Managers’ Preferences for Timing of Investment in a New Technology: Role of Motivation and Ability

This study proposes perceived capability and motivation, as important determinants of managers’ preference for the timing of investment on an emerging technology. First, by considering motivation as an important contingency to the perception of capability gap, this research explains how combination of motivation and capability gap determine whether managers delay investment in emerging technologies. Moreover, the study posits exploration approach as an important underlying mechanism that links the joint effects and the manager’s timing of the investment decision. In this study, both the conditions under which and the mechanism through which timing of manager’s investment decision is shaped are examined. A moderated mediation framework is tested using data from managers in health care sector faced with Internet of Things (IoT) in an experimental setting and discuss how the findings advance strategic decision-making and behavioral strategy research.