In the eye of the beholder: Managers’ long-term time orientation and firm decision making processes

While time has long been recognized as an important dimension in strategy research, few studies have explored how decision makers’ perception of time drives firm strategic decision making processes. We propose that managers’ subjective perception of time affects the strategic decision making process in terms of comprehensiveness, speed, and creativity and that these relationships are moderated by a firm’s industry context. We find support for our hypotheses within the semiconductor and pharmaceutical industries of China suggesting that the incorporation of temporal constructs into theories of competitive advantage help explain heterogeneity amongst firms, a central premise of strategic management.