HANDBOOK OF DECISION MAKING This handbook offers a state-of-the-art overview of research and theories on decision making in organizations at the strategic level of analysis.
Chapters are authored by leading international scholars, with some illustrative case vignettes from practitioners. Each contributor was selected for his/her special knowledge of the field.
The Handbook addresses key questions confronting the decision making research of the past and the present, offers critiques, and suggests future research directions. Topics covered emphasize the classic decision theory perspectives while also incorporating recent insights from the fields of strategic choice, risk & uncertainty, scenario planning and complexity theory, with a broad social science perspective on the disciplinary roots of decision theory in economics, politics, and social theory.
This is a landmark reference volume for the field, offering scholars and practitioners:
Comprehensive, but accessible, coverage of classic and recent developments
Chapters by established international experts
Case analyses illustrating practical consequences of theories
Guide to new research directions and theory
Notes on the Contributors ix
About the Editors xxi
Part I Introduction 1
1 Crucial Trends and Issues in Strategic Decision Making 3
Paul C. Nutt And David C. Wilson
2 Research on Strategic Decisions: Taking Stock and Looking Ahead 31
Vassilis Papadakis, Ioannis Thanos, and Patrick Barwise
Part II Key Theoretical Perspectives 71
3 Decision Making: It's Not What You Think 73
Henry Mintzberg And Frances Westley
4 Organizing and the Process of Sensemaking 83
Karl E. Weick, Kathleen M. Sutcliffe, And David Obstfeld
5 The Political Aspects of Strategic Decision Making 105
John Child, Said Elbanna, and Suzana Rodrigues
6 Organizational Identity and Strategic Decision Making 139
Aimee L. Hamilton And Dennis A. Gioia
Part III Conceptualizing Strategic Decision Making 153
7 Building a Decision-making Action Theory 155
Paul C. Nutt
8 A Decision Process Model to Support Timely Organizational Innovation 197
Andre L. Delbecq, Terri L. Griffith, Tammy L. Madsen, And Jennifer L. Woolley
9 Decision Making in Groups: Theory and Practice 231
Colin Eden And Fran Ackermann
Part IV Factors and Considerations That Impinge On Decision Making 273
10 Decision Making in Professional Service Firms 275
Tim Morris, Royston Greenwood, and Samantha Fairclough
11 Risk Taking and Strategic Decision Making 307
Philip Bromiley And Devaki Rau
12 Decision Errors of the 4th, 5th, and 6th Kind 327
Kim Boal And Mark Meckler
13 Decision Making in Public Organizations 349
Hal G. Rainey, John C. Ronquillo, And Claudia N. Avellaneda
14 Strategic Decision Making and Knowledge: A Heideggerian Approach 379
Haridimos Tsoukas
15 Challenges of Using IT to Support Multidisciplinary Team Decision Making 403
Michael Barrett and Eivor Oborn
Part V Recent Empirical Findings That Support Theories And Views 431
16 The Bradford Studies: Decision Making and Implementation Processes and Performance 433
Susan Miller
17 Comparing the Merits of Decision-making Processes 449
Paul C. Nutt
18 Of Baseball, Medical Decision Making, and Innumeracy 501
Lori Ferranti, Steven Cheng, and David Dilts
19 The Dimensions of Decisions: A Conceptual and Empirical Investigation 517
Lori S. Franz and Michael W. Kramer
Part VI Methodology for The Study Of Decision Making 541
20 Empirical Methods for Research on Organizational Decision-Making Processes 543
Marshall Scott Poole and Andrew H. Van De Ven
21 On the Study of Process: Merging Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches 581
Paul C. Nutt
22 The Bradford Studies: Issues Raised by These and Other Studies for the Understanding of Decision Making 619
David C. Wilson
Part VII Directions and Perspectives 643
23 Discussion and Implications: Toward Creating a Unified Theory of Decision Making 645
Paul C. Nutt and David C. Wilson
Index 679
