Strategic decision-making

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satyanarayana Parayitam ◽  
Chris Papenhausen

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the effect of cooperative conflict management on agreement-seeking behavior, agreement-seeking behavior on decision outcomes, moderating role of competence-based trust on the relationship between agreement-seeking behavior and decision outcomes, and mediating role of agreement-seeking behavior between cooperative conflict management and decision outcomes. Design/methodology/approach Using a structured survey instrument, this paper gathered data from 348 students enrolled in a strategic management capstone course that features strategic decision-making in a simulated business strategy game. The data from 94 teams were collected from the student population using a carefully administered instrument. The data were aggregated after running the inter-rater agreement test and the analyzed to test the hypotheses. Findings The results from the hierarchical regression of the complex moderated mediation model reveal that cooperative conflict management is positively related to agreement-seeking behavior, and agreement-seeking behavior mediates the relationship between cooperative conflict management and decision outcomes. The results also suggest that competence-based trust acts as a moderator in the relationship between agreement-seeking behavior and decision quality; agreement-seeking behavior and team effectiveness, and agreement-seeking behavior and decision commitment. Results also support mediation of agreement-seeking behavior between cooperative conflict management and decision outcomes. Research limitations/implications The present research is based on self-report measures, and hence, the limitations of social desirability bias and common method bias are inherent. However, adequate care is taken to minimize these limitations. The research has implications for the strategic decision-making process literature. Practical implications In addition to the strategic management literature, this study contributes to practicing managers. The study suggests that competence-based trust plays a vital role in decision effectiveness. Administrators need to select the members in the decision-making process who have competence-based trust on one another and engage in agreement-seeking behavior. Social implications The findings from the study help in creating a fruitful social environment in organizations. Originality/value This study provides new insights about the previously unknown effects of cooperative conflict management and agreement-seeking behavior in strategic decision-making process.

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maqsood Ahmad ◽  
Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah ◽  
Yasar Abbass

PurposeThis article aims to clarify the mechanism by which heuristic-driven biases influence the entrepreneurial strategic decision-making in an emerging economy.Design/methodology/approachEntrepreneurs' heuristic-driven biases have been measured using a questionnaire, comprising numerous items, including indicators of entrepreneurial strategic decision-making. To examine the relationship between heuristic-driven biases and entrepreneurial strategic decision-making process, a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire has been used to collect data from the sample of 169 entrepreneurs who operate in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The collected data were analyzed using SPSS and Amos graphics software. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM) technique.FindingsThe article provides empirical insights into the relationship between heuristic-driven biases and entrepreneurial strategic decision-making. The results suggest that heuristic-driven biases (anchoring and adjustment, representativeness, availability and overconfidence) have a markedly negative influence on the strategic decisions made by entrepreneurs in emerging markets. It means that heuristic-driven biases can impair the quality of the entrepreneurial strategic decision-making process.Practical implicationsThe article encourages entrepreneurs to avoid relying on cognitive heuristics or their feelings when making strategic decisions. It provides awareness and understanding of heuristic-driven biases in entrepreneurial strategic decisions, which could be very useful for business actors such as entrepreneurs, managers and entire organizations. Understanding regarding the role of heuristic-driven biases in entrepreneurial strategic decisions may help entrepreneurs to improve the quality of their decision-making. They can improve the quality of their decision-making by recognizing their behavioral biases and errors of judgment, to which we are all prone, resulting in a more appropriate selection of entrepreneurial opportunities.Originality/valueThe current study is the first to focus on links between heuristic-driven bias and the entrepreneurial strategic decision-making in Pakistan—an emerging economy. This article enhanced the understanding of the role that heuristic-driven bias plays in the entrepreneurial strategic decisions and more importantly, it went some way toward enhancing understanding of behavioral aspects and their influence on entrepreneurial strategic decision-making in an emerging market. It also adds to the literature in the area of entrepreneurial management specifically the role of heuristics in entrepreneurial strategic decision-making; this field is in its initial stage, even in developed countries, while, in developing countries, little work has been done.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 292-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satyanarayana Parayitam ◽  
Chris Papenhausen

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of three important group process variables, namely, agreement-seeking behavior, group trust, and cognitive diversity, on decision outcomes. In addition, it seeks to examine the role of process conflict as a moderator in the relationship between agreement-seeking behavior and team effectiveness; agreement-seeking behavior and decision commitment; cognitive diversity and team effectiveness; and cognitive diversity and decision commitment. Design/methodology/approach Using a structured survey instrument, this paper gathered data from 160 students enrolled in a strategic management capstone course that features strategic decision making in a simulated business strategy game. The data from 41 teams were collected from the student population using a carefully administered instrument, and the data were aggregated only after appropriate inter-rater agreement tests were run. Findings Results show that the group process variables are positively related to decision outcomes. The data support the view that process conflict acts as a moderator in the relationship between agreement-seeking behavior and team effectiveness and decision commitment. Further, the results support that cognitive diversity has a positive impact on decision commitment and team effectiveness. Process conflict, which acts as a deterrent, is outweighed by the presence of agreement-seeking behavior. Research limitations/implications Since the present research is based on self-report measures, the limitations of social desirability bias and common method bias are inherent. However, sufficient care is taken to minimize these limitations. The research has implications for both the conflict management and strategic decision-making process literatures. Practical implications This study contributes to both practicing managers and the strategic management literature. The study suggests that administrators should select those teams who are prone to agreement-seeking behavior; and team members who trust one another. Administrators need not unduly avoid process conflict because diversity in opinions and thinking and agreement-seeking behavior outweigh the negative effects of process conflict. Social implications The findings from the study will be useful for creating congenial social environment in the organizations. Originality/value This study provides new insights about the previously unknown effects of process conflict in strategic decision-making process.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fariborz Rahimnia ◽  
Homa Molavi

PurposeIn recent years, rapid changes in the economic situation and high levels of competition have increased the need for innovation in order to gain success. In such circumstances, organizational strategists are considered as critical in determining the success or failure of organizations. Using innovation in various aspects of organizational operations is the most important factor to achieve sustainable competitive advantages in industry. As a result, analyzing the effective factors involved in promoting the efficiency of innovative activities in the organization and ways of achieving it are of utmost importance. Thus, this paper examines the relationship between communication and innovation performance with respect to the intermediary role of strategic decision-making process speed.Design/methodology/approachThe present study has used quantitative methodology and questionnaire to collect data from 450 managers and members who are involved in the decision-making process in 150 companies operating in the food-industry sector. Data analysis was done by using structural equation modeling and AMOS software.FindingsThe results of the data analysis suggest that communication and strategic decision-making speed possess a significant positive impact on innovation performance. Also, strategic decision-making speed has sufficiently played the intermediary role between communication and innovation performance.Originality/valueThis survey specifies the effects of communication on the success of making fast strategic decision and innovation performance which aid Iranian food companies to tackle one of the managerial challenges: postponing strategic decisions due to lack of efficient communication to get information. In addition, to the best of the authors' knowledge, this essay is a first in Iran.


2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 57-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannu Kuusela ◽  
Siiri Koivumäki ◽  
Mika Yrjölä

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the use of intuition in successful merger and acquisition (M&A) decisions. M&As are strategic decisions that can create growth, open up new markets and strengthen the company’s position and competence portfolio. Strategic decisions involve, by their very nature, considerable investments and have company-wide and long-lasting implications. At the same time, the decision-makers have access to large amounts of data from various sources, but these data are often uncertain and inaccurate and entail numerous assumptions. Therefore, M&A decisions are only rational to a degree, and emotional elements, such as intuition, likely play a significant role. Design/methodology/approach Acknowledging how critically important, but also how difficult, M&As are, the authors analyzed nine instances (cases) of successful acquisitions, in which the executives believed that the role of intuition was critical. Findings The findings show that intuition in strategic decision-making emerges on three levels: individual, collective and environmental. Practical implications This paper encourages top executives to proactively acknowledge and take advantage of intuition in their strategic decision-making. It proposes a framework to help with these endeavors. Originality/value This paper contributes by highlighting that intuition is not just a factor on an individual level; it can also surface from group interactions as well as the environment. Surprisingly, all the executives interviewed spoke of the positive effects that intuition can have on acquisition decisions. This is in contrast to the dominant view that considers intuition as nonrational and even as a form of bias.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jung-Hwan Kim ◽  
Minjeong Kim ◽  
Jungmin Yoo ◽  
Minjung Park

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to investigate how mental imagery evoked from sensory in-store experience influences consumer anticipatory emotion, perceived ownership and decision satisfaction which eventually impact positive consumer responses such as behavioural intent. In this study, gender difference is proposed as a moderator to completely understand the role of mental imagery in the in-store decision-making process.Design/methodology/approachUsing a market research agency in South Korea, an online survey was employed to collect data. A total of 455 useable respondents (men = 224 and women = 231) largely living in the two most populous provinces in South Korea (i.e. Seoul and Gyeonggi provinces) completed the survey. A number of path analyses were conducted to test hypotheses.FindingsThe results of the study showed that mental imagery evoked from sensory product experience played a critical part in facilitating the consumer decision-making process by influencing anticipatory emotion and perceived ownership. The relationship among anticipatory emotion, perceived ownership, decision satisfaction and behavioural intent was significant except for the relationship between perceived ownership and behavioural intent. This study further indicated that the way mental imagery influences the in-store decision-making process differs between men and women.Originality/valueThe effect of mental imagery in a physical retail context is largely ignored. This study addressed the crucial role of mental imagery in a physical apparel retail setting and examined its impact on consumer decision-making processes. By exploring how to enhance consumers' in-store sensory shopping experiences through mental imagery to influence their positive shopping outcomes, this study offers vital insights into how retailers operating physical stores can successfully utilize their stores.


Kybernetes ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (10) ◽  
pp. 1617-1636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiajun Gu ◽  
Fenghua Xie ◽  
Xingsi Wang

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between top management team (TMT) internal social capital and strategic decision-making speed, and further explore role of TMT behavioral integration in their relationship. It reveals how TMT internal social capital impacts strategic decision-making speed. Design/methodology/approach On the basis of the social capital theory and upper echelons theory, at first, a model about TMT internal social capital and strategic decision-making speed is proposed by exploratory case study. Then, the data obtained via questionnaire from 67 TMTs by software SPSS 19.0 and AMOS 17.0 are analyzed, and the theoretical hypotheses as mentioned above are verified. Findings The empirical study found that different dimensions of TMT internal social capital have significant positive impact on TMT behavioral integrity; TMT behavioral integrity has significant positive impact on strategic decision-making speed; and TMT behavioral integrity as an intermediary variable played a brokering role in the relationship between TMT internal social capital and strategic decision-making speed. Originality/value The study enriches the empirical test on the relationship between TMT internal social capital and decision speed, thereby helping the authors further understand how to improve the speed of strategic decision making in TMT.


2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 224-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sander Merkus ◽  
Jaap De Heer ◽  
Marcel Veenswijk

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of performative struggle through the use of an interpretative case story focussed on a strategic decision-making process concerning infrastructural development. Performativity is about “world-making” (Carter et al., 2010), based on the assumption that conceptual schemes are not only prescriptions of the world, for the practices flowing from these abstract ideas bring into being the world they are describing. The focus on agency and multiplicity in the academic debate on performativity in organizational settings are combined, resulting in the conceptualization of a multitude of performative agents struggling to make the world. Design/methodology/approach – The methodological approach of this paper is based on an interpretative analysis of contrasting narratives that are told by political-executives in a strategic decision-making process. These narratives are based on in-depth interviews and participant observation. The interpretative case story, exhibiting the strategic decision-making practices of Aldermen, Delegates and Ministers – focusses on the moments of performative struggle based on strategic narrative practices. Findings – The interpretative case story will exhibit the way in which a multiplicity of agents reflects on the performative dimension of the decision-making process, anticipates on its performative effects and attempts to manipulate the strategic vision that is actualized into reality. Moreover, the agents are not primarily concerned with the actualization of a specific infrastructural project; they are more concerned with the consequences of decision making for their more comprehensive strategic visions on reality. Research limitations/implications – The notion of performative struggle has not yet been explicitly studied by scholars focussing on performativity. However, the concept can be used as an appropriate lens for studying meaning making within ethnographic studies on organizational processes such as for instance culture change intervention and strategy formation. The concept of performative struggle is especially useful for understanding the political dimension of meaning making when studying an organizational life-world through the use of ethnographic research. Originality/value – The originality of this paper lies in the innovative conceptualization of struggle between a multiplicity of reflexive agents in the debate on performative world-making. Moreover, the incorporation of the perspective of performative struggle within organizational ethnographic research is valuable for the development of organizational ethnographic methodology.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Avo Schönbohm ◽  
Tingyue Viktoria Zhang

PurposeThis research seized the COVID-19 pandemic-induced economic recession as a strategic response background to answer whether serious games (SGs) can be effectively applied to facilitate the strategic decision-making process.Design/methodology/approachThis paper develops a conceptual model and hypotheses based on the strategic formulation and SGs literature. Virtual-gamified workshops treat four companies in a quasi-experimental framework applying an action research design approach. The data were analysed triangularly from the observations, the focus group interviews and the surveys.FindingsA SG facilitates conveying conceptual recession management knowledge and structures the decision-making process. It incentivises creativity and motivation. Meanwhile, it is a tool to mitigate human errors due to cognitive biases. More importantly, it offers a new means to improve strategic decision-making adapted to different cases. The variety of game elements expands possibilities for different needs.Originality/valueThis paper creatively bridges the gap between strategic decision facilitation and serious gaming in a crisis. It contributes a conceptual model and provides practical insights into SGs mechanics for companies.


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