The lifecycle of heuristics as managerial proverbs

Abstract

PurposeThis paper proposes a theory-based process model for the generation, articulation, sharing and application of managerial heuristics, from their origin as unspoken insight, to proverbialization, to formal or informal sharing, and to their adoption as optional guidelines or policy.Design/methodology/approachA conceptual paper is built using systematic and non-systematic review of literature. This paper employs a three-step approach to propose a process model for the emergence of managerial heuristics. Step one uses a systematic review of empirical studies on heuristics in order to map extant research on four key criteria and to obtain, by flicking through this sample in a moving-pictures style, the static stages of the process; step two adapts a knowledge management framework to yield the dynamic aspect; step three assembles these findings into a graphical process model and uses insights from literature to enrich its description and to synthesize four propositions.FindingsThe paper provides insights into how heuristics originate from experienced managers confronted with negative situations and are firstly expressed as an inequality with a threshold. Further articulation is done by proverbialization, refining and adapting. Sharing is done either in an informal way, through socialization, or in a formal way, through regular meetings. Soft adoption as guidelines is based on expert authority, while hard adoption as policy is based on hierarchical authority or on collective authority.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings are theory-based, and the model must be empirically refined.Practical implicationsPractical advice for managers on how to develop and share their portfolio of heuristics makes this paper valuable for practitioners.Originality/valueThis study addresses the less-researched aspect of heuristics creation, transforms static insights from literature into a dynamic process model, and, in a blended-theory approach, considers insights from a distant, but relevant literature – paremiology (the science of proverbs).

A Simple Rule is Born: How CEOs Distill Heuristics

“…In time, the heuristic undergoes a process of proverbialization to become short, clear, and catchy. There is an inherent link between heuristics and proverbs (Atanasiu, 2021), as they are both short, memorable decision‐making rules, which gives them ‘mnemonic robustness’ (Shapin, 2001). Eriksson and Kadefors have empirically documented (2017, p. 501) that ‘shared heuristics may take the form of short catchphrases, (…) expressed in common language, thought‐provoking, and preferably with a humorous twist’.…”

“…Guercini et al (2015) have studied the simple rules used by sales‐people to manage their meetings and they also address emergence as their secondary research focus, overshadowed by heuristic usage, content, and classification. In a recent special issue of Management Decision dedicated to heuristics, two conceptual papers, Cavarretta (2021) and Atanasiu (2021), offer theory‐based models of how heuristic are created and evolve. Overall, prior empirical research within the heuristic literature does not offer a clear perspective on how managerial heuristics emerge.…”

“…Despite various calls for research on how heuristics are born and evolve (Ehrig et al, 2021; Maitland and Sammartino, 2015; Ott et al, 2017), surprisingly few studies have investigated how these important cognitive tools emerge. Also, these few studies have either examined the process at team and organizational levels (Bingham and Eisenhardt, 2011; Bingham and Haleblian, 2012; Bingham et al, 2019), have studied emergence as a secondary research focus (Guercini et al, 2015), or have proposed conceptual, rather than empirical, models of the emergence process (Atanasiu, 2021; Cavarretta, 2021). Overall, prior empirical research does not offer a clear perspective on the cognitive and associated processes through which heuristics emerge at the level of the individual manager.…”

Introduction to Marketing Automation and Decision Making

“…However, defining the amount of complexity below which we are in heuristics and above which we are in the realm of "more complex methods" is not simple and makes the placement of some models of judgment and choice formation questionable, posing a difficult problem to address in rigorous terms. It is not only necessary to take into account different aspects, as much as recognizing the different features of the concept (Atanasiu, 2021;Cavarretta, 2021;Guercini and Lechner, 2021), but to offer a useful definition for research that wants to test whether heuristics have potential for integrating human and artificial intelligence.…”

Simple rules made simple: The origins and outcomes of managerial heuristics

“…Besides being important, simple rules heuristics are ubiquitous in (and even outside) management and business. The best managerial simple rules are shared by means of social learning (Atanasiu, 2021;Gigerenzer, 2016) with peers, teams, organizations (Bingham and Haleblian, 2012), and even industries (e.g., online retailing, as described by Wübben and v. Wangenheim, 2008). Famous leaders popularize their simple rules in books (Ray Dalio), letters to shareholders (Jeff Bezos), and interviews (Jack Welch).…”