Description
Purpose: Supervisory and Managing Board members are often in group decision-making situations that impact entire organisations. The current research investigates whether Supervisory and Managing Board members are able to choose the optimal solution in group decision-making when having shared as well as unique information (i.e., hidden profile paradigm).Methodology: A field experiment was conducted among Supervisory and Managing Board members (N = 75), who were randomly assigned to groups of three in order to participate in a candidate selection task. Each group member received shared as well as unique information about three candidates, privately wrote down his or her first preference, and engaged in a group discussion in order to jointly choose the best candidate. The optimal solution could have been found by the group if all unique information was pooled during group discussion (i.e., hidden profile paradigm).
Results: After group discussion, 24 percent of the groups chose the optimal solution. This finding was, however, not a result of the group discussion. Rather, the first preference of the majority significantly predicted the groups’ decisions.
Implications: Supervisory and Managing Board members need to be alert when the majority favours a specific outcome prior to group discussion, and find ways to consider all available information before actual decision-making.
Value: This study was conducted among high-level decision-makers, who are often hard to gain access to for scientific research. The insights of the current research are therefore especially valuable for bridging the gap between the hidden-profile literature and the practice of high-level decision-making.
| Period | 13 Dec 2018 → 14 Dec 2018 |
|---|---|
| Event title | ASPO conference 2018 |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Nijmegen, NetherlandsShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | National |