Towards a heuristic view of managerial heuristics: Integrating divergent perspectives

Abstract

Managerial heuristics – simple methods for solving problems – are critical for key functions, such as deciding, strategizing, and organizing. Yet, research on managerial heuristics has been siloed into divergent streams, creating polarization among empirical findings and sparking numerous calls for integration. The goal of this review is to integrate different understandings of the construct, different processes examined by extant research, and divergent perspectives on heuristics’ performance into a coherent conceptual framework. We systematically reviewed 54 articles focusing on two complementary processes: the creation and the use of managerial heuristics. We discovered that research which describes the performance of heuristics as suboptimal focuses on the study of innate heuristics which are used reflexively; meanwhile, research which frames heuristics positively focuses on the study of learned heuristics which are used deliberately. We, thus, propose that the two perspectives on managerial heuristics are not contradictory but complementary. Based on this novel differentiation, we, first, aggregate the inputs and outcomes of creating and of using managerial heuristics into an integrative framework built around the manager's cognitive effort; second, we propose managerial heuristics as storage devices for managerial experience, time, cognitive effort and information about the environment; and third, we discuss implications for future research.