How Top Managers Change Their Portfolio of Organizational Heuristics

In this paper, we explore how and why top managers change their portfolio of organizational heuristics. Based on a case study at a large broadcasting firm, we explore three mechanisms through which top managers conduct such changes: recontextualizing existing, creating new and modifying heuristics. Furthermore, we unveil the enabling role of what we refer to as “perceived ecological rationality”, showing that its strong, weak and moderate manifestations are associated with the identified mechanisms. Our framework extends the burgeoning literature on organizational heuristics by shedding light on the enablers and mechanisms of top managers’ efforts to change their portfolio of organizational heuristics, and by rethinking “ecological rationality” as a perceived construct.