Matteo Cristofaro, Pier Luigi Giardino, Riccardo Camilli and Ivo Hristov
This article aims to trace the historical development of the behavioral strategy (BS) field, which implements psychology in strategic management. Mainly, it provides a contextual…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to trace the historical development of the behavioral strategy (BS) field, which implements psychology in strategic management. Mainly, it provides a contextual understanding of how this stream of research has historically evolved and what relevant future trajectories are. This work is part of the “over half a century of Management Decision” celebrative and informal Journal section.
Design/methodology/approach
We consider BS literature produced in management decision (MD), the oldest and longest-running scholarly publication in management, as a proxy for the evolution of management thought. Through a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) process, we collected – via the MD website and Scopus – a sample of 97 BS articles published in MD from its foundation (1967) until today (2024). Regarding the analysis, we adopted a Reflexive Thematic Analysis approach to synthesize the main BS topics, then read from a historical perspective regarding three “eras” over which the literature developed. Selected international literature outside the Journal’s boundaries was considered to complement this historical analysis.
Findings
Historically, within the BS field, the interest passed from the rules to rationally govern strategic decision-making processes, to studying what causes cognitive errors, to understanding how to avoid biases and to being prepared for dramatic changes. The article also identifies six future research trajectories, namely “positive heuristics,” “context-embedded mental processes,” “non-conventional thinking,” “cognitive evolutionary triggers,” “debiasing strategies” and “behavioral theories for new strategic challenges” that future research could investigate.
Research limitations/implications
The limitation of the study lies in its exclusive focus on MD for investigating the historical evolution of BS, thereby overlooking critical contributions from other journals. Therefore, MD’s editorial preferences have influenced results. A comprehensive SLR on the BS field is still needed, requiring broader journal coverage to mitigate selection biases and enhance field appraisal.
Originality/value
This contribution is the first to offer a historical evolutionary view of the BS field, complementing the few other reviews on this stream of research. This fills a gap in the study of the evolution of management thought.
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Managers must make numerous strategic decisions in order to initiate and implement a business model innovation (BMI). This paper examines how managers perceive the management team…
Abstract
Purpose
Managers must make numerous strategic decisions in order to initiate and implement a business model innovation (BMI). This paper examines how managers perceive the management team interacts when making BMI decisions. The paper also investigates how group biases and board members’ risk willingness affect this process.
Design/methodology/approach
Empirical data were collected through 26 in-depth interviews with German managing directors from 13 companies in four industries (mobility, manufacturing, healthcare and energy) to explore three research questions: (1) What group effects are prevalent in BMI group decision-making? (2) What are the key characteristics of BMI group decisions? And (3) what are the potential relationships between BMI group decision-making and managers' risk willingness? A thematic analysis based on Gioia's guidelines was conducted to identify themes in the comprehensive dataset.
Findings
First, the results show four typical group biases in BMI group decisions: Groupthink, social influence, hidden profile and group polarization. Findings show that the hidden profile paradigm and groupthink theory are essential in the context of BMI decisions. Second, we developed a BMI decision matrix, including the following key characteristics of BMI group decision-making managerial cohesion, conflict readiness and information- and emotion-based decision behavior. Third, in contrast to previous literature, we found that individual risk aversion can improve the quality of BMI decisions.
Practical implications
This paper provides managers with an opportunity to become aware of group biases that may impede their strategic BMI decisions. Specifically, it points out that managers should consider the key cognitive constraints due to their interactions when making BMI decisions. This work also highlights the importance of risk-averse decision-makers on boards.
Originality/value
This qualitative study contributes to the literature on decision-making by revealing key cognitive group biases in strategic decision-making. This study also enriches the behavioral science research stream of the BMI literature by attributing a critical influence on the quality of BMI decisions to managers' group interactions. In addition, this article provides new perspectives on managers' risk aversion in strategic decision-making.
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Zaid Jaradat, Ahmad AL-Hawamleh and Allam Hamdan
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s dedicated pursuit of technological modernization positions it as a forefront leader in integrating advanced systems, aligning smoothly with the…
Abstract
Purpose
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s dedicated pursuit of technological modernization positions it as a forefront leader in integrating advanced systems, aligning smoothly with the ambitious goals outlined in Vision 2030. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of integrating enterprise resource planning (ERP) and business intelligence (BI) systems on decision-making processes within the industrial sector of Saudi Arabia.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a quantitative research design, this study uses a bootstrapping approach and partial least squares structural equation modeling to meticulously analyze data collected from Saudi industrial firms.
Findings
The research reveals favorable relationships among infrastructure readiness, data quality, security and access control, user capabilities, user training and the integration of ERP and BI. These positive associations collectively affirm the overarching positive impact of ERP and BI integration on decision-making processes within the industrial sector.
Practical implications
The study underscores the strategic imperative of aligning organizational practices with the identified characteristics to fully unlock the potential benefits of ERP and BI integration in the Saudi Arabian industrial sector.
Originality/value
This study contributes significantly to the existing literature by delving into the integration of ERP and BI in the industrial sector and its nuanced impact on decision-making processes, specifically in the context of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – an area that has not been extensively studied.
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Sara El-Deeb, Hamid Jahankhani, Osama Akram Amin Metwally Hussien and Isuru Sandakelum Will Arachchige
The concept of ‘intelligence’ used to differ between human and machines, until the disruption of artificial intelligence (AI). The field of AI is advancing far more rapidly than…
Abstract
The concept of ‘intelligence’ used to differ between human and machines, until the disruption of artificial intelligence (AI). The field of AI is advancing far more rapidly than the establishment of rules and regulations, which is causing certain fear. However, slowing down this progression to avoid economic crisis is not an option because of open-source AI, which facilitates faster development processes and collective contributions to codes and algorithms. Public policies, such as the ‘European Union AI Act (EU AI)’, ‘Whitehouse AI’, and the G7's ‘Hiroshima Artificial Intelligence Process’ (HAP), are already drafted. Regulators need to adopt a dynamic approach given AI's rapid advancement, and they need to eventually strive for international harmonisation in their rules and regulations for better collaborations. The EU's AI Act is the ‘world's first comprehensive law’ and it focuses on five main pillars similar to other countries drafts: ensuring AI usage is safe, transparent, traceable, non-discriminatory and environmentally friendly. They portray four risk categories against which citizens can file complaints: (1) Unacceptable risk (2) High risk (3) Generative AI (4) Limited risk. The US AI policies include ‘The Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights: Making Automated Systems Work for the American People’ and the ‘Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence’. This conceptual study extensively reviews the concept of AI and compares pioneering draft laws while providing recommendations on ethics and responsible AI. The contribution of this study is that it sheds light on the evolving evolution of AI and the challenges posed by the rapid advancement of AI technology, emphasising the necessity for flexible and adaptive regulatory frameworks. This is the first paper to explore AI from the academic and political perspective.
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John Mendy, Apoorva Jain and Asha Thomas
This paper specifically aims to examine how (via which activities, methods and capabilities) organizations’ management deploy Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems to address…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper specifically aims to examine how (via which activities, methods and capabilities) organizations’ management deploy Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems to address underperformance. Five mitigation strategies/recommendations are introduced to manage the challenges and facilitate greater efficacies in changing organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper conceptually synthesizes 47 articles, thematically reports and critically analyzes the AI–HRM–managerial decision-making relationship in changing organizations and discusses the impacts.
Findings
The results highlight three significant challenges and opportunities for changing organizations: (1) job performance challenges, (2) organizational performance challenges and HR and (3) collaborative intelligence opportunities.
Originality/value
The paper’s originality lies in addressing the current lack of a theoretical framework guiding HRM and AI experts on the managerial and strategic capabilities needed to address underperformance and their impacts in facilitating collective efficacies in human–AI collaboration in changing organizations. By further capturing an innovative HR Framework’s (1) human, (2) AI, (3) employees’ well-being, (4) jobs and (5) organizational performance, and its five key managerial recommendations/strategies, this paper develops two concepts: “technological servitization” and “re-ontological in-securitization” to advance theory in Managerial Psychology regarding the unintended/paradoxical consequences of managements’ AI-driven organizational performance interventions, including meaninglessness in organizations.
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Ahmed Alhazmi and Rasha Ahmed Almashhour
This study aims to examine the impact of market-driven policies on adoption and integration of green chemistry into higher education in Saudi Arabia, uncovering challenges and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the impact of market-driven policies on adoption and integration of green chemistry into higher education in Saudi Arabia, uncovering challenges and opportunities faced by educators and institutions in promoting sustainable scientific education.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a grounded theory methodology to explore the integration of green chemistry in Saudi Arabian higher education amid market-driven policies. In-depth interviews were conducted with 22 participants, and data were analyzed using a systematic coding process.
Findings
The study reveals that market-driven policies significantly influence the integration of green chemistry by prioritizing immediate economic returns over long-term sustainability goals. Key challenges include securing funding and aligning green chemistry with traditional curricula. Opportunities to promote sustainability through curricular reform and policy adaptation were identified.
Research limitations/implications
This study is limited to Saudi Arabian higher education, which may affect the generalizability of findings to other contexts.
Practical implications
Insights suggest policymakers should re-evaluate prioritization of short-term economic gains and develop incentives to integrate green chemistry. Institutions are encouraged to invest in faculty development, adopt interdisciplinary approaches and collaborate with industry and government.
Social implications
Integrating green chemistry into higher education promotes environmental stewardship and prepares future generations to address sustainability challenges. Institutions can shape environmentally conscious societies by fostering a culture of sustainability and ethical responsibilities.
Originality/value
This study contributes to discourse on sustainability in education by providing a grounded theoretical analysis of the dynamics between market-driven policies and green chemistry integration, offering insights for policymakers, educators and researchers.
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Paul Chipangura, Dewald van Niekerk, Fortune Mangara and Annegrace Zembe
This study aimed to address the underexplored domain of organisational vulnerability, with a specific focus on understanding how vulnerability is understood in organisations and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to address the underexplored domain of organisational vulnerability, with a specific focus on understanding how vulnerability is understood in organisations and the underlying pathways leading to vulnerability.
Design/methodology/approach
This study utilised a narrative literature review methodology, using Google Scholar as the primary source, to analyse the concepts of organisational vulnerability in the context of disaster risk studies. The review focused on relevant documents published between the years 2000 and 2022.
Findings
The analysis highlights the multifaceted nature of organisational vulnerability, which arises from both inherent weaknesses within the organisation and external risks that expose it to potential hazards. The inherent weaknesses are rooted in internal vulnerability pathways such as organisational culture, managerial ignorance, human resources, and communication weaknesses that compromise the organisation’s resilience. The external dimension of vulnerability is found in cascading vulnerability pathways, e.g. critical infrastructure, supply chains, and customer relationships.
Originality/value
As the frequency and severity of disasters continue to increase, organisations of all sizes face heightened vulnerability to unforeseen disruptions and potential destruction. Acknowledging and comprehending organisational vulnerability is a crucial initial step towards enhancing risk management effectiveness, fostering resilience, and promoting sustainable success in an interconnected global environment and an evolving disaster landscape.
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The combination of previously unassociated terms in a metaphor can helpfully illustrate particular characteristics of a person, phenomenon or practice. However, it can also…
Abstract
The combination of previously unassociated terms in a metaphor can helpfully illustrate particular characteristics of a person, phenomenon or practice. However, it can also obfuscate because the focus on some elements may come at the expense of others. The metaphor of the landscape is somewhat ubiquitous in academic literature, and this paper is specifically interested in the ‘higher education landscape’, which is widely used in scholarly – as well as media and policy – writing. By applying thematic analysis to a sample of publications which invoke the term, this paper comprises what Haslanger calls a descriptive and ameliorative approach to investigate both how and why this metaphor is used. By considering these publications cumulatively, we can identify that the higher education landscape enables scholars to simultaneously acknowledge higher education's temporal, social and political positioning, its state of what can feel like permanent and wide-ranging flux, and its diverse cast of interrelated actors. In this way, it serves as a useful and evocative container metaphor for higher education's activities and constituents and the interrelationships and tensions between them. At the same time, its somewhat indiscriminate and indeterminate use can conflate and mask the detail and nature of these dynamics, and it is possible to discern in its application a collective sense of nervousness and uncertainty about higher education more generally.
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Denisa Hejlová, Petra Koudelková, Tereza Ježková, Soňa Schneiderová, Tereza Klabíková Rábová and Marcela Konrádová
Government communication is an essential part of the democratic process – it interconnects various stakeholder groups with the public, while also enabling the functioning of…
Abstract
Government communication is an essential part of the democratic process – it interconnects various stakeholder groups with the public, while also enabling the functioning of democratic systems based on values such as human rights, freedom of speech and public participation in governance. Besides promoting government successes or measures, government communication should foster mutual two-way communications between government organisations and different stakeholder groups. Specifically, communication about potential risks and hazards can suddenly appear and are subject to a different communication modus operandi. The accessibility and comprehensiveness of government information play an important role in how citizens make decisions and behave. In critical times, governments are required to meaningful crisis communication strategies to address the needs of different stakeholders. However, the Czech Republic as a post-communist country has not yet fully developed an integrated system of government communication with various stakeholder groups. The ministerial PR departments serve merely as technical support and media relations assistants for the ministers. This chapter presents research results regarding how the Czech Ministry of Education communicated during the pandemic crisis, how its communications were received by key stakeholders, and what pitfalls in communication it faced. The chapter presents empirical evidence of government communication challenges in times of crisis in a post-communist country and thus addresses the gap in government communication knowledge concerning the role of democracy and stakeholder participation in transforming societies. The chapter concludes with practical implications to prevent failures in future crises.