Simple rules usage and organizational performance: Environmental uncertainty and R&D intensity as contingencies

We examine the performance efficacy of simple rules usage and investigate two relevant contingencies (environmental uncertainty and R&D intensity) of the simple rules usage–performance relationship. Our theorizing aligns with research that conceptualizes simple rules as a managerial technique that provides direction to, and guidance for, organizational members. We analyze a two-wave survey dataset of 267 US-based firms to empirically evaluate our hypotheses. Our analysis reveals that simple rules usage is positively associated with organizational performance. Results further indicate that R&D intensity positively moderates the simple rules usage-performance relationship. Contrary to widely-held expectations of the literature, we do not find support for the moderating role of environmental uncertainty in the simple rules usage-performance relationship. Overall, our investigation contributes to the literature by establishing explicit relationship hypotheses, presenting a measure of simple rules usage with broadspectrum applicability, and exploring two key boundary conditions (contextual contingencies) of simple rules usage.

Abstract as published in SSRN.