Maps for Managers: Where Are We? Where Do We Go From Here?

Research on managerial cognition in genetal, and on cognitive mapping in particular, is receving a great deal of attention in Europe and the US, but the work being done is currently disparate and loosely coupled. Furthermor, the development of maps as a decision aid has tended to focus on specific sub‐areas of cognition. In this article we argue that the broad strategic concerns of managers require a portfolio of different kinds of cognitive maps. The interactions among these maps are as important as the functions of each one separately. We develop a framework for classifying cognitice maps and argue for the importance of managing multiple maps.