Country-of-origin effects on managers' environmental scanning behaviours: evidence from the political crisis in the Eurozone

Abstract

Using original survey data, we investigate how British, French, and Swedish managers scanned their political environments during the crisis in the Eurozone. We expose instances when country of origin has a significant effect on scanning practices: British managers claimed to possess the most developed political scanning capabilities, making the most frequent use of government information sources. British and Swedish managers used business associations as intelligence sources more frequently than their French counterparts. We also found that exposure to the Euro crisis significantly affected scanning behaviours: irrespective of country of origin, managers strongly exposed to the crisis considered it strategically important to scan political events during the crisis, developed formal scanning routines, and reported frequent use of both governments and business associations as sources of political information. Combined, our findings contribute to county-specific research into executives' environmental scanning practices by suggesting a universal mindset of environmental scanning during times of crisis.