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Organizational attention and learning under regulatory intervention: Governmental investigation into auto engine quality
Author(s) -
Rhee Mooweon,
Kim YoungChoon
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
canadian journal of administrative sciences / revue canadienne des sciences de l'administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.347
H-Index - 48
eISSN - 1936-4490
pISSN - 0825-0383
DOI - 10.1002/cjas.1445
Subject(s) - government (linguistics) , argument (complex analysis) , unintended consequences , product (mathematics) , quality (philosophy) , process (computing) , economic interventionism , intervention (counseling) , order (exchange) , regulator , business , economics , public economics , psychology , political science , computer science , law , philosophy , biochemistry , linguistics , chemistry , geometry , mathematics , epistemology , finance , psychiatry , politics , gene , operating system
We examine the efficacy of government regulation on a firm's product. We draw on the behavioural approach of organization research in order to understand the micromechanisms whereby the regulatory intervention process affects corporate operation. We suggest that while government investigations may limit the improvements in product quality by distracting a firm's attention, this unintended outcome depends on the extent to which the firm engages in a substantive problem‐solving process with the regulator during an investigation process. A longitudinal analysis of the US government's investigation into motor vehicle engine production offers overall support for our argument. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications that our findings present to learning theory and institutional literature. Copyright © 2017 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.