Bridging micro and macro through experimental information acceleration

Among leading organizations in all sectors there is evidence that successful managers possess the capability to deal with contradictory tensions within their “macro” competitive and institutional environments. Furthermore, the strategic thinking and decision-making capabilities expected of managers highlight the importance of “micro” processes within organizations. Although macro and micro perspectives are intuitively linked, the empirical literature often separates these two perspectives into either strategy content or process. This paper demonstrates how an experimental method based on “discrete choice analysis” and “information acceleration” can be used to bridge the divide between “micro” managerial processes and the “macro” environmental contexts framing them. This method is behaviorally sound and provides greater control over alternate explanations. Practically, we unpack the role managers play as orchestrators of exploitation and exploration.