The cognitive organization of competition : the case of Scottish knitwear

76 Pages·1993·3.6 MB·English

by  Porac, Joseph Francis Allen, 1952-

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http://www.archive.org/details/cognitiveorganiz93148pora
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The Cognitive Organization of Competition:
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Joseph F Porac Howard Thomas
ProfessorofBusinessAdministration ProfessorofBusinessAdministration
University ofIllinois UniversityofIllinois
Fiona Wilson Douglas Paton
University ofSL Andrews Curtin University
Alaina Michaelson
Ph.D. Student
University ofIllinois
Bureau of Economic and Business Research
College of Commerce and Business Administration
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

BEBR
FACULTY WORKING PAPER NO. 93-0148
College of Commerce and Business Administration
University of Illinois at Crbana-Champaign
July 1993
The Cognitive Organization of Competition:
The Case of Scottish Knitwear
Joseph F. Porac
Howard Thomas
Fiona Wilson
Douglas Paton
Alaina Michaelson

The Cognitive Organization of Competition:
The Case of Scottish Knitwear
by
Joseph F. Porac
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Howard Thomas
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Fiona Wilson
University of St. Andrews
Douglas Paton
Curtin University
Alaina Michaelson
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Address all correspondence to:
Joseph Porac
Department of Business Administration
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
350 Commerce West
1206 S. Sixth Street
Champaign, IL 61820
Running Head: Cognitive Organization

The Cognitive Organization of Competition: The Case of Scottish Knitwear
ABSTRACT
We report the results of research undertaken to map the cognitive structures
underlying competition in the Scottish knitwear industry. Drawing from research and theory on
cognitive categorization, the research addresses three questions: (1) What is the cognitive
ordering that managers use to make sense of organizational variation, (2) What organizational
attributes seem to be involved in this accepted ordering, and (3) Does the collective mental
model of organizational forms bear any relation to the pattern of competitive interactions in the
industry. The results suggest that a six category cognitive ordering best describes the
commonsense of competition in the industry, and that an ensemble of attributes involving size,
technology, product style, and geographic location forms the foundation for this ordering. In
addition, the results suggest that this six cluster ordering is reproduced within the pattern of
competitive relationships reported by managers in the industry.