Abstract Versus Concrete: How Managers’ Construal Influences Organizational Control Systems and Problem Solving

This research considers how frontline managers’ construal affects their conceptualization of organizational problems, which in turn influences how they incentivize employees to search out appropriate solutions. Depending on whether they conceptualize problems in more abstract or more concrete ways, frontline managers will vary in organizational control mechanisms they use to incentivize their employees to engage in exploration and exploitation. Based on these relationships, we expect the solutions achieved by employees to vary in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. Using a database of 267 projects in a single firm, we find that, after holding project attributes constant, concrete-oriented managers tend to utilize more process controls that lead employees to solve organizational problems more efficiently, whereas abstract-oriented managers tend toward use of more outcome controls that lead to more effective problem solving. When employees engage in ambidextrous learning, both effectiveness and efficiency of outcomes are enhanced. This research sheds light on important microfoundational influences on organizational outcomes.