Handbook of Decision Making

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

Table of Contents:
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