The effects of performance and team cohesion on attribution: A longitudinal simulation

Abstract

Prior attribution research has found that firm managers attribute good firm performance to sound management, and bad firm performance to external, uncontrollable factors. However, this research has relied mainly on content analysis of annual report text and has not considered the impact of team processes and temporal factors on attribution. The current study examined the effects of team cohesion and relative firm performance on attributions using 81 teams of undergraduate seniors that managed mock firms within a complex strategic management simulation for 11 weeks. Superior firm performance was attributed to the team, whereas inferior firm performance was attributed to external factors. Team cohesion was positively associated with internal attributions, regardless of relative firm performance. Interestingly, team cohesion did not strengthen the relationship between superior firm performance and team-serving attributions. © 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.