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Choosing among alternative new product development projects: The role of heuristics
Author(s) -
West Douglas C.,
Acar Oguz A.,
Caruana Albert
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
psychology and marketing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.035
H-Index - 116
eISSN - 1520-6793
pISSN - 0742-6046
DOI - 10.1002/mar.21397
Subject(s) - heuristics , intuition , decision maker , new product development , knowledge management , marketing , process (computing) , computer science , management science , psychology , business , economics , operating system , cognitive science
The initial screening decision that marketing managers make is critical. It requires the selection of what innovation project to invest in, which is fundamental to marketing success. However, our knowledge of how managers make these decisions and how this impacts performance is limited. By drawing upon cognitive psychology and the managerial decision‐making literature, we address two critical questions. The first question focuses on identifying specific decision‐making types (e.g., specific heuristics, intuition) used when making an innovation screening decision. Based on this analysis and prior research, we develop specific decision‐maker profiles about how an individual manager decides. The second research question is about connecting these profiles with performance. Specifically, it addresses what the consequences of different decision‐maker profiles are on the perceived accuracy and speed of decision‐making? Data were collected from 122 senior managers in these industries. We find that when heuristics are used alone, or concurrently with intuition, managers make decisions that are as accurate as when they rely on analytical decision‐making. However, the process is significantly faster. The findings provide an important step toward a more comprehensive understanding of decision‐making at the front‐end of innovation.