Strategic Decision-Making Tasks and Group Effectiveness: Insights from Theory and Research on Small Group Performance

Abstract

Strategic decision-making is a critically important aspect of top managers' jobs. Although researchers have addressed the issue of how groups ought to be constructed to handle strategic decision making effectively, there has been little attention paid to the idea that different subtasks of the strategic decision-making process might have different task requirements. Research on small groups, however, shows that the nature of the task a group has to perform is a critical factor in determining the types of groups and group procedures that are likely to yield effective group performance. This paper analyzes the various tasks involved in strategic decision making and draws on small group research to suggest some hypotheses about how groups might be designed to enhance their effectiveness on each of these tasks. The analysis highlights the key role of managerial beliefs about the nature of strategic decision making.