Resumo

Attention-Based View (ABV) presents the possibility of explaining organizational behavior providing gaps not explained by traditional economic approaches in the field of strategy. Driven by changes, the practice of strategic organizations has changed since the original publication by Ocasio (1997). These changes led to the development of greater cognitive demands on members of the organization. The absence of methods and tools did not allow the assessment of attention from the individual’s perspective.

The structure and social relationships in organizations condition the situational context and managers' attention to the situations in which they find themselves. Decision makers are involved with specific questions that demand different answers, leading to a variation in the focus of attention depending on the functions to which they are allocated. But what is the influence of the organizational structure on the attention of individuals? Our objective was to understand the aspects of the structural distribution of attention that influence the attention of individuals in organizations.

Our theoretical choice was the Attention-Based View (ABV). In this theory that organizational behavior results from channeling and distributing the attention of its decision-makers and was developed with three principles: focus on attention, situated attention, and structural distribution of attention (Ocasio, 1997). We analyze the principle of Structural Distribution of Attention where structure and social relationships in organizations condition the situational context in which the manager finds himself and the attention managers pay to the situations in which they find themselves.

We performed two distinct and interlinked studies considered experiments using an eye tracking tool, RealEye. In the first study, we evaluated the effect of training (as a proxy for the function) on managerial care and the individual characteristics of future managers (n=151). In the second study, we evaluated the effect of function/position on managerial care and the individual characteristics of professionals (n=140) working in organizations. We analyzed the data quantitatively used static Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), T-test, Hotelling's T2, GLM analysis and MANOVA.

Our results (Study 1) demonstrate that the initial training of individuals is not always consistent with their professional profile. Individuals are distributed in different functions and end up adapting to these spaces and activities, allocating their attention to what matters for the execution of tasks. Regarding professionals who have experience in organizations (Study 2) the allocation of attention can be affected by the role/position of managers in organizations. The allocation of attention to the AOIs was similarly distributed in the two formats of image presented as a stimulus.

We conclude that the professional profile and the organizational environment (internship) influence the choice of information in the areas of interest (AOI) of future managers. About managers, we concluded that the professional profile influences the choice of information (AOI) for the allocation of care. The initial training of decision-makers (managers) becomes less relevant than their professional profile, which is shaped based on their professional experiences and practices.

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