Why managers do what they do

Abstract

When it comes to descriptions of what managers do in practice, and insights about what managers ought to do, the literature provides a wealth of information. When it comes to explaining why managers do what they do, or why an almost infinite variety exists in what they do, however, the literature grows notably silent. We explore this complex question about the whys in the context of marketing strategy implementation in smaller industrial organizations. Using a symbolic interactionist perspective to analyze interview transcripts, we trace a link that exists between managers’ thinking, subjective interpretations, and actions, and address questions about why marketing implementation processes unfold the way they do in practice.

Citation

Sashittal, H.C. and Jassawalla, A.R. (1998), "Why managers do what they do", Management Decision, Vol. 36 No. 8, pp. 533-542. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251749810232619