The Industrial Representative's Perception of the Impact of Managerial Control Systems on Performance Page: 31
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31
Opportunism. Opportunism occurs when individuals
pursue self-interest with guile or cunning (Thornton 1984).
Therefore, opportunism suggests behavior beyond a simple
forthright exchange. It implies a lack of candor or honesty
in transactions (Williamson 1975). Opportunism also
involves shirking or failing to fulfill promises or
obligations, and withholding and distorting information
(John 1984), or making false or empty threats or promises
and cutting corners for undisclosed personal advantage
(Williamson and Ouchi 1981). It can be practiced by either
party to a transaction (Anderson and Weitz 1983). The
recognition of the existence of opportunism is critical to
the need to control agent behavior. Without opportunism,
"principals would simply extract promises from agents in a
stewardship fashion, while agents would reciprocally ask
principals to behave in good faith." (Williamson 1981,
p.1545).
These views do not go unchallenged (See e.g., Barney
1990; Donaldson 1990a,b; Griesinger 1990). Nevertheless,
this study accepts the traditional assumption of self-
interested opportunism but recognizes its inherent
limitations.
Bounded Rationality. Human beings are also assumed to
have limited cognitive capability due to incomplete or
incorrect information, problem solving skills and knowledge,
and/or limits in formulating and solving problems (cf.,
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Dunipace, Richard A. (Richard Alan). The Industrial Representative's Perception of the Impact of Managerial Control Systems on Performance, dissertation, August 1995; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc278008/m1/43/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .