The Managerial Tunnel Effect in Digitalizing Organizations: A Conceptual Model Proposal
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63556/tisej.2026.1665Keywords:
Managerial tunnel effect, organizational myopia, short-termism, digitalization, strategic foresightAbstract
This study examines the managerial tunnel effect in digitalizing organizations within a conceptual framework and proposes an original model that integrates concepts often addressed in a fragmented manner in the literature. Organizational myopia, strategic short-termism, narrow vision, managerial blindness, collective blindness, silo syndrome, analytical maturity myopia, and future myopia are systematically discussed across cognitive, structural, cultural, and technological dimensions. The proposed conceptual model demonstrates that the managerial tunnel effect does not arise solely from individual cognitive limitations but also from the interaction of organizational norms, structural disconnections, and performance pressures generated by digitalization. The model highlights negative outcomes such as the loss of strategic diversity, weakened organizational learning, and sustainability risks, while also emphasizing intervention areas including organizational learning, strategic foresight, cultural transformation, and the institutionalization of long-term performance indicators. In this way, the study addresses the conceptual fragmentation in the literature and provides a holistic theoretical framework for understanding the managerial tunnel effect. Furthermore, it explains new forms of blindness emerging in the context of digitalization and develops solution-oriented recommendations for both academia and practice.
References
Acar, Z., & Mete, M. (2023). The mediator role of leader-member exchange in the effect of organizational knowledge sharing on organizational blindness in healthcare professionals: Chain hospital example. Eurasian Academy of Sciences Eurasian Econometrics, Statistics & Empirical Economics Journal, 24, 29–44. https://ideas.repec.org/a/eas/econst/ v24y2023i24p29-44.html
Akdede, S. H., & Turan, A. H. (2008). Bilişim sistemlerinin KOBİ’lerin performansına etkileri: Kaynak temelli yaklaşım ile Denizli ilinde ampirik bir uygulama. Ankara Üniversitesi SBF Dergisi, 63(4), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1501/SBFder_0000002077
Akter, S., Wamba, S. F., Gunasekaran, A., Dubey, R., & Childe, S. J. (2016). How to improve firm performance using big data analytics capability and business strategy alignment? International Journal of Production Economics, 182, 113–131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2016.08.018
Ali, A., Mancha, R., & Pachamanova, D. (2018). Correcting analytics maturity myopia. Business Horizons, 61(2), 211–219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2017.11.003
Altınay, A., Mercan, N., Aksanyar, Y., & Sert, S. (2012). İşletme körlüğü, silo sendromu ve çözüm önerisi olarak örgütsel zeka. Organizasyon ve Yönetim Bilimleri Dergisi, 4(1), 13–19. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/oybd/issue/16339/171079
Ansoff, H. I. (1975). Managing strategic surprise by response to weak signals. California Management Review, 18(2), 21–33. https://doi.org/10.2307/41164635
Argyris, C., & Schön, D. A. (1978). Organizational learning: A theory of action perspective. Addison-Wesley Pub. Co.
Aspara, J., Pajunen, K., Tikkanen, H., & Tainio, R. (2014). Explaining corporate short-termism: self-reinforcing processes and biases among investors, the media and corporate managers. Socio-Economic Review, 12(4), 667–693. https://doi.org/10.1093/ser/mwu019
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17(1), 99–120. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639101700108
Bazerman, M. H., & Moore, D. A. (2012). Judgment in managerial decision making (8 e.). The USA: Wiley.
Bento, F., Tagliabue, M., & Lorenzo, F. (2020). Organizational silos: A scoping review informed by a behavioral perspective on systems and networks. Societies, 10(3), 56. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc10030056
Bilgiç, E., Türkmenoğlu, M. A., & Batı, G. B. (2019). İş analitiği ve değer zinciri: Detaylı ve sistematik bir literatür taraması. Erciyes Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, (54), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.18070/erciyesiibd.510774
Bıyıkbeyi, T. (2023). Örgütsel körlüğün öncülleri ve ardılları. İçinde M. Avcı, E. Kara, & A. Kaya (Ed.), Örgütsel davranış araştırmaları (1 b., ss. 372–384). Ankara: Eğitim Yayınevi.
Bıyıkbeyi, T., & Tatlı, H. S. (2025). Dinamik çevrelerde örgütsel miyopiden kurtulmak: Örgütsel öğrenme açısından inceleme. Yönetim Bilimleri Dergisi, 23(55), 588–611. https://doi.org/10.35408/comuybd.1571534
Brielmaier, C., & Friesl, M. (2023). The attention-based view: Review and conceptual extension towards situated attention. International Journal of Management Reviews, 25(1), 99–129. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12306
Bromiley, P., & Rau, D. (2016). Social, behavioral, and cognitive influences on upper echelons during strategy process: A literature review. Journal of Management, 42(1), 174–202. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206315617240
Brown, M. E., Treviño, L. K., & Harrison, D. A. (2005). Ethical leadership: A social learning perspective for construct development and testing. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 97(2), 117–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2005.03.002
Burrell, J. (2016). How the machine ‘thinks’: Understanding opacity in machine learning algorithms. Big Data & Society, 3(1), 2053951715622512. https://doi.org/10.1177/2053951715622512
Catino, M. (2013). Organizational myopia: Problems of rationality and foresight in organizations. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139208819
Chen, H., Chiang, R. H. L., & Storey, V. C. (2012). Business intelligence and analytics: From big data to big impact. MIS Quarterly, 36(4), 1165–1188. https://doi.org/10.2307/41703503
Chikudate, N. (1999). The state of collective myopia in Japanese business communities: A phenomenological study for exploring blocking mechanisms for change. Journal of Management Studies, 36(1), 69–86. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6486.00126
Chikudate, N. (2002). Collective myopia and disciplinary power behind the scenes of unethical practices: A diagnostic theory on Japanese organization. Journal of Management Studies, 39(3), 289–307. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6486.00293
Chikudate, N. (2015). Collective myopia in Japanese organizations: A transcultural approach for identifying corporate meltdowns (1 e.). New York: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137450852
Cilliers, F., & Greyvenstein, H. (2012). The impact of silo mentality on team identity: An organisational case study. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 38(2), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajip.v38i2.993
Currie, W. L. (1999). Revisiting management innovation and change programmes: Strategic vision or tunnel vision? Omega, 27(6), 647–660. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0305-0483(99)00023-7
Czakon, W., Klimas, P., & Kawa, A. (2023). Re-thinking strategic myopia: A necessary condition analysis of heuristic and firm's performance. Industrial Marketing Management, 115, 99–109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2023.09.015
Davenport, T. H., & Harris, J. G. (2007). Competing on analytics: The new science of winning. Harvard Business School Press.
Deephouse, D. L., & Carter, S. M. (2005). An examination of differences between organizational legitimacy and organizational reputation. Journal of Management Studies, 42(2), 329–360. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2005.00499.x
Diamond, M. A., & Allcorn, S. (2009). Silo mentality. In M. A. Diamond & S. Allcorn (Eds.), Private Selves in Public Organizations: The Psychodynamics of Organizational Diagnosis and Change (pp. 49–72). New York: Palgrave Macmillan US. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230620094_4
Doğan, İ. F. (2022). Örgütlerde iş birliği ile değer yaratmada “silo liderlik tarzı”nın etkisi üzerine bir değerlendirme. Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 19(3), 1502–1512. https://doi.org/10.33437/ksusbd.1195599
Doz, Y., & Wilson, K. (2017). Ringtone: Exploring the rise and fall of Nokia in mobile phones. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198777199.001.0001
Edmondson, A. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350–383. https://doi.org/10.2307/2666999
Faraj, S., Pachidi, S., & Sayegh, K. (2018). Working and organizing in the age of the learning algorithm. Information and Organization, 28(1), 62–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infoandorg.2018.02.005
Fombrun, C. J. (2018). Reputation: Realizing value from the corporate image (20th Anniversary edition). Harvard Business School Press.
Gao, L., & Yin, H. (2025). Managerial myopia and greenwashing: A machine learning and text analysis approach. International Review of Financial Analysis, 105, 104452. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irfa.2025.104452
George, G., Haas, M. R., & Pentland, A. (2014). Big data and management. Academy of Management Journal, 57(2), 321–326. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2014.4002
Guo, X., Li, M., Wang, Y., & Mardani, A. (2023). Does digital transformation improve the firm’s performance? From the perspective of digitalization paradox and managerial myopia. Journal of Business Research, 163, 113868. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.113868
Gürçay, G. (2019). Örgütsel körlük, silo sendromu ve örgüt iklimi ilişkisi: İnşaat sektöründe bir araştırma [Yayınlanmamış Doktora Tezi, İstanbul Gelişim Üniversitesi]. Ulusal Tez Merkezi, Tez No: 622514. İstanbul.
Hansen, J. A., & Nielsen, P. A. (2022). How do public managers learn from performance information? Experimental evidence on problem focus, innovative search, and change. Public Administration Review, 82(5), 946–957. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13533
Joseph, J., Laureiro Martinez, D., Nigam, A., Ocasio, W., & Rerup, C. (2024). Research frontiers on the attention-based view of the firm. Strategic Organization, 22(1), 6–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/14761270231223397
Karaboğa, T., & Zehir, C. (2020). Büyük verinin etkin yönetiminde stratejik uyum ve veri odaklı kültür. IBAD Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi(8), 63–76. https://doi.org/10.21733/ibad.717117
Kılıç, T. (2024). Development of organizational blindness scale. Uluslararası Akademik Birikim Dergisi, 7(3), 285–294. https://akademikbirikimdergisi.com/index.php/uabd/article/ view/246/276
Larwood, L., & Whittaker, W. (1977). Managerial myopia: Self-serving biases in organizational planning. Journal of Applied Psychology, 62(2), 194–198. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.62.2.194
Laverty, K. J. (1996). Economic “short-termism”: The debate, the unresolved issues, and the implications for management practice and research. Academy of Management Review, 21(3), 825–860. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1996.9702100316
Laverty, K. J. (2004). Managerial myopia or systemic short‐termism? Management Decision, 42(8), 949–962. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251740410555443
Lawrence, P. R., & Lorsch, J. W. (1967). Differentiation and integration in complex organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 12(1), 1–47. https://doi.org/10.2307/2391211
Leistner, F. (2012). Connecting organizational silos: Taking knowledge flow management to the next level with social media. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Levinthal, D., & Posen, H. E. (2007). Myopia of selection: Does organizational adaptation limit the efficacy of population selection? Administrative Science Quarterly, 52(4), 586–620. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20109945
Levinthal, D. A., & March, J. G. (1993). The myopia of learning. Strategic Management Journal, 14(S2), 95–112. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250141009
Liu, L., Lei, K., Jin, H., & Teng, Y.-P. (2023). R&D investment, executive incentive, and financial performance in GEM: Based on three-stage least squares method. SAGE Open, 13(4), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231210428
Lucas Jr, H. C., & Goh, J. M. (2009). Disruptive technology: How Kodak missed the digital photography revolution. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 18(1), 46–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsis.2009.01.002
Marginson, D., & McAulay, L. (2008). Exploring the debate on short-termism: A theoretical and empirical analysis. Strategic Management Journal, 29(3), 273–292. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.657
Marinković, M., Al-Tabbaa, O., Khan, Z., & Wu, J. (2022). Corporate foresight: A systematic literature review and future research trajectories. Journal of Business Research, 144, 289–311. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.01.097
Meler, S., & Korkmaz Çiçek, A. (2022). Hemşirelikte yeni bir kavram ve var olan bir tehdit: Örgütsel körlük. İçinde R. Akkaya & B. Akkaya (Ed.), Sağlık Bilimlerinde Güncel Tartışmalar 5 (ss. 70–78). Ankara: Bilgin Kültür Sanat Yayınları. https://www.bilginyayinevi.com/doc/30
Mills, S., & Spencer, D. A. (2025). Efficient inefficiency: Organisational challenges of realising economic gains from AI. Journal of Business Research, 189, 115128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.115128
Morrison, E. W., & Milliken, F. J. (2000). Organizational silence: A barrier to change and development in a pluralistic world. The Academy of Management Review, 25(4), 706–725. https://doi.org/10.2307/259200
Ocasio, W. (1997). Towards an attention-based view of the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 18(S1), 187–206. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(199707)18:1+%3C187::AID-SMJ936%3E3.0.CO;2-K
Ocasio, W., & Joseph, J. (2018). The attention-based view of great strategies. Strategy Science, 3(1), 289–294. https://doi.org/10.1287/stsc.2017.0042
Oehmen, J., Locatelli, G., Wied, M., & Willumsen, P. (2020). Risk, uncertainty, ignorance and myopia: Their managerial implications for B2B firms. Industrial Marketing Management, 88, 330–338. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2020.05.018
Özman, C., Mergan, B., Ceyhun, S., & Aktaş Üstün, N. (2024). Spor bilimlerinde görev yapan akademisyenlerin kurumsal körlük ve iş performansları arasındaki ilişki. Dumlupınar Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, (80), 223–236. https://doi.org/10.51290/dpusbe.1443235
Posavac, S. S., Kardes, F. R., & Joško Brakus, J. (2010). Focus induced tunnel vision in managerial judgment and decision making: The peril and the antidote. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 113(2), 102–111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2010.07.002
Rohrbeck, R., Battistella, C., & Huizingh, E. (2015). Corporate foresight: An emerging field with a rich tradition. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 101, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2015.11.002
Rohrbeck, R., & Kum, M. E. (2018). Corporate foresight and its impact on firm performance: A longitudinal analysis. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 129, 105–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2017.12.013
Sabırlı, H., & Yorulmaz, M. (2025). Effect of job satisfaction on organizational blindness: A study onhealthcare professionals [İş doyumunun işletme körlüğüne etkisi: Sağlık çalışanları üzerine bir inceleme]. Trakya University E-Journal of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, 14(2), 138–152. https://doi.org/10.47934/tefeas.14.02.05
Schoemaker, P. J. H. (1995). Scenario planning: A tool for strategic thinking. MIT Sloan Management Review, 36(2), 25–40. http://mitsmr.com/1nJI6Qi
Senge, P. (1990). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization (1 e.). New York: Doubleday/Currency.
Sevim, E. (2022). Sağlık kurumlarında örgütsel körlüğün tespiti ve oluşumunun önlenmesi [Yayınlanmamış Yüksek Lisans Tezi, Biruni Üniversitesi]. Ulusal Tez Merkezi, Tez No: 750175. İstanbul.
Seymen, O. A., Kılıç, T., & Kinter, O. (2016). Örgütsel körlüğün (örgüt miyopisi ) ayrıntılı kavramsal analizi ve ölçümü: Geliştirilen bir ölçek yardımıyla değerlendirme. Eurasian Academy of Sciences Social Sciences Journal, S1, 212–222. https://eurasianacademy.org/index.php/ socialsciences/article/view/75
Seyrek, E. (2024). İşletme hastalıkları bağlamında örgütsel körlük (miyopi) ve silo sendromu. İçinde A. İ. Koca Ballı (Ed.), Örgütsel davranışta güncel konular. Gaziantep: Özgür Yayınları. https://doi.org/10.58830/ozgur.pub642.c2729
Sezen-Gültekin, G., & Argon, T. (2020). The Relationship among organizational myopia, organizational resilience and organizational sustainability at a higher education institution in Turkey: A structural equation modelling. International Online Journal of Education and Teaching, 7(4), 1470–1491. https://iojet.org/index.php/IOJET/article/view/955
Sheedy, E. (2021). Risk governance: Biases, blind spots and bonuses (1 e.). London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003123736
Simon, H. A. (1955). A behavioral model of rational choice. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 69(1), 99–118. https://doi.org/10.2307/1884852
Simon, H. A. (1987). Bounded rationality. In J. Eatwell, M. Milgate, & P. Newman (Eds.), The New Palgrave: A dictionary of economics (Vol. 1, pp. 266–268). Palgrave Macmillan.
Tripsas, M., & Gavetti, G. (2000). Capabilities, cognition, and inertia: Evidence from digital imaging. Strategic Management Journal, 21(10/11), 1147–1161. https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-0266(200010/11)21:10/11%3C1147::AID-SMJ128%3E3.0.CO;2-R
Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1974). Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. Science, 185(4157), 1124–1131. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.185.4157.1124
Vakola, M., & Bouradas, D. (2005). Antecedents and consequences of organisational silence: An empirical investigation. Employee Relations, 27(5), 441–458. https://doi.org/10.1108/01425450510611997
Van der Duin, P., Trott, P., & Ortt, R. (2024). Failed technology management: Introducing ‘future technology myopia’ and how to address it. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 198, 122927. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2023.122927
Vuori, T. O., & Huy, Q. N. (2016). Distributed attention and shared emotions in the innovation process: How Nokia lost the smartphone battle. Administrative Science Quarterly, 61(1), 9–51. https://doi.org/10.1177/0001839215606951
Wang, X. (2024). Does CEO temporal myopia always lead to firm short-termism? The critical role of CEO optimism and perceived opportunity costs. Journal of Business Research, 180, 114739. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114739
Wood, R., & Bandura, A. (1989). Social cognitive theory of organizational management. The Academy of Management Review, 14(3), 361–384. https://doi.org/10.2307/258173
Yavuz, F. (2020). Sağlık çalışanlarında örgütsel miyopi ve tükenmişlik sendromu ilişkisi [Yayınlanmamış Yüksek Lisans Tezi, Bahçeşehir Üniversitesi]. Ulusal Tez Merkezi, Tez No: 636181. İstanbul.
Yeşil, S., & Özbağış, A. (2022). Kurumsal körlüğün çalışanlar üzerindeki etkisi: Bir alan araştırması. Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 19(özel sayı), 182–202. https://doi.org/10.33437/ksusbd.1133118
Yeşilyurt, Ö. (2021). Do hybrid managers in academia experience business blindness. The Journal of Academic Social Science(119), 126–133. https://doi.org/10.29228/ASOS.51690
Yu, Y., Xie, B., Dou, Z., & Fu, Q. (2024). Managerial myopia and corporate innovation strategy. Finance Research Letters, 67, 105733. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2024.105733
Yuan, Y., Hu, M., & Cheng, C. (2023). CEO succession and corporate innovation: A managerial myopic perspective. The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, 64, 101863. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.najef.2022.101863
Zehir, C., & Bilgetürk, M. (2022). Büyük veri analitiği yeteneği ve firma performansı ilişkisi: Firma büyüklüğünün düzenleyici rolü. Yıldız Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 6(2), 62–73. https://doi.org/10.14744/ysbed.2022.00019
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Third Sector Social Economic Review

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.




