Decision Making: Individual and Organisational Perspectives

A special issue of Administrative Sciences (ISSN 2076-3387).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2016) | Viewed by 16796

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
School of Management, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Scotland KY16 9RJ, UK
Interests: decision making; intuition; cognition; top management teams; organisational and managerial learning; organisational change and development

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Managerial and organisational decision making has long been a subject of interest to both scholars and practitioners given its potential impact within and beyond organisational settings.

In organisational studies, it is usually assumed that decision makers are aware of, and understand, their organisations and their environments. However, decisions often need to be made when the environment is changing, where information is limited, ambiguous or unreliable, when there is time constraint, and in collaboration with other decision makers. Against the backdrop of these complexities, managers encounter crucial decisions every day. In light of Herbert Simon’s (1947) concept of ‘bounded rationality’, a reasonable question to ask is to what extent are decision makers ‘rational’? Insofar as decision making is concerned with thinking and reasoning, both individually and collectively, what factors help or hinder successful decision making processes?

This Special Issue of Administrative Sciences offers the opportunity to engage in these conversations, showcasing research that contributes to our understanding of decision making both in theory and practice. Within this framework, authors are invited to submit manuscripts for consideration to be published in this Special Issue addressing the following and other relevant topics:

  • Processes of decision making to improve organisational outcomes
  • Management teams and collective decision making
  • Intuitive versus data-based decision making
  • Decisions under risk or uncertainty
  • Complex dynamics and interactions involving decision making
  • Alternative concepts, theories and methods that reflect specific decision contexts

I would like to invite submissions of theoretical and empirical papers that make a clear contribution to the field of decision making. The authors are encouraged to focus and elaborate on well-developed ideas or issues that will provide new insights and advance our understanding of decision making in organisational contexts.

Cinla Akinci
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Administrative Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Reference

  • Simon, H. A. (1947/1997) Administrative Behavior (4th edition). New York: Free Press.

Keywords

  • Decision processes
  • Decision makers
  • Bounded rationality
  • Cognition
  • Intuition
  • Expertise
  • Risk and uncertainty
  • Group decision making
  • Managerial decision making

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

1522 KiB  
Article
More Dynamic Than You Think: Hidden Aspects of Decision-Making
by Jennifer Robinson, Marta Sinclair, Jutta Tobias and Ellen Choi
Adm. Sci. 2017, 7(3), 23; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci7030023 - 14 Jul 2017
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 9595
Abstract
Decision-making is a multifaceted, socially constructed, human activity that is often non-rational and non-linear. Although the decision-making literature has begun to recognize the effect of affect on decisions, examining for example the contribution of bodily sensations to affect, it continues to treat the [...] Read more.
Decision-making is a multifaceted, socially constructed, human activity that is often non-rational and non-linear. Although the decision-making literature has begun to recognize the effect of affect on decisions, examining for example the contribution of bodily sensations to affect, it continues to treat the various processes involved in coming to a decision as compartmentalized and static. In this paper, we use five theories to contribute to our understanding of decision-making, and demonstrate that it is much more fluid, multi-layered and non-linear than previously acknowledged. Drawing on a group experience of deciding, we investigate the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and collective states that are at play. These states are shown to be iterative: each being reinforced or dampened in a complex interaction of thought, affect, social space and somatic sensations in a dynamic flux, whilst individuals try to coalesce on a decision. This empirical investigation contributes to theory, method and practice by suggesting that Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity (VUCA) is a human condition. VUCA permeates and impacts decision-making in a multitude of ways, beyond researchers’ previous understanding. The innovation generated through this paper resides in a set of propositions that will accelerate progress in the theory, method, and practice of decision-making. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Decision Making: Individual and Organisational Perspectives)
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214 KiB  
Article
The Impact of Formal Decision Processes on e-Government Projects
by Leif Sundberg and Aron Larsson
Adm. Sci. 2017, 7(2), 14; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci7020014 - 22 May 2017
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 6366
Abstract
This paper studies associations between the use of formal decision-making processes in e-Government projects and the outcomes of these projects. By doing so, this study contributes to the decision sciences as well as to the fields of e-Government, information systems and public administration. [...] Read more.
This paper studies associations between the use of formal decision-making processes in e-Government projects and the outcomes of these projects. By doing so, this study contributes to the decision sciences as well as to the fields of e-Government, information systems and public administration. Data were collected using a survey conducted among Swedish national government agencies and municipalities. Variables that have been investigated are the defining and weighting of objectives, resource allocation and assessment of whether objectives are met, as well as to what extent risk analysis was conducted. The results reveal that successful projects distinguish themselves by involving more activities related to formal decision-making procedures, especially with respect to stakeholder inclusion and weighting of objectives. These initiatives also manage more types of risks, including organizational issues. Future research should continue to explore the possible benefits of formal decision-making and risk analysis in e-Government. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Decision Making: Individual and Organisational Perspectives)
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