Why flimsy frameworks lead to behavior change for stuck individuals
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Organizations have access to over 3,500 documented frameworks. Even more frameworks develop regularly to proliferate within organizations. I define a "flimsy framework" as a framework that individuals would not expect a priori to be able to achieve its stated goal. Traditionally, it has not been clear why flimsy frameworks propagate in organizations. Some researchers have suggested it is due to the momentum of having an early success streak. I argue that flimsy frameworks may propagate precisely because they are flimsy and non-threatening. Before experiencing a framework, individuals expected a flimsy framework to be less effective than either no framework or more substantial frameworks (Studies 1a and 1b). However, after experiencing a framework, individuals that were stuck on their projects achieved a different actual result. A flimsy framework led stuck individuals to put more effort into their projects than did no framework or more substantial frameworks (Studies 2-4). This effect can be explained by the fact that the flimsy framework decreases the degree to which taking an action feels overwhelming (Study 4). Taken together, this research demonstrates that individuals underestimate the expected effectiveness of a flimsy framework. Because flimsy frameworks feel non-threatening, such frameworks disinhibit individuals that are stuck into moving forward on their projects.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2013 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Maymin, Senia, Ms |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Graduate School of Business. |
| Primary advisor | Heath, Chip |
| Thesis advisor | Heath, Chip |
| Thesis advisor | Neale, Margaret Ann |
| Thesis advisor | Pfeffer, Jeffrey |
| Advisor | Neale, Margaret Ann |
| Advisor | Pfeffer, Jeffrey |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Senia Maymin. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Graduate School of Business. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2013. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2013 by Senia Maymin
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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