398

Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings Doi: https://doi.org/10.5465/AMBPP.2016.14419abstract

Simulation & Gaming 47(6) p. 851-865 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1046878116667777

Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings Doi: https://doi.org/10.5465/AMBPP.2016.18010abstract

Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings 1 Doi: https://doi.org/10.5465/AMBPP.2016.17012abstract

Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings Doi: https://doi.org/10.5465/AMBPP.2016.241

Journal of experimental psychology. General 145(10) p. 1319-1332 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000208

The present study on insight is based on an integration of Kaplan and Simon’s (1990) information processing theory of insight, a cognitive style theory, and achievement motivation theory. The style theory is the Assimilator (rule oriented, familiarity seeking) - Explorer (novelty seeking, explorative) styles (Kaufmann, 1979). Our hypothesis was that the effectiveness of two types of search constraints (prior experience and solution hints) for solving insight problems is moderated by both cognitive style and achievement needs, and depending on optimal levels of achievement motivation for different task conditions. We tested the hypothesis in a randomized experiment in which three levels of achievement needs and one type of search constraint (solution hints were available or not available) were experimentally manipulated. In addition participants completed a cognitive style test, a measure of prior problem-solving experience (the second type of search constraint), and controls for intelligence. There were 476 participants (the mean age was 18.4 years). Results revealed two similar and significant three-way interactions between styles, achievement needs, and the two types of search constraints. The pattern of interaction supported the idea that stylistic competence for the task characteristics (with and without search constraints available), when combined with manipulated achievement needs, predicted performance in counterintuitive ways but in line with the classic achievement motivation theory. With appropriate stylistic competence for the task characteristics elevated achievement needs led to poorer performance. With less appropriate stylistic competence, performance improved with increasing motivation. Implications for information processing theory are discussed. Keywords: cognitive style, insight, achievement motivation, information processing

Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior 2 p. 465-487 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032414-111412

Reflective Practice 16(3) p. 403-417 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/14623943.2015.1052387

Elite sport organizations invest considerable efforts in continuous evaluation of training and development. A key challenge is to promote athletes’′ reliable learning. This requires critical reflection. In this paper we look at how highly successful elite cross-country skiers reflect on their training. The theoretical framework of organizational mindfulness and reliable learning directs attention to three key mechanisms that influence reflection: socialization, sensemaking and interpretation. We identified an inherent tension in the way athletes are socialized into elite athletes. On the one hand, they internalize strong beliefs in key success factors. Such beliefs serve as a normative framework that provides commitment and enthusiasm. However, strong beliefs may weaken the athletes’ ability to notice ambiguous feedback signals in complex training situations. We found four different styles of reflection, but only one of them is consistent with requirements for reliable learning.

Group & Organization Management 40(5) p. 657-684 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601115569532

Academy of Management Review 40(3) p. 446-460 Doi: https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2013.0350

e24 (internett)

Magma forskning og viten 15(8) p. 68-76

Leadership Quarterly 23(5) p. 756-765 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2011.12.013

Leadership 8(2) p. 169-185 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1742715011420315

Journal of Behavioral Decision Making 24 p. 482-497 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/bdm.704

Handbook of Intuition Reserach p. 122-132 Doi: https://doi.org/10.4337/9780857936370.00020

Organization science 22(6) p. 1369-1383 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1110.0624

This paper uses data on invoice processing in four organizations to distinguish empirically between two competing theories of organizational routines. One theory predicts that routines should generate patterns of action that are few in number and stable over time, and that atypical patterns of action are driven primarily by exceptional inputs. The competing theory predicts the opposite. By modeling the routines as networks of action and using a first-order Markov model to test for stationarity, we find support for the competing theory. The routines generated hundreds of unique patterns that changed significantly during a five-month period without any apparent external intervention. Changes did not appear to reflect improved performance or learning. Furthermore, we found that exogenous factors (such as large invoices from unusual vendors) are not associated with atypical patterns of action, but endogenous factors (such as the experience of the participants) are. We also found that increased automation can increase variation under some circumstances. These findings offer empirical support for endogenous change in organizational routines and underscore the importance of the sociomaterial context in understanding stability and change.

Information Systems Frontiers 12(3) p. 287-297 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-009-9194-8

Organization Studies 31(7) p. 917-940 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840610373200

Organizational routines : advancing empirical research p. 47-67

International Journal of Organizational Analysis 15(1) p. 23-34

Journal of Applied Psychology 92(5) p. 1320-1331