Essays on Managerial Myopia

Recently extensive criticism has been directed towards listed companies for being myopic and overemphasizing short time horizon. Academic research on myopia has traditionally been based on commentaries by outsiders, such as financial market critics. This doctoral dissertation provides a unique perspective to the time-related mental models of listed company management, along with a comparison of time-related mental models of non-listed company management. The essence of myopia proves surprising: it is not only overemphasis on the present that induces myopia, but overemphasis on the past and the future as well. In this book, company managers are shown how to avoid myopia, inertia and excessive planning in the fast-moving contemporary society, and instructions on how to combat different forms of myopia are provided. Moreover, the book concludes by outlining a characteristic of shareholder value: its popularity is based on the deep-seated needs it fulfils, not necessarily on its favourable consequences for the society. This book is useful for company managers in their efforts to combat myopia and anyone wishing to understand shareholder value more fully.