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Abstractness, concreteness, and strategic surprises.

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Strategic surprises arise not from information errors, but from thinking too abstractly or too concretely. Understanding mental representations helps anticipate and mitigate unexpected strategic events.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Strategic Management
  • Decision Sciences

Background:

  • Traditional models attribute strategic surprises to information processing errors like inattention or misinterpretation.
  • Existing theories focus on deficits in information acquisition and utilization as primary causes.
  • These models often overlook the role of cognitive representations in strategic interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose a novel explanation for strategic surprises centered on mental representations.
  • To introduce Construal Level Theory (CLT) as a framework for understanding strategic surprise.
  • To demonstrate the wide applicability of this CLT-based account across diverse domains.

Main Methods:

  • Theoretical development integrating Construal Level Theory with strategic interaction.
  • Conceptual analysis and synthesis of existing literature on strategic surprise.
  • Illustration of the proposed framework across various real-world contexts.

Main Results:

  • Strategic surprises emerge when mental representations are either too abstract or too concrete.
  • Thinking at inappropriate levels of abstraction can lead to unexpected outcomes in strategic settings.
  • The theory offers a parsimonious explanation applicable to interpersonal, organizational, and international relations.

Conclusions:

  • The level of mental abstraction is a critical factor in the emergence of strategic surprises.
  • Future research should explore the nuances of construal levels in strategic decision-making.
  • Actionable strategies can be developed to manage mental representations and reduce vulnerability to surprises.