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Procedural Rationality as a Means for Evidence-Based Management in Conflicted Decision-Making: A Mixed-Methods Study

Walker, Alice Jessica

Abstract Details

2015, Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, Management.
Evidence-based management (EBMgt) has been advanced as a way to utilize empirical research findings to propose an `optimal’ solution to a problem within a centralized authority structure. In shared leadership settings, decisions are typically complex and punctuated by divergent perspectives emerging from within the organization. In these circumstances, the substantively rational decisions advanced by EBMgt must also be infused with commitment for coordinated action among diverse and often conflicted interests. Is EBMgt a viable approach in these circumstances? This thesis reports on a three-phase mixed methods research project into evidence-based shared decision making in organizations, and the conditions under which EBMgt practices can bring about commitment to a decision. In the first phase, we conducted an inductive, grounded analysis of interviews with community college leaders to find that it is the process of inquiry, rather than the evidence itself, that emerges as the important driver of commitment to a decision. In this study we propose a fundamentally different view of evidence in management decisions—evidence not as a predetermined solution to be implemented but instead as a boundary-object to focus attention and dialogue throughout the process. In the second study, we conduct a cross-sectional comparative survey of 139 public community college faculty, staff and administrators. We find support for the importance of the collaborative process in driving commitment when using research evidence in shared decision making groups where conflict is present. In conflicted environments, the use of evidence in group decision making may actually erode the commitment necessary for decision implementation. However, we also discover that a process of joint inquiry involving collaborative search for and analysis of evidence can be effective in bolstering commitment. As such, this study identifies novel facilitative and restrictive conditions for implementing EBMgt in complex decision environments. In the third study, we focus on unpacking the idea of conflict. We distinguish between affective and cognitive that emerge during the decision process as well as conflict based in established contending logics of action that precipitate polarized role identities in group members. We thus develop a model of EBMgt practices in shared decision making scenarios where conflict is present and commitment is needed for forward progress. We empirically test and validate this model utilizing a serial mediation in a structural equation model. Indirect effects reveal a complex pattern of relationships. First, conflicted logics of action decrease the use of EBMgt in practice. However, when shared decision groups do use evidence through collaborative search and analysis it strengthens individual commitment to the decision as well as willingness to introduce the routine into subsequent shared decision groups within the organization. Second, conflicted logics of action lead to increased levels of affective conflict which, in turn fuels use of evidence in the decision process but also damages commitment necessary for decision implementation. Overall, this thesis stretches the epistemological territory of EBMgt to include people, their activities and their relationships as key factors in the overall impact of EBMgt on organizational outcomes.
Kalle Lyytinen, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Richard Boland, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Paul Salipante, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Nicholas Berente, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
250 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Walker, A. J. (2015). Procedural Rationality as a Means for Evidence-Based Management in Conflicted Decision-Making: A Mixed-Methods Study [Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1427835243

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Walker, Alice. Procedural Rationality as a Means for Evidence-Based Management in Conflicted Decision-Making: A Mixed-Methods Study. 2015. Case Western Reserve University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1427835243.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Walker, Alice. "Procedural Rationality as a Means for Evidence-Based Management in Conflicted Decision-Making: A Mixed-Methods Study." Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1427835243

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)