Evidence collection and use when making management decisions

Abstract

Evidence-based management (EBM) is a useful framework to assist managers in making organizational decisions based on the best available evidence. EBM use is nevertheless marginal among managers, and little is known about the enablers that can facilitate and effectively increase its use. We use two experimental studies to examine the effect of cognitive reflection, learning goals, and social norms in predicting EBM usage. We also propose an objective assessment task to measure the collection and use of evidence in the context of EBM. Results from both studies provide support for the importance of cognitive reflection and social norms to enable EBM. Surprisingly, learning goals were not associated with EBM use. This research increases our understanding of EBM, provides indications of how to increase its usage, and presents a methodology to investigate evidence collection and use objectively.