Asking a straightforward question: Managers' perceptions and managers' emotions

Mezias and Starbuck (2003) raise a number of issues concerning the accuracy of managers' perceptions. In this commentary, I argue that research on managers' perceptions might fruitfully explore further (1) the functional and dysfunctional effects of managers perceptions and (2) the role of emotion in shaping managers' perceptions and their responses to the environment filtered by these perceptions. Drawing upon research in social and cognitive psychology, I argue that there exist theoretical frameworks from which to frame questions and interpret data in these areas.