Behavioral Strategy

Come possiamo migliorare i processi decisionali nelle organizzazioni complesse? In questo lavoro tentiamo di rispondere a tale domanda tramite l’utilizzo di un particolare strumento di problem solving, il quale aiuta a identificare ed eliminare le distorsioni cognitive dei processi decisionali attraverso una verifica, ex-post, della loro qualità. A tal proposito, per cogliere in maniera più efficace il ruolo che le caratteristiche della personalità dei decisori possano avere all’interno di tali processi, utilizziamo anche il test di personalità Myers Briggs Type Indicator. Al centro del lavoro è il caso di studio di una organizzazione non a scopo di lucro erogatrice di programmi di alta formazione. All’interno di tale caso, in particolare, analizziamo i processi decisionali attinenti all’introduzione di tre nuovi prodotti-servizi.

Purpose – Why and how do cognitive distortions in managerial decision making occur? All organizations are imperfect systems (Katz and Khan, 1966), with wrong decisions often just round the corner. As a consequence, addressing these important questions continues to be particularly lively in the management development area, especially in terms of its intended contribution to the de-biasing activity. Thus, through this critical review article we aim to provide the current scientific dialogue on the topic with updated lenses, which can also be innovative from some aspects. Design/methodology/approach – Our review framework is based on the recent, impactful article on biases in managerial decision making by Kahneman et al. (2011), and on Bazerman and Moore’s (2013) perspective on emanating heuristics, considered as the causes of biases. Accordingly, we derive four intertwined thematic clusters of heuristics, through which we systematically group and critically analyze the management literature mostly published on the topic since 2011. Findings – From the analyzed clusters we propose an integrative framework of emanating heuristics, which focuses on the co-evolving relationships and potentially self-reinforcing processes in and between them. Originality/value – The value of our contribution is threefold: 1) from a methodological perspective, to our knowledge, the studies adopted as the basis of our analysis have not yet been simultaneously used as a comprehensive ground for updated reviews on this topic; 2) from a conceptual perspective, the emerging integrative co-evolutionary framework can help explain the dangerous connections among cognitive traps and emanating heuristics; 3) from a practical perspective, our resulting framework can also be helpful for future de-biasing attempts in the business arena.

This dissertation investigates individual and organizational effects of knowledge production in three chapters. I depart from the notion that both interpersonal collaboration between and within organizations as well as recombination of knowledge components are instrumental in the production of new knowledge.
The first chapter investigates the origins of collaborative knowledge production in plastics electronics. Using survey data, I explore how individual and organizational characteristics drive collaboration preferences. I avoid looking at established collaborations because these bias collaboration determinants. I find that resource provisioning and social similarity influence preferences and that these effects are moderated by collaboration experience and organizational objectives. Additionally, the study suggests that individuals facing an aspiration gap are more favourable towards collaboration, and proposes that relational capability, in the form of networking skills, openness, and information will moderate this relationship.
The second chapter looks at the recombination of knowledge components. Using patent data from US semiconductor firms, we explore how firms build on old knowledge components to create new patented inventions. The findings suggest that familiarity of components contributes to innovative success but that adding novelty to familiar combinations is on average even more successful. We also find that the effects of different types of knowledge recombinations are moderated by the time in between these collaborations as well as by the search for non-domain specific knowledge.
The final chapter posits that the search for knowledge components and the search for collaboration partners should not be understood as two isolated determinants of invention. I submit that finding knowledge components (objects) or knowledgeable partners (holders) can be construed as alternative solutions to the same knowledge problem and describe a process model of invention as escalating recombinant search. The dissertation ends with a reflexive conclusion on the contributions made in these three chapters.

How do affect, cognition, and their interplay influence managerial decision-making at the individual, group, and organizational levels? How can these influences be fostered or reduced? This book conceptually and empirically answers such questions, and considers important theoretical issues for future research about the complex functioning of the human mind in managerial decision-making.

Purpose Why and how do cognitive distortions in managerial decision making occur? All organizations are imperfect systems (Katz and Kahn, 1966), with wrong decisions often just round the corner. As a consequence, addressing these important questions continues to be particularly lively in the management development area, especially in terms of its intended contribution to the de-biasing activity. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to provide the current scientific dialogue on the topic with updated lenses, which can also be innovative from some aspects. Design/methodology/approach The review framework is based on the recent, impactful article on biases in managerial decision making by Kahneman et al. (2011), and on Bazerman and Moore’s (2013) perspective on emanating heuristics, considered as the causes of biases. Accordingly, the authors derive four intertwined thematic clusters of heuristics, through which the authors systematically group and critically analyze the management liter...