Context, tactics, and the examination of alternatives during strategic decision making

This study explored how decision makers evaluate alternatives to make strategic choices, using decision outcomes to identify best practices. To carry out the study, the evaluation practices of decision makers, contextual factors, and success indicators were uncovered from an appraisal of 317 strategic decisions. Decision makers were found to use nine tactics to evaluate alternatives. Each tactic was examined using success indicators. Contextual factors of importance, urgency, internal support, and decision maker power were used as control variables to qualify tactic success, indicating conditions under which each evaluation tactic could be profitably used. The implications of best and worst practices are discussed.