ttl

Managers in organizations make numerous decisions on a daily basis.  As these managers are human, they can succumb to the biases as any person does when making a choice with incomplete information that involves understanding the future state of the environment.  For business leaders, however, these choices do not affect just them, instead, these decisions can have lasting impacts on the organization that can affect every department, employee, and the future of the organization.  This proposed research paper seeks to assist the business in understanding how the trust level of a group mediates the manager’s utilization of the group’s input the assessment of the choice sets available for the strategic direction of the organization.
This paper is broken into five sections, each section building on the concepts from the previous sections.  In the first section, the purpose of the research and problem statement are proposed along with relevant references to extant literature supporting this research.  The second section describes the proposed research method, sampling, and procedure for the research study.  In the third section, a list of draft research questions to be answered in this research are presented.  In the fourth section the theories supporting this researech study are provided.  Finally, in the final section the viabilty of this research for PhD-level researech is discussed.
Research Purpose and Problem Statement
Numerous research has been completed regarding intertemporal choice, hyperbolic discounting, and group dynamics (Albrecht, Volz, Sutter, Laibson, & Von Cramon, 2011; Andreoni & Sprenger, 2012a, 2012b; Kidd, Nicholas, & Rai, 2013).  These theories have allowed researchers to understand how risk and uncertainty can affect an individual’s choice sets when faced with incomplete information.  Within organizations, researchers have begun to understand how group dynamics can affect the outcomes of decisions made by groups.  Within this context, numerous elements of the group affected the decision-making such as group identification, trust, conflict, and experience (Brenner & Bilgin, 2011; De Jong & Elfring, 2010; K. C. Hong, 2008; Y. Hong & Pavlou, 2014; Michaelson, De La Vega, Chatham, & Munakata, 2013; Mojzisch & Schulz-Hardt, 2010) .  These researchers focused on the primary affectation of the group dynamics with little consideration given to the comparison of the decision process to the same decision being made without the input from the group.
Business leaders sometimes need to make decisions based on the limited knowledge available when the issue is presented; however, other times these leaders are able to proceed through a decision making process that involves soliciting input from other members of the organization (Jablow, 2012; Krumscheid, 2013).
The research by Andreoni and Sprenger (2012a, 2012b) provide a novel consideration of separating risk and time preferences.  Jablow (2012) and Krumscheid (2013) both noted limitations in providing realistic scenarios within the context of their studies as a recommendation for furthering their research.  In combing these limitations with Goldfarb et.al (2012) one key component became evident, understanding the trust within the group is tantamount to understanding the effects of group dynamics on managerial decision making.  The integration of time/risk preference separations within a realistic context of group trust dynamics is a focal point within the established theory gap provided by Jablow (2012) and Krumscheid (2013).
The purpose of this experimental research is to extend the academic body of knowledge of the effects of group analysis on managerial decision-making within organizations.  Specifically, this research will expand on the limitations found by Goldfarb et al. (2012) and the areas mentioned for future research: “Theory and lab research on social preferences…Research on the effect of social preferences on managerial behavior using data from the field  in order to understand the broader applicability of the laboratory-generated results” (p. 417).  In this experiment, we will test how group attributes mediate the disjunctive affect and impulsivity of strategic decisions made by managers controlling for the organization’s risk preference and recent financial performance.  Potential moderating variable will include the gender, education level, tenure, and level within the organization.
When a group is well balanced and trusted by the leader, individual biases can be eliminated through consultation and feedback from members of the group.  Because balance and trust is requisite in this affect, group dynamics play an important role in understanding the potential influence the group can have on the decision making process of a leader in an organization.  This research, by contributing to research on the relationships between strategic management groups and decision outcomes within an organization may contribute to the effort of creating a macro-level framework for corporate responsibility and end the practice of corporate malfeasance by rouge managers.
Proposed Research Method, Sample, and Procedure
Given the empirical nature of the study, it will be conducted utilizing a quantitative methodology.  Studies on choice theory and group dynamics have differed in their methodological approach to sample size.  Some have created a pre-test of a sample of convenience to test the efficacy of the measurement tool prior to the main task (Albrecht, Von Essen, Parys, & Szech, 2013; De Jong & Elfring, 2010; Mcclure, Ericson, Laibson, Loewenstein, & Cohen, 2007).  This can be especially important for ensuring the questions as written are understood to provide the accurate stimuli to trigger the needed response.
The key to the questions is the connection of the current economic environment to the provided cases given the questions.  Within these studies, a convenience sample of 50 to 100 participants was utilized.  A similar pre-test will be administered for this study using a participant list from the local chamber of commerce.  Any participants in the pre-test will be prevented from being used within the main study.
The participants for the main experiment will be obtained through a cluster sample.  To ensure a random selection of geographic regions, a random number table will be utilized to choose 150 US ZIP codes.  Although there will be multiple participants within each cluster, the cluster itself should be treated as a single sample to ensure appropriate variation is provided for within the sample (Orcher, 2014).
Using the Lexis Nexis Dossier™ service, a list of open companies will be generated for each cluster.  From this alphabetized list, 25 businesses will be selected at random using a random number table.  Although this research will ask the participants to respond to the questions as they would within their own business, they will not be asked to provide any data about their company; instead, the organizational data will be obtained through Lexis Nexis.  Because of this, only the participant’s consent to participate in the survey will be required.  In total, a maximum of 3250 participants will be contacted to complete the survey, assuming a 15% return rate in each of the clusters, which according to Orcher (2014) is a conservative estimate; the sample size would be 488 participants.  This sample size falls within the mathematically calculated suggested sample size of 384   and coincides with the sizes of other comparable research studies and provides similar diversity of industries and geography (Albrecht et al., 2013; Andreoni & Sprenger, 2012a; Andreoni & Sprenger, 2012b; De Jong & Elfring, 2010; Krumscheid, 2013; McClure et al., 2007).  From this set sample an equal group will be randomly selected to participate in group-level scenarios (treatment) and the other group individual only scenarios as shown in the conceptual framework.
Alternatives to this sample method are random sampling using Survey Monkey and stratified sampling within the clusters to obtain a representative sample of multiple sizes of businesses.  Utilizing Survey Monkey to generate the random sampling provides a scientifically sound method for obtaining a random sample with little effort; however, information provided regarding this service appears to be cost prohibitive for a graduate student.  Second, part of the goal of the doctoral dissertation is doing the work to obtain the sample and ensure its validity – using a 3rd party to do this appears counter to the goals of the degree.
Obtaining a stratified sample within the clusters would allow for increased sampling validity based on a uniform percentage of responses from different sizes of organizations.  For the purposes of this study, the size of the organization will be obtained through Lexis Nexis and can therefore be tested to ensure it does not confound the results of the study.  The literature found to date does not specify the size of an organization as an influencer of group dynamics or intertemporal choice, but an analysis will be performed to rule-out any potential correlation.
Draft Research Questions
What difference regarding risk preference, intertemporal discounting and search for disjunctive information does providing group analysis of a strategic problem to the decision maker have on the final decision made?
a)	What affect does trust within the group have on the final decision being made?
b)	What affect does experience within the group have on the final decision being made?
What affect does risk preference within the group have on the final decision being made
Aligning Theoretical Foundation to Proposed Research
The literature review to date has displayed numerous gaps in research where this topic could provide value.  This topic will require significant understanding of the multiple theories of trust and motivation in both economics and psychology.  These theories will need to be integrated with theories in organizational behavior to establish the foundation for uncovering and measuring the multi-dimensional, dynamic constructs.
Management supervision of employees has been found to stifle group-level decision making within organizations (Arce M & Gunn, 2005; De Jong & Elfring, 2010; Nagin, Rebitzer, Sanders, & Taylor, 2002).  At the same time, group decision making has been found to increase the risk averseness of decisions.  Furthermore, impulsivity in judging utility of choices between instantaneous gratification and extended benefit is often biased due to intertemporal choice (Albrecht et al., 2011; Albrecht et al., 2013; Chabris, Morris, Taubinsky, Laibson, & Schuldt, 2009; Jablow, 2012; Laibson, 2005).  Alfes (2013) found perceived overqualification increased performance within groups that held the same belief as the individual regarding the overqualification, even though the employee was not in a management position.
The second model, impulse control, is derived from models of instantaneous gratification and hyperbolic discounting of utility over time (Biggiero & Sevi, 2009; Nagin et al., 2002).  In this model, utility is inversely proportional to the delay in receiving it.  With those actions that result in an immediate benefit, it has been found that additional utility is inferred as no waiting is required and future costs are not considered (Biggiero & Sevi, 2009).  Managers here can mitigate this through interrupting impulsive behavior.  It has been found that adding even a brief administrative requirement to the task such as filling out a form will reduce the impulsive behavior (Nagin et al., 2002).  Regardless of which model a manager attends to, deviant behavior disrupts the group dynamics.  Future studies need to be done to consider if extraneous variables are hiding correlations with team reflexivity that could inspire deviant behavior.
Sometimes the attitudes of the team members can influence the output of a team.  Those team members that consistently use negative mood or attitude within a group can interrupt the synergistic activity of the group (Felps, Mitchell, & Byington, 2006).  Managers can often identify those individuals likely to exhibit these behaviors by watching for awkward interpersonal styles and expressing pessimism and irritation when interacting with others.  Managers are urged not to discount these individuals, but instead assist in coaching them in appropriate group dynamics and behavior.  Injecting these individuals into an established group that can assist in fostering prosocial motivation may help to offset some of the dysfunction so long as the group is aware of the necessity to mitigate this
Viability of Research Study
This experimental research will validate the integration of the existing theories of time/risk preference separation and group trust dynamics.  Through this research it can be established if the mediating factors seen by the two sets of theories separately provide a new context of understanding how managers interacting with a group to make strategic decisions may alter the generalized inclination of the deciding managers based on his or her trust of the group in consideration.
If the integration of these two theories can be found to have a statistically significant impact on the impulsivity or risk preference of the deciding manager, further development of this integrated theory may provide a new executive decision path.  When political turmoil exists within the executive planning group or the management group is faced with choice sets involving a wider array of risk potential – managers have options for understanding how when to include group analysis and when they should trust their gut reaction, thus providing cost savings by making the rational choice with the given environment
Through this research, having an understanding of the differing risk preferences and levels of trust, we will be better able to predict the ability of cross-functional management groups to make strategic decisions.  This increased cognizance of the relationships between group trust and risk preferences will help executive leadership with formulation of matching mangers with other managers that will mediate impulsivity while also level setting the group’s risk preference to match that of the intended organizational risk preference
Conclusion
The purpose of this paper was to integrate the perspectives from the draft literature review for the proposed research topic on the capability of organizational and intra-group trust influencing the ethicality of the strategic marketing decision-making processes and decision quality of top management teams from the perspective of relationship marketing.  Throughout this second round of updating and adding to the literature review and proposed research, I have given considerable thought to how I can create better alignment between the various aspects of this research.  This began by delving deeper into the available research on group-level dynamics and intertemporal decision-making.
The addition of Andreoni and Sprenger’s works (2012a, 2012b) is meant to focus the research to consider the group-level dynamics with regard to impulsivity and risk preference.  Using the same measures as in these two studies, the original topic of strategic decision making in groups has been focused, yet at the same time, the research by Andreoni and Sprenger has been expanded from individual differentiation of impulsivity and risk preference to now include the aspect of group dynamics as well.