The Role of Intuition in Strategic Decision Making

TLDR

Intuitive processes are crucial for strategic decision making, yet applied research is scarce, with most studies being theoretical and field research in management settings virtually nonexistent. The study examined the neglected yet important role of intuition in strategic decision making. The authors surveyed senior managers across computer, banking, and utility firms in the United States to assess the frequency of intuitive processes in organizational decision making. Intuitive processes are frequently used in organizational decision making, and intuitive synthesis is positively linked to performance in unstable environments but negatively associated in stable ones.

Abstract

Although intuitive processes are critical for effective strategic decision making, there is little in the way of applied research on the topic. Apart from many popularized treatments of intuition in the literature today, there are only a handful of serious scholarly works on the subject. The majority of them are essentially theoretical in nature; field research in management settings is virtually nonexistent. This study examined this neglected but important process in strategic decision making. We surveyed senior managers of companies representing computer, banking, and utility industries in the United States and found that intuitive processes are used often in organizational decision making. Use of intuitive synthesis was found to be positively associated with organizational performance in an unstable environment, but negatively so in a stable environment.