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Do You See What I See? The Effects of Dissenting Opinion on Information Acquisition and Decision Quality: An Eye-Tracking Study

Tota Panggabean ^a

Yasheng Chen ^b

Johnny Jermias ^c

^aCalifornia State University Sacramento, USA

^bXiamen University, China

^cSimon Fraser University, Canada

Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research

ISBN: 978-1-80382-802-2, eISBN: 978-1-80382-801-5

Publication date: 25 August 2022

Abstract

This study uses an eye-tracking device to examine the effects of dissenting opinion on information search style and decision quality, using insights from dual-process theory. When evaluating strategic outcomes, managers not exposed to a dissenting opinion employ directed information search using System 1 (heuristic, automatic cognitive processing), leading to low-quality decisions. Providing a dissenting opinion causes managers to use System 2 (sequential information search characterized by deliberate, slow, and effortful cognitive processing), leading to higher-quality decisions. This study provides useful insights into the cognitive processes underlying managers' judgments, and the factors that influence their decisions. We conclude by discussing the critical role of dissent in business practices, and explain how dissent affects people's System 2 cognitive processes.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the Chinese Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant# 20720151132), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant# 71672162) for financial support. This paper has benefited from comments and suggestions of the Editor and the reviewer of this journal, as well as seminar participants at the 2016 European Accounting Association Annual Congress, and 2016 American Accounting Association Annual Congress. The research instrument is available upon request from the corresponding author.

Citation

Panggabean, T., Chen, Y. and Jermias, J. (2022), "Do You See What I See? The Effects of Dissenting Opinion on Information Acquisition and Decision Quality: An Eye-Tracking Study", Karim, K.E. (Ed.) Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research (Advances in Accounting Behavioural Research, Vol. 25), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 249-277. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1475-148820220000025011

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited