Basic Frameworks for Decisions.

Wilson, Charles Z.; Alexis, Marcus

doi:10.2307/254514

Cited by 19 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…They range from starting a new venture (e.g., Forlani and Mullins 2000) to exiting an established one (e.g., DeTienne et al 2015), spanning the entire life cycle of a particular venture and beyond, and including decisions about financing (e.g., de Bettignies and Brander 2007), product innovation (e.g., Dougherty and Heller 1994), and the timing and mechanism of market entry (e.g., Lévesque and Shepherd 2004). Normative decision theory delineates characteristics required of decision problems to allow for a so-called rational choice (Arrow 1951a, b;Hansson 1994;Langlois 1982;Sarasvathy 2001;Simon and Newell 1958;Wilson and Alexis 1962). In short, those problems must be "well structured" (Simon and Newell 1958: 4).…”

Section: Structure Of Decision Problemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The inability to appraise different options to act (prompting an appraisement defect; as when the aspired-to effects of an action are not easily quantifiable; for instance, if an entrepreneur makes a strategic decision on whether or not to enter a new line of business), and 4. Failure to computationally solve the decision problem at hand (prompting a solvability defect; for instance, if an entrepreneur faces particular forms of sequence problems, such as processing incoming orders or deciding on the route for delivery services) (Adam and Witte 1979;Wilson and Alexis 1962;Witte 1979).…”

Section: Structure Of Decision Problemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ill-structuredness of various kinds prohibits entrepreneurs from making optimal decisions; instead they are constrained to seeking a satisficing (Simon 1976) solution to the initial problem (Beckert and Bronk 2018;Gigerenzer 2008;Wilson and Alexis 1962).…”

Section: Structure Of Decision Problemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Execution requires the perception of decision problems as ill-structured from the outset; hence, execution cannot aim to deliver optimal decision-making but offers a route to satisficing (Simon 1976) solutions to decision problems. If a decision environment is perceived as ill-structured, it suffers from at least one (but likely several) structural defect(s) (Adam and Witte 1979;Wilson and Alexis 1962;Witte 1979). Dealing with such situations via execution rests on the idea of heuristically addressing and resolving the identified structural defects and combining the resulting partial solutions to eventually reach a practicable overall solution (Adam 1983).…”

Section: What Does the Problem Structure Reveal About The Range Of Pomentioning

confidence: 99%

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On predictive entrepreneurial action in uncertain, ill-structured conditions

Rapp

Olbrich

2020

Rev Manag Sci

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Decision-making is at the heart of entrepreneurship. Unsurprisingly, entrepreneurship research has engaged with processes of entrepreneurial decision-making resulting, most importantly, in the notions of causation, effectuation, and enactment. Nevertheless, the range of processes delineated to date remains somewhat incomplete. Drawing on crucial insights from the analysis of decision problem structures reveals that entrepreneurship theory has lacked a process that both recognizes the ill-structuredness typically surrounding entrepreneurial decisions and places prognoses center stage. While effectuation implicitly addresses structural defects but denies prognoses a central role, causation emphasizes the importance of predictions while being associated with well-structured, risky environments, and thus, unaffected by structural defects. Theorizing about a combination thereof, that is, a process recognizing and considering the ill-structuredness of entrepreneurial environments yet building on predictions of the future is overdue. This paper, therefore, seeks to foster a more comprehensive yet nuanced understanding of entrepreneurial decision-making processes by outlining the intrinsic features of one such process that we term execution and relating it to existing processes.

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Section: Structure Of Decision Problemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Structure Of Decision Problemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Structure Of Decision Problemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: What Does the Problem Structure Reveal About The Range Of Pomentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

On predictive entrepreneurial action in uncertain, ill-structured conditions

Rapp

Olbrich

2020

Rev Manag Sci

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“…Four fundamental elements describe the structure of decision problems (Arrow 1951; Langlois 1982;Simon and Newell 1958;Wilson and Alexis 1962). The first is a closed set of means, i.e., a set that comprises both all the decision-maker's options and their outcomes.…”

Section: Uncertainty Types or Problem Structure?mentioning

confidence: 99%

On entrepreneurial decision logics under conditions of uncertainty: an attempt to advance the current debate

Rapp

Olbrich

2020

J Innov Entrep

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Uncertainty plays a crucial role for most entrepreneurship theories and is thus at the core of entrepreneurship research. Despite decades of research efforts, the notion of uncertainty is still somewhat vague and elusive, however. Consequently, desirable improvement of our understanding of uncertainty requires further considerations. Fortunately, in a recent paper published in the Academy of Management Review, Packard and Clark (Academy of Management Review, 2019) contribute their ideas on the subject. The study in question offers a novel dichotomy of uncertainty types and normatively prescribes entrepreneurial strategies associated with those different settings. The remarks of Packard and Clark have attracted opposition, however, and while appreciating the study’s efforts to refine the uncertainty construct, the present paper aims to advance the current debate. One stance adopted in the current paper to do so is to suggest supplementing research on uncertainty itself with the notion of ill-structuredness affecting decision problems. That approach makes it possible to theorize about entrepreneurial decision-making in a broader yet more nuanced way.

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1967

1967 Annual Supplement

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Basic Frameworks for Decisions.

Cited by 19 publications

References 0 publications

On predictive entrepreneurial action in uncertain, ill-structured conditions

On predictive entrepreneurial action in uncertain, ill-structured conditions

On entrepreneurial decision logics under conditions of uncertainty: an attempt to advance the current debate

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