Probing the impact of cognitive heuristics on strategic decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from an emerging economy

Ahmad, Maqsood; Wu, Qiang; Naveed, Muhammad; Ali, Shoaib

doi:10.1108/ijse-10-2021-0636

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…According to Ahmad et al (2022c), strategic planning is primarily the responsibility of company owners and top managers. Thus, to achieve the research objective, the sample of this study consists of owners and top managers of SMEs from the twin cities of Pakistan (Rawalpindi and Islamabad).…”

Section: Research Methodology 31 Sampling and Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does CSR digitalization improve the sustainable competitive performance of SMEs? Evidence from an emerging economy

Ahmad,

Wu,

Ahmed

2023

SAMPJ

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Purpose This study aims to investigate the influence of the digitalization of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the sustainable competitive performance (SCP) of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in an emerging economy and to examine the moderating effect of digital organizational culture on this relationship. Design/methodology/approach Data collection was conducted through a survey completed by 311 owners and top managers operating in service, trading and manufacturing sector SMEs positioned within the twin cities of Pakistan. A convenient purposively sampling technique and snowball method were used for data collection, and structural equation modeling was used for data analysis. Findings The results of this study suggest that CSR digitalization has a markedly positive influence on the SCP. Digital organizational culture appears to moderate these relationships. Practical implications This study highlights the importance of considering CSR digitalization and fostering a digital organizational culture for SMEs to achieve SCP. The findings provide valuable insights for strategic decision-makers, including owners, CEOs and senior management of SMEs, to enhance their knowledge concerning how and why a digital organizational culture makes it easier to digitalize CSR activities, with the ultimate objective of ensuring SCP and SME growth. Overall, the findings of this study have practical implications for policymakers and managers in SMEs as they can promote the adoption of digital technologies in CSR initiatives and develop a digital organizational culture within the organization. This would contribute to enhancing the SCP of SMEs. Thus, this research is beneficial for business actors, policymakers and researchers seeking to enhance SMEs’ SCP. Social implications This study provides valuable guidance to the senior management of SMEs regarding successfully adopting and integrating digital technologies into their CSR practices. This integration can lead to increased social and environmental benefits, which positively impact both business and society. Policymakers can use these findings to develop policies and initiatives to encourage CSR digitalization among SMEs. By providing support and incentives for digital transformation, policymakers can help SMEs adopt digital tools to improve their CSR performance, contributing to economic growth and sustainability. Originality/value This study pioneers research on the links between CSR digitalization, digital organizational culture and the SCP of SMEs. This study contributes to the literature by defining CSR digitalization as an antecedent to the SCP of SMEs. In addition, this study underlines the significance of CSR digitalization for the achievement of SMEs’ SCP of SMEs with the moderating role of digital organizational culture. Overall, this study enriches the resource base view literature through empirical evidence.

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Section: Research Methodology 31 Sampling and Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does CSR digitalization improve the sustainable competitive performance of SMEs? Evidence from an emerging economy

Ahmad,

Wu,

Ahmed

2023

SAMPJ

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since most of the people in slums aren't aware of social welfare schemes and also they were hesitant to respond to our queries; as a result, we employed the snowball sampling technique (Ahmad et al, 2022;Singh et al, , 2021 to collect the primary data for the study as it was appropriate and convenient for us to reach beneficiaries through the references from concerned peer groups, bank branches and NGO's (Table 2).…”

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does financial inclusion impact socio-economic stability? A study of social safety net in Indian slums

Singh

2022

IJSE

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PurposeThe study aims to examine the impact of social assistance schemes introduced by the Indian government on poverty alleviation in urban slums.Design/methodology/approachTo accomplish the study's objectives, primary data were collected from 585 beneficiaries of government schemes operating in India's northwestern state using a multistage sampling technique (Punjab). The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) technique reduced the total dataset to its minimum factors. Then, using second-order confirmatory factor analysis, the data's validity and reliability were determined. The data were analyzed using statistical techniques such as one-way ANOVA, t-test and structural equation modeling (SEM).FindingsThe study's findings indicate that social assistance provided by the Government of India has a direct and substantial influence on poverty alleviation in urban slums. The study demonstrates how access to basic credit financial services through social assistance programmes has improved the lives of urban poor households living in slums and assisted them in escaping poverty.Research limitations/implicationsThe investigation was undertaken among a few limitations. First, the in-depth investigation of the study is restricted to only the northwestern state of India solely because of limited resources and time availability. Second, the study focuses primarily on the perspectives of beneficiaries of the social assistance schemes in India. Still, it might be expanded in the future to include additional stakeholders such as bank executives, business colleagues and municipal town panchayats.Practical implicationsDue to policymakers' increased emphasis on poor households living in urban slums, this topic is critical for studying many issues.Social implicationsThe research explores gaps in social welfare schemes to direct policymakers and government authorities to take appropriate steps to aid the urban poor people in sliding out of poverty.Originality/valueBy examining the influence of the Indian government's social welfare schemes on poverty reduction in slums, this study contributes to the literature on public assistance schemes and poverty alleviation. This article can assist policymakers in developing nations in increasing financial capability among disadvantaged urban families on a national and international level.

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“…Adielyani and Mawardi (2020) discovered that herding behavior, risk tolerance and overconfidence all have a significant positive affect on stock investment decisions. The paper by Ahmad et al (2021b, 2022a) indicates that recognition-based heuristic biases, like name memorability, alphabetical order and name fluency, have a significant positive impact on individual investors’ decision-making and a negative effect on their investments’ performance. From an economic point of view, these results suggest that individual investors with recognition heuristic-driven biases generate high trading volumes on the stock market, which negatively impact their investment performance.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Their study found that heuristic-driven biases, such as overconfidence, representativeness, availability, anchoring and adjustment, have a significant and detrimental impact on the strategic decisions made by entrepreneurs operating in emerging markets. According to Ahmad et al (2022aAhmad et al ( , 2022b, strategic decision-making is quite complex, necessitating extensive brainstorming. Most strategic decision-makers use cognitive heuristics, such as the disposition effect, self-attribution and underconfidence, in attempting to avoid risky losses in uncertain situations like COVID-19, resulting in judgmental errors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heuristic-driven biases as mental shortcuts in investment management activities: a qualitative study

Ahmad

2023

QRFM

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Purpose This study aims to use a qualitative approach to explore and clarify the mechanism by which heuristic-driven biases influence the decisions and performance of individual investors actively trading on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). It also aims to identify how to overcome the negative effect of heuristic-driven biases, so that finance practitioners can avoid the expensive errors which they cause. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts an interpretative approach. Qualitative data was collected in semistructured interviews, in which the target population was asked open-ended questions. The sample consists of five brokers and/or investment strategists/advisors who maintain investors’ accounts or provide investment advice to investors on the PSX, who were selected on a convenient basis. The researchers analyzed the interview data thematically. Findings The results confirm that investors often use heuristics, causing several heuristic-driven biases when trading on the stock market, specifically, reliance on recognition-based heuristics, namely, alphabetical ordering of firm names, name memorability and name fluency, as well as cognitive heuristics, such as herding behavior, disposition effect, anchoring and adjustment, repetitiveness, overconfidence and availability biases. These lead investors to make suboptimal decisions relating to their investment management activities. Due to these heuristic-driven biases, investors trade excessively in the stock market, and their investment performance is adversely affected. Originality/value This study provides a practical framework to explore and clarify the mechanism by which heuristic-driven biases influence investment management activities. To the best of authors’ knowledge, the current study is the first to focus on links between heuristic-driven biases, investment decisions and performance using a qualitative approach. Furthermore, with the help of a qualitative approach, the investigators also highlight some factors causing an increased use of heuristic variables by investors and discuss practical approaches to overcoming the negative effects of heuristics factors, so that finance practitioners can avoid repeating the expensive errors which they cause, which also differentiates this study from others.

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Probing the impact of cognitive heuristics on strategic decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from an emerging economy

Cited by 6 publications

References 62 publications

Does CSR digitalization improve the sustainable competitive performance of SMEs? Evidence from an emerging economy

Does CSR digitalization improve the sustainable competitive performance of SMEs? Evidence from an emerging economy

Does financial inclusion impact socio-economic stability? A study of social safety net in Indian slums

Heuristic-driven biases as mental shortcuts in investment management activities: a qualitative study

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