In Deep Water: Negative Attainment, Attention, and IOR Formation in the Dutch Water Authority Sector

Behavioral theory can be used to explain when search are triggered, yet it is silent on what directs this search and the resulting decisions. Synthesizing the behavioral theory of the firm with the attention-based view fills this gap. We theorize four moderators of the association between negative attainment discrepancy and interorganizational relationship formation: a weaker relationship when attention is on (1) internal issues, and (2) different organizations in the external environment, and a stronger relationship when the attention is on (3) interorganizational collaboration, and (4) similar organizations in the external environment. Applying topic modeling to longitudinal data from the Dutch water authority sector 2008-2014, we find that organizations are more likely to form an interorganizational relationship when performance drops below aspiration and that this effect is indeed moderated by the organization’s attention to aforementioned issues. We discuss theoretical implications, in particular in ...