A Configurational Perspective on the Quality of Managers’ Counterfactual Reflections
通过对129位管理者的访谈和定性比较分析，发现反事实反思质量取决于管理者在特定情境下的能力和动机，高反思质量仅出现在两者都高时，而低质量则与满意、冷漠或防御等状态相关。
Counterfactual reflection (CFR)—thinking about “what might have been if”—can enhance learning from experience, but only if the CFR is high-quality. Yet, what shapes differences in CFR quality remains largely unknown. Because managers typically reflect on experiences by concomitantly considering relevant factors and their collective interdependencies, we suggest that CFR quality is causally complex. To investigate this possibility, we interviewed 129 managers. In these interviews, they reflected on recently concluded business-to-business negotiations. Using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis, we find three equifinal configurations of negotiation factors associated with high-quality CFR and eight associated with low-quality CFR. Drawing on the interviews, we identify managers’ ability to disentangle causal linkages in their past negotiation and their motivation for high-quality CFR in the present as plausible mechanisms underlying differences in CFR quality. We find high-quality CFR only following experiences where managers possess high levels of both situation-specific ability and motivation. In contrast, experiences that leave managers feeling unable or unmotivated due to high satisfaction, indifference, or defensiveness, are linked to low-quality CFR. Overall, our study advances understanding of why there are differences in CFR quality by linking past experiences with managers’ abilities and motivation. From a managerial perspective, we suggest that organizations avoid “one size fits all” approaches to CFR. Instead, we recommend actionable measures for both reflecting managers and their supervisors to address the specific reasons that prevent managers from engaging in high-quality CFR after their negotiation experiences.