Identifying Managerial Search Strategies in Virtual Reality.

The literature on decision-making by boundedly rational organizations has largely focused on examining triggers and outcomes but has black boxed the middle process of search for solutions to problems. In this study we will unpack the "middle step" of problemistic search using a virtual reality (VR) experiment. Specifically, we will refer to this middle step as managerial search strategies. By building on belief- and aspiration-based models, we demonstrate that improved insights into the specific internal sub-processes of problemistic search help to identify different managerial search strategies. We also examine the adaptation of managerial search strategies in terms of their efficacy and efficiency in ambiguous environments. We test our propositions on managerial search strategies and their adaptation in a purpose-built virtual environment. Depending on the extent of ambiguity, we find that decision-makers adopt three types of strategies: vary-one-thing-at-a-time, vary-all-things-in-opposite-directions, switching-to-other-corners-solutions. When ambiguity increases, decision-makers achieve higher levels of efficacy and efficiency with a search strategy of switching-to-other-corners-solutions. Our study responds to the call for research in decision-making in behavioral organizational theory, culminating in a research agenda that further develops VR research for organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]