A Model of Antecedents and Consequences of Intuition in Strategic Decision-making: Evidence from Egypt

Abstract

While management theorists have recently paid more attention to the use of intuition in strategic decision-making, there is still little empirical research on the subject. Examination of potentially relevant contextual variables and outcomes is particularly lacking. This article advances our understanding by proposing and examining a model of antecedents and consequences of intuition in strategic decision-making using partial least squares (PLS). In addition to intuition, the model consists of four antecedent variables (decision motive, decision uncertainty, company performance, and company size), two moderating variables (environmental uncertainty and hostility), one decision outcome (decision disturbance), and one control variable (rationality). A study of Egyptian manufacturing firms indicates that decision uncertainty and company size are related to the use of intuition; that intuition significantly influences decision disturbance; and that environmental hostility moderates the relationship between decision intuition and disturbance. The implications of these findings for strategic decision-making theory, for practice, and for further research, are discussed. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.