The performance effects of attentional focus, vigilance, and switching

While prior research has examined the relationship between the three attention dimensions and firm performance, none has analyzed all three simultaneously. Consequently, our understanding of the complexity of attention allocation and the diverse ways organizations distribute attention remains limited. This study shows how varying levels of attentional focus, vigilance, and switching combine to produce four patterns of organizational attention. Drawing on a longitudinal dataset of 2,489 firm‑year observations and 10,221 quarterly earnings calls from the top 300 S&P Index companies (2010–2020), we demonstrate how trade‑offs and complementarities among the three attention dimensions give rise to different performance outcomes. We also show how the effects of these organizational attention patterns are shaped by five organizational factors. Taken together, these findings extend existing understanding of organizational attention by illustrating how organizational attention patterns relate to a broad range of performance outcomes within particular organizational contexts.