Aspirations and Culture

Abstract

We turn attention from the dynamics of power to the motivations which affect strategic choice. According to our basic hypothesis, all ESOs are strongly motivated to survive. The less dependent an ESO is on its market and the more assured its subsidy, the lower will be the commercial performance needed to guarantee survival. A business firm which is totally dependent on the market has to maintain at least a break-even through commercial transactions. A university, on the other hand, which is heavily supported by income from endowment, alumni gifts, state grants, etc, typically operates at a continuous commercial deficit. Thus the basic survival drive induces higher performance aspirations in the firm than it does in non-profits.

‘You have to overpromise! The Sermon on the Mount was an overpromise! The Pledge of Allegiance is an overpromise! Any-thing worthwhile is an overpromise! What you think you can do is half what you ought to do!’

Hubert Humphrey