Managers need to periodically evaluate any exchange partner to decide whether to continue or dissolve the exchange tie, but doing so can be challenging because of causal ambiguity: it can be difficult to attribute organizational performance to any specific underlying factor. One way managers may evaluate their exchange partners is by observing the performance trajectories of competitors who rely on the same exchange partners. We propose a theory of vicarious performance feedback and test it in the context of Formula One motor racing. We find that a firm building a Formula One racing car is more likely to end an exchange relationship with an engine supplier after that supplier’s other customers experience an episode of poor performance relative to their historic track record. In line with an attention-based view of the firm, this behavior occurs when the firm’s own performance is below its aspiration level. This work extends our understanding of how managers use vicarious learning to supplement their direct experience when evaluating their exchange partners, expands our thinking about network dynamics by showing how network neighbors’ experiences can influence tie decisions made within a dyad, and contributes to the cognitive foundations of problemistic search by showing how external information is integrated into managers’ responses to their own firm’s underperformance.

中文翻译：

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市场网络中的领带解散：替代绩效反馈理论

管理人员需要定期评估任何交换合作伙伴，以决定是继续还是解除交换关系，但由于因果关系模糊，这样做可能具有挑战性：很难将组织绩效归因于任何特定的潜在因素。管理者评估他们的交换伙伴的一种方法是观察依赖相同交换伙伴的竞争对手的绩效轨迹。我们提出了一种替代性能反馈理论，并在一级方程式赛车的背景下对其进行了测试。我们发现，制造一级方程式赛车的公司更有可能在发动机供应商的其他客户经历过与其历史记录相比表现不佳的情况后终止与该发动机供应商的交换关系。与基于注意力的公司观点一致，当公司自身的绩效低于其期望水平时，就会发生这种行为。这项工作扩展了我们对管理者在评估他们的交流伙伴时如何使用替代学习来补充他们的直接经验的理解，通过展示网络邻居的经验如何影响二元组内的领带决策，扩展了我们对网络动态的思考，并有助于认知基础通过展示外部信息如何整合到管理者对他们自己公司业绩不佳的反应中来解决问题搜索的问题。