996: Behavioral Strategy in a Dynamic, Uncertain, and Ambiguous World (18202)

Organizer(s)

• HS

  Hui Sun

  Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, Sweden

Participant(s)

• VG

  Vibha Gaba

  INSEAD, Singapore

Presenter(s)

• HS

  Hui Sun

  Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, Sweden

Discussant(s)

• DL

  Daniel Levinthal

  U. of Pennsylvania, United States
• AM

  Alan Meyer

  U. of Oregon, United States

Organizer(s)

• AZ

  Amy Zhao-Ding

  Technical U. of Munich, Germany

Presenter(s)

• JC

  Jaeho Choi

  HKUST Business School, Hong Kong

Participant(s)

• JS

  Jamie Seoyeon Song

  ESMT European School of Management and Technology, Germany

Presenter(s)

• CL

  Cha Li

  U. of Texas at Austin, United States

Participant(s)

• XS

  Xirong Shen

  McCombs School of Business, U. of Texas at Austin, United States
• FP

  Francisco Polidoro

  U. of Texas at Austin, United States
• JL

  Jizhen Li

  Tsinghua U., China

Presenter(s)

• AZ

  Amy Zhao-Ding

  Technical U. of Munich, Germany

In today’s dynamic, uncertain, and ambiguous environment, the future is often “unpredictably different from the past, and information about the future is incomplete, unknown, or unavailable” (Furr & Eisenhardt 2021: 1916). Firms struggle to understand and adapt to changes driven by emerging technologies (like large language models), escalating geopolitical tensions (such as the Ukrainian wars), and macroeconomic shifts (including interest rate hikes). These challenges underscore the need to comprehend how decision-makers understand that decision-making context, how they interpret ambiguous or even contradictory feedback, and how they mobilize internal and external support for change in a highly uncertain environment. This symposium aims to enrich our understanding by showcasing new research in a diverse set of entrepreneurial and innovation contexts. For example, Jamie Seoyeon Song and Jaeho Choi explore the impact of divergent feedback on entrepreneurial pivoting in the context of Product Hunt. Xirong (Subrina) Shen, Cha Li, Francisco Polidoro Jr., and Jizhen Li utilize detailed data on A/B testing in a large tech firm to investigate how experiences with interdependence affect decision-makers' subsequent product innovation searches. Amy Zhao-Ding and Vibha Gaba's paper probes how market aggregate feedback—user evaluations for existing competitive products—informs Photo & Video mobile app developers' product positioning in the functional space. Hui Sun employs computational simulation to uncover how ambiguity—an intrinsic property of language—shapes the evolution of interpretations within organizations. Collectively, the set of papers explores nuances in how organizations learn and adapt in complex decision-making contexts with diverse, ambiguous, and interdependent feedback.

Presentations:

• 16:00 – 17:30 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

  996: Learning From Community Feedback: A Study of The Entrepreneurial Pivoting Process (18202)
  

  Author: Jamie Seoyeon Song – ESMT European School of Management and Technology

  Author: Jaeho Choi – HKUST Business School
• 16:00 – 17:30 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

  996: Learning from Intra-Organizational Interdependence in Digital Experimentation (18202)
  

  Author: Xirong Shen – McCombs School of Business, U. of Texas at Austin

  Author: Cha Li – U. of Texas at Austin

  Author: Francisco Polidoro – U. of Texas at Austin

  Author: Jizhen Li – Tsinghua U.
• 16:00 – 17:30 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

  996: Market Aggregate Feedback and Firm’s Product Positioning in Multi-Functional Markets (18202)
  

  Author: Amy Zhao-Ding – Technical U. of Munich

  Author: Vibha Gaba – INSEAD
• 16:00 – 17:30 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

  996: The Invisible Hand of Language: How Ambiguity Drives the Evolution of Interpretations (18202)
  

  Author: Hui Sun – Frankfurt School of Finance & Management