Marta Sinclair

The Role of Intuition in Strategic Decision Making

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.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.

Intuition: Myth or a Decision-Making Tool?

Faced with today’s ill-structured business environment of fast-paced change and rising uncertainty, organizations have been searching for management tools that will perform satisfactorily under such ambiguous conditions. In the arena of managerial decision making, one of the approaches being assessed is the use of intuition. Based on our definition of intuition as a non-sequential information-processing mode, which comprises both cognitive and affective elements and results in direct knowing without any use of conscious reasoning, we develop a testable model of integrated analytical and intuitive decision making and propose ways to measure the use of intuition.Faced with today’s ill-structured business environment of fast-paced change and rising uncertainty, organizations have been searching for management tools that will perform satisfactorily under such ambiguous conditions. In the arena of managerial decision making, one of the approaches being assessed is the use of intuition. Based on our definition of intuition as a non-sequential information-processing mode, which comprises both cognitive and affective elements and results in direct knowing without any use of conscious reasoning, we develop a testable model of integrated analytical and intuitive decision making and propose ways to measure the use of intuition.

Misconceptions About Intuition

This article outlines advances in intuition research and draws attention to several misconceptions, based on conflicting assumptions about the intuition construct and the intuiting process. In particular, it focuses on the distinction between process and outcome, the role of consciousness and affect, the research focus on decision making or problem solving, and the differential use of intuition in technical and creative settings. It calls for a comprehensive intuition model that would refute some of the misconceptions and proposes three types of intuition: intuitive expertise, intuitive creation, and intuitive foresight.

Handbook of Intuition Research

This groundbreaking interdisciplinary Handbook showcases the latest intuition research, providing an integrated framework that reconciles opposing views on what intuition is and how it works. The internationally renowned group of contributors explores different facets of the intuiting process and its outcome, the role of consciousness and affect in intuition, and alternate ways of capturing it. They tackle the function of intuition in expertise, strategy, entrepreneurship, and ethics and outline intuitive decision-making in the legal profession, medicine, film and wine industry, and teaching. The Handbook pushes the boundaries of our current understanding by exploring the possibility of non-local intuition based on the principles of quantum holography and investigating new techniques for developing intuitive skills. This groundbreaking interdisciplinary Handbook showcases the latest intuition research, integrated in a framework that reconciles various views on what intuition is and how it works. The internationally renowned group of contributors presents their findings in five areas. Part I explores different facets of the intuiting process and its outcome, the role of consciousness and affect, and alternative ways of capturing intuition. Part II deals with its function in expertise, strategy, entrepreneurship, and ethics. Part III outlines intuitive decision making in critical occupations, the legal profession, medicine, the film and wine industries, and teaching. Part IV pushes the boundaries of our current understanding by exploring the possibility of non local intuition, based on the principles of quantum holography. Part V investigates different ways of developing intuitive skills. This cutting-edge, comprehensive Handbook will prove essential for academics and research students of the social sciences, particularly management, psychology, sociology, entrepreneurship, leadership, team dynamics, HR and training. It will also be an invaluable resource for industry professionals searching for soft-core methods to increase productivity and creativity/innovation, to improve leadership and organizational climate, or to adopt new staff training and development methods.

Measuring Emotion: Methodological Issues and Alternatives

Given the increased profile of emotions in the past decade (Ashkanasy & Daus, 2002), the aim of this chapter is to raise awareness of measurement issues. As scholars, we are interested in examining emotions as dependent and independent variables, and also in manipulation checks to verify experimental induction of emotional states. In spite of the many studies on emotion, poor measurement remains the Achilles’ heel of this line of research (Huelsman, Furr, & Nemanick, 2003). Accurate assessment of emotion is imperative for advancing knowledge in this field; therefore, our focus is on critical evaluation of commonly used emotions measures

A matter of feeling? The role of intuition in entrepreneurial decision-making and behavior

In recent years there has been a growth of interest in the role played by intuition in entrepreneurial cognition and behavior. However, the significance of the role of affect in intuitive judgment has been underplayed by entrepreneurship researchers. In response to this theoretical and empirical shortcoming we propose recognition-primed decision-making (RPD), the somatic marker hypothesis (SMH), and dual-process theories (in particular Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory: CEST) as complementary frameworks for advancing understanding of the dynamic interplay of cognition and affect in entrepreneurial judgment and decision-making.

Affective Antecedents of Intuitive Decision Making

Although the use of intuition in managerial decisions has been documented, many questions about the intuitive process and its antecedent stages remain unanswered, in particular the role of affective traits and states. The study reported in this article investigates whether decision makers who are more attuned to own emotions and experience a particular mood have an easier access to intuition. Our findings indicate that emotional awareness has indeed a positive effect on the use of intuition, which appears to be stronger for women. Surprisingly, positive and negative mood seem to influence intuition according to their intensity rather than positive/negative distinction.

AFFECTIVE CLIMATE, ORGANIZATIONAL CREATIVITY, AND KNOWLEDGE CREATION: CASE STUDY OF AN AUTOMOTIVE COMPANY

This exploratory study investigates the relationship between affective climate and creativity as contributing factors to knowledge creation in organizations. Organizational creativity represents a source of new task-related ideas, implemented in the form of innovation. We argue that creativity is inherently linked to the process of knowledge creation embedded in the organizational context and related to social interaction. Our study identified several affective conditions that appear to be present when the professional environment supports creativity. These findings suggest that affective climate does influence the organizational setting, fostering or inhibiting organizational creativity.

Improving Hotel Efficiency Through Integration of Service and Project Management Cultures

This article proposes that efficiency of hotel organizations could be improved by integrating service-oriented operations with project management principles. Such integration would instill innovation, proactive attitudes and regulated risk-taking needed to pursue ongoing improvement and proactive response to change. By managing each change as a project, embedded in smoothly running operations, hotels would extend their life span by continuously reinventing themselves. The implementation of such strategic shift would necessitate reliance on empowered staff, placed in a flexible environment that engenders favorable climates for service, innovation, and strategic human resources (HR). The end result is synergy achieved through a complementary mix of service and project management cultures.

Australian fashion designers: the potential nexus with China

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how Australian fashion designers perceive the impact and opportunities offered by the Chinese textile and clothing industry.Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative research design used personally administered, semi‐structured interviews. A purposeful sample used interviewees drawn from proactive fashion business owners. The sample covered four clothing categories. Thematic data analysis was used, and data integrity was assured, using well‐recognised techniques including triangulation and constant comparison.Findings – The Queensland fashion designers are experiencing significant impacts from the current economic and manufacturing situations and the challenges presented by developments in China. They respond to their operational concerns, but do not deal strategically with contemporary challenges. They are unaware of opportunities that the Chinese textile and clothing industry offers, struggling with a global perspective. Although they are aware of issu...