Managers’ regulatory focus, temporal focus and exploration–exploitation activities

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine and gain further insight into the potential link between regulatory focus and exploration–exploitation at the individual manager level. More specifically, the authors hypothesised that temporal focus would act as a mediator in the relationship between managers’ regulatory foci and exploration–exploitation activities. Design/methodology/approach: A survey was conducted with 541 managers from the USA. The model was tested using OLS regression models, followed by bootstrapped multiple-mediation analyses. Findings: Managers’ promotion and prevention foci are associated with the extent to which they focus on the past, the present and the future, which is related to managers’ exploration and exploitation activities. Research limitations/implications: The findings rely on self-report data. Practical implications: This paper examines the chronic strategic tendencies of managers with different levels of promotion and prevention focus – in particular, the timeframes they are likely to focus on and exploration–exploitation levels they are likely to engage in. In doing so, this paper provides managers a way to detect and overcome their chronic strategic shortcomings. Originality/value: This paper not only examines the link between regulatory focus and exploration–exploitation at the individual level, but also provides further insights regarding the nature of this relationship. More specifically, by putting forward temporal focus as a mediator of this relationship, this study contributes to the ongoing discussion about the potential link between regulatory focus and exploration–exploitation, and poses new questions for future research.