Functional Fixedness and Organizational Inertia: A Microfoundational Perspective on Leadership Failure
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65222/VIRAL.2026.2.14.34Keywords:
Abstract
Despite extensive research on organizational inertia and strategic rigidity, the micro-level cognitive mechanisms underlying leadership failure remain under-theorized. This article advances a microfoundational perspective by integrating the psychological construct of functional fixedness into leadership and organizational theory. We argue that cognitive rigidity at the individual leader level constitutes a foundational mechanism through which organizations develop structural inertia and fail to adapt under environmental turbulence. Drawing on behavioral decision theory, upper echelons theory, and dynamic capability perspectives, we conceptualize leadership failure as the cumulative outcome of constrained cognitive schemas, interpretive lock-in, and strategic misalignment. We develop a formal conceptual model linking functional fixedness to organizational inertia via cognitive framing, resource orchestration biases, and escalation dynamics. The framework contributes to leadership theory by specifying how cognitive micro-mechanisms scale into macro-level strategic stagnation. Implications for governance, executive development, and resilience under systemic volatility are discussed.
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