Less Severe but More Intense: Achievability as Search Motivation in the Vicinity of Aspirations

Behavioral theory of the firm (BTOF) predicts that organizations are motivated to intensify their search as their performance falls below aspirations. We investigate why organizations address small performance gaps, arguing that closing these gaps is perceived as easily achievable, motivating intensified search efforts. This leads to a U-shaped relationship between the performance-aspiration gap and search intensity near aspirations. Using patent data from 1980 to 2015, we find support for our hypotheses. We contribute to the BTOF by showing a more complex functional form of the relationship between performance shortfall and search, deviating from the typical linear and inverted-U shaped patterns.