Laure Cabantous | City, University of London (original) (raw)

Papers by Laure Cabantous

Économie et cognition

« L’économie est une science lugubre car elle fait l’hypothèse que l’homme est égoïste et pingre,... more « L’économie est une science lugubre car elle fait l’hypothèse que l’homme est égoïste et pingre, qu’il est un "calculateur éclairé de plaisirs et de peines, oscillant comme un globule homogène fait de désir de bonheur, sous l’impulsion de stimuli qui le promènent un peu partout mais le laissent intact" ; c’est une science s’appuyant sur une psychologie démodée qui doit être totalement repensée en tenant compte des avancées récentes de la psychologie [...]. Comme nous l’avons vu, une critique..

Academy of Management Proceedings, 2012

Although the academic-practitioner gap has been framed as a knowledge production problem, few stu... more Although the academic-practitioner gap has been framed as a knowledge production problem, few studies have relied on knowledge management research to explain how theory becomes influential over man...

27èmes Journées de Microéconomie Appliquée, Jun 3, 2010

Academy of Management Proceedings, 2017

The behavioral strategy literature investigates how decision makers might use Small World Represe... more The behavioral strategy literature investigates how decision makers might use Small World Representations (SWRs) to guide their actions in situations of extreme uncertainty, but says little about how such representations should be updated during the implementation phase. In this paper, we provide a framework to capture the relationship between SWRs, unknowns and Black Swans, and, drawing on the psychology of reasoning literature, explore different heuristic methods of inquiry that decision makers might use to update their SWRs. We compare the performance of two such methods⎯disconfirmation and counterfactual reasoning⎯in highly uncertain situations characterized by ambiguous and non-definite information. We find that counterfactual reasoning is superior to disconfirmation with respect to (1) counteracting the confirmation bias, (2) promoting the exploration of the scenario space, and (3) favoring the adoption of actions able to mitigate or exploit the consequences of Black Swans.

Long Range Planning, 2018

This special issue groups a set of contributions that together question and extend the boundaries... more This special issue groups a set of contributions that together question and extend the boundaries of strategy research by examining strategy work as a performative pursuit. In this introduction, we position the special issue papers within the broader context of performativity studies in organization and management theory. To do so, we ground the analysis of the performativity of strategy in the recent developments of strategyas-practice research, clarify the ambitions of a performative turn in the study of strategy, introduce the plurality of performativity meanings and uses in prior research and specify the conceptualizations of performativity mobilized in the seven contributions that form this special issue. Taking stock of their rich insights, and reflecting on our editing of this special issue, we then identify key challenges underlying the constitution of the body of studies on the performativity of strategy, and propose three avenues of research that together sketch a research agenda for advancing the study of strategy as a performative endeavour.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2018

Academy of Management Proceedings, 2014

The issue of “why, when and how” some people, but not others, discover opportunities is central t... more The issue of “why, when and how” some people, but not others, discover opportunities is central to our understanding of entrepreneurship. Although there is a growing body of research in this area, opportunity identification remains an ongoing phenomenon of interest as many questions remain unanswered. One important question concerns the effects of experience on opportunity identification. Research suggests that entrepreneurs become more adept at identifying opportunities as they gain experience, but the cognitive processes underlying this relationship remain unclear. This study explores this gap in the literature by addressing the following research question: To what extent can the relationship between entrepreneurial experience and opportunity identification be explained by cognitive strategy? Guided by sound theoretical principles (Cognitive-Experiential Self- Theory) and by a critical review of the scholarly literature, this study argued first, that intuition is a key process that links experience to an enhanced ability for opportunity identification, and second that intuition is most effective when used together with analysis in a versatile cognitive strategy – an approach characterised by high levels of both intuition and analysis, and an ability to switch between them as needed. Building on these arguments, this study develops and tests a model in which intuition and cognitive versatility are hypothesised to mediate the relationship between experience and opportunity identification. Seventy-four technology-entrepreneurs completed a think-aloud protocol analysis exercise in which they generated potential business ideas for three innovative technologies. In addition, they completed an online survey that was designed to control for factors which may influence intuition, cognitive versatility and/or opportunity identification, namely cognitive style, risk perception, risk propensity, and entrepreneurial experience. The model was tested by integrating the survey data with the coded and quantified protocol data in a series of regression and mediation analyses. Consistent with prior research, this study found that experienced entrepreneurs are more proficient than novices at identifying opportunities. Extending previous research, this study shows that intuition and cognitive versatility mediate the relationship between experience and opportunity identification. Not only do experienced entrepreneurs use their intuition to help them identify potentially lucrative opportunities, they also employ a process of analysis to complement their intuition and to ensure that this intuition is not leading them astray. Overall, these results suggest that scholars need to consider cognitive versatility, rather than simply looking at intuition or analysis in isolation, and to think about how this can be shaped to benefit opportunity identification.

Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 2012

Two experiments show that violations of expected utility due to ambiguity, found in general decis... more Two experiments show that violations of expected utility due to ambiguity, found in general decision experiments, also affect belief aggregation. Hence we use modern ambiguity theories to analyze belief aggregation, thus obtaining more refined and empirically more valid results than traditional theories can provide. We can now confirm more reliably that conflicting (heterogeneous) beliefs where some agents express certainty are processed differently than informationally equivalent imprecise homogeneous beliefs. We can also investigate new phenomena related to ambiguity. For instance, agents who express certainty receive extra weight (a cognitive effect related to ambiguity-generated insensitivity) and generate extra preference value (source preference; a motivational effect related to ambiguity aversion). Hence, incentive compatible belief elicitations that prevent manipulation are especially warranted when agents express certainty. For multiple prior theories of ambiguity, our findings imply that the same prior probabilities can be treated differently in different contexts, suggesting an interest of corresponding generalizations.

The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 2018

Decision support systems (DSS) are sophisticated tools that increasingly take advantage of big da... more Decision support systems (DSS) are sophisticated tools that increasingly take advantage of big data and are used to design and implement individual-and organization-level strategic decisions. Yet, when organizations excessively rely on their potential the outcome may be decision-making failure, particularly when such tools are applied under high pressure and turbulent conditions. Partial understanding and unidimensional interpretation can prevent learning from failure. Building on a practice perspective, we study an iconic case of strategic failure in Formula 1 racing. Our approach, which integrates the decision maker as well as the organizational and material context, identifies three interrelated sources of strategic failure that are worth investigation for decision-makers using DSS and big data: (1) the situated nature and affordances of decision-making; (2) the distributed nature of cognition in decision-making; and (3) the performativity of the DSS. We outline specific research questions and their implications for firm performance and competitive advantage. Finally, we advance an agenda that can help close timely gaps in strategic IS research.

Frontiers of entrepreneurship research, 2013

Human Relations, 2015

In recent years, we have witnessed the emergence of ‘critical performativity’, a concept designed... more In recent years, we have witnessed the emergence of ‘critical performativity’, a concept designed to debate relationships between theory and practice and encourage practical interventions in organizational life. Notwithstanding its laudable ambition to stimulate discussion about engagement between critical management studies researchers and practitioners, we are concerned that critical performativity theory is flawed as it misreads foundational performativity authors, such as Austin and Butler, in ways that nullify their political potential, and ignores a range of other influential theories of performativity. It also overlooks the materiality of performativity. We review these limitations and then use three illustrations to sketch out a possible alternative conceptualization of performativity. This alternative approach, which builds on Butler’s and Callon’s work on performativity, recognizes that performativity is about the constitution of subjects, is an inherently material and dis...

Les grands courants en management stratégique

Information ambiguity and conflict are prevalent in insurance decision because experts may not ag... more Information ambiguity and conflict are prevalent in insurance decision because experts may not agree on the probability of the risk. This research investigates insurance decision under either ambiguous and consensual or ambiguous and conflicting information about the probability of the risk. Seventy-eight professional insurers completed a questionnaire that contained two scenario: ”Pollution” and ”Earthquake”. The insurer is asked the premium he would charge to cover the risk in three situations: a risk with a precise probability, a risk with an ambiguous and consensual ambiguity and a risk with an ambiguous and conflicting ambiguity. First, the questionnaire provided evidence for ambiguity aversion but no comparative effect was found. Second, the effect of conflicting evidences was also contemplated. From a statistical point of view, conflicting information is not dispreferred to ambiguous and agreeing messages. However, many insurers mentionned disagreement as a source of greater ...

This report is the result of a three-year study of the global reinsurance industry, covering the ... more This report is the result of a three-year study of the global reinsurance industry, covering the main stakeholders of cedents, reinsurers, and brokers. It examines the implications of profound change arising from shifts in regulation, consolidation in the key players, and increasing competition both within the reinsurance industry and from alternative capital providers. These changes are driving convergence in a market that was, until recently, characterised by significant cultural variation in buying and selling reinsurance. The findings in this report will help industry participants to take stock of their current position in the industry, the specific types of differentiation available, and how these differentiators can create advantage. Specifically, the report provides evidence-based frameworks and models that firms can use to diagnose their existing strategies and structures and consider alternatives.

This paper analyzes the role of academics in the production and maintenance of alternative organi... more This paper analyzes the role of academics in the production and maintenance of alternative organizations within the capitalist system. Empirically, we focus on academics from the University of Buenos Aires who, through the extension programme Facultad Abierta, have supported worker recuperated enterprises (WREs) since their emergence in Argentina in the early 2000s. Conceptually, we build on prior studies on WREs as well as the ‘critical performativity’ concept that we define as scholars’ subversive interventions that can involve the production of new subjectivities, the constitution of new organizational models and/or the bridging of these models to current social movements. Our results uncover the multiple roles of academics in relation to these three facets and highlight the key interactions of these roles. In so doing, our analysis advances prior studies of WREs by clarifying how academics can support alternative organizations while offering a renewed conceptualization of critic...

« Le concept de rationalite donne les limites dans lesquelles l’action organisationnelle doit pre... more « Le concept de rationalite donne les limites dans lesquelles l’action organisationnelle doit prendre place [1] . »« L’irrationalite est une caracteristique fondamentale du comportement organisationnel. La prise de decision organisationnelle est irrationnelle [2] . »

This article analyzes the effects of public intervention and ambiguity on insurance demand. It fi... more This article analyzes the effects of public intervention and ambiguity on insurance demand. It first defines some theoretical predictions about the impact of these two parameters on insurance decision. It then presents the results of an experiment, conducted with 78 participants, 42 real private forest owners and 36 students from a French Forest Engineer School, designed to test the theoretical predictions. The analysis of willingness to pay for insurance (WTP), which was made on the overall data base, leads to two results. First, we find that the presence of public compensation programme induces a reduced insurance demand, whatever the quality of the information about the risk (ambiguous or precise) and the revenue level (low or high). Second, the results show that insurance levels are significantly higher for risks when there is ambiguity regarding the probability of the loss so that, the subjects are ambiguity averse. We also conduct an analysis with separate samples concerning t...