۱- Introduction

۲- Research on intuition and decision making

۳- Research method

۴- Empirical context of the project prioritization

۵- Findings on communication and sharing of intuitive judgements

۶- Discussion

۷- Conclusion

References

Abstract

Academics have argued that data-driven decision processes will replace intuitive judgements, but the empirical aspects of this claim are understudied. We provide empirical findings of how managers communicate and share intuitive judgements when BI system’s output is prescribed to be the main information source for decision making. We investigate organizational decision making regarding IT project portfolio investments. We used a rich empirical dataset from a longitudinal, qualitative study investigating the prioritization of IT projects in a large financial institution. Our findings show that decision makers employ four techniques to communicate and share intuitive judgements during organizational decision making, which built on the BI output. Furthermore, we found that the use of these techniques depends on the decision maker’s familiarity with the group and the convergence of perceptions about either a project, or specific issues in the group.

Introduction

The tendency of managers to rely on intuitive judgements in decision making is well documented [1,2]. This tendency is hindered by two organizational features. First, organizations may impede the use of intuition; for example, organizations may prescribe the use of specific tools and analytical processes for decision making [3]. Second, the recent advent of sophisticated information technologies, such as business analytics or business intelligence, promotes analytical processes and the extensive use of data in decision making [4]. Although organizations have recently adopted business intelligence (BI) and big data technologies to support data driven and evidence-based decision making processes, researchers argue that intuition remains an important determinant for strategic decisions [5–۸]. We investigated organizational decision making in an organization using state-of-the-art information technologies, i.e., a BI system to support analytical processes. We focused on prioritization meetings where senior managers make decisions regarding project portfolio investments, which are important as they contribute to the organization’s innovation strategy. Empirical studies highlight the importance of such meetings for firm strategy [9–۱۱]. In spite of the mandatory use of a BI system to analyze the decision alternatives, in order to optimize decision making processes, the decision makers appeared to rely on their intuitive judgments in a number of situations. We, therefore, turned to the literature on intuition in organizational decision making to understand how decision makers behave during the decision making process and observe the use of intuitive judgements at the organizational level [2,12]. In the organizational decision making literature, there are many recent calls for research on the interplay between intuition and analytical thinking. For example, Salas et al. [12] called for research on how ‘people communicate or share their intuitions if they are not immediately defensible in a rational sense’ ([۱۲]: ۹۶۵). Sadler-Smith claimed that research on ‘how intuitive expertise is embodied and enacted in organizational settings is a rather understudied phenomenon.’