Relationships between the cognitive structures of organizational members and the structures of the organizations to which they belong have been the subject of considerable theoretical speculation. Limited empirical evidence suggests the two structures are related but the issue of directionality has not been investigated. The study reported here adopts an attribution theory perspective to test the causal nature of this relationship in an experimental setting. The findings in this initial investigation of the causal linkages between cognitive and organizational structures support the view that the cognitive structures of strategic decision makers are largely irrelevant.
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