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- Title
Bounded Rationality: Cognitive Limitations or Adaptation to the Environment? The Implications of Ecological Rationality for Management Learning.
- Authors
Lejarraga, José; Pindard-Lejarraga, Maud
- Abstract
We examine why bounded rationality continues to be considered an inferior form of rationallity in the field of management and what this implies for business education and practice. We develop a critique of the dominant and widespread conceptualization of heuristics as flawed and error-prone and argue that this poses unnecessary constraints for the field of management. We discuss consequences of that interpretation of bounded rationality and propose ecological rationality as an alternative, positive interpretation. Ecological rationality considers a decision maker's environment and aims to identify how and when heuristics generate good outcomes. Evidence suggests that heuristics perform best when problems are ill-defined, many information cues are available, but they are not equally valuable, and there are many possible courses of action, that is, in the uncertain environments that are characteristic of managerial decision making. We contribute by (1) highlighting the distinctiveness of the ecological rationality framework for management learning, (2) acknowledging how it can help rehabilitate bounded rationality in the field of management against its widespread characterization as an inferior form of rationality; and (3) by identifying how it can provide practicable recommendations for managerial learning and decision making.
- Subjects
BOUNDED rationality; ORGANIZATIONAL learning; DECISION making; BUSINESS education
- Publication
Academy of Management Learning & Education, 2020, Vol 19, Issue 3, p289
- ISSN
1537-260X
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.5465/amle.2019.0189