Lally School of Management, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, United States
This research delves into the interplay between multi-business firms’ inter-temporal resource arrangement and temporal focus balance. Using S&P 1500 firms as sample and measure temporal focus balance from their earnings call transcripts, we examined the extent to which multi-business entities possess a balanced temporal focus compared to their single-business counterparts driven by their inter-temporal resource arrangement potential. Furthermore, we also studied the implications of such a balance on the firms’ resource flexibility and efficiency. Empirical findings indicate a significant presence of temporal focus balance among multi-business firms, this feature leads to a higher level of resource flexibility but in an in-efficient way. In summary, this study reveals the paradox that multi-business firms face. While a balanced temporal focus can be a strategic strength in resource flexibility, it may inadvertently lead to inefficiencies in resource allocation.
