TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of affective appraisal dimensions on the use of two ecologically rational, social heuristics: imitate the majority (IMH) and imitate the best (IBH) during an entrepreneurial strategic decision-making process (ESDM).Design/methodology/approach The authors test the hypotheses in a controlled field experiment, on a final sample of 98 entrepreneurs.Findings The study shows that entrepreneurs experiencing affect described by certainty appraisal display a preference for relying on IMH, but not on IBH. Moreover, entrepreneurs who experience unpleasant affect tend to rely more on IMH, rather than IBH. The reverse is true for the entrepreneurs who experience positive affect. Finally, the use of IMH is most likely under unpleasant and certain affect, while the use of IBH is most likely under pleasant and certain affect.Originality/value The main contribution of this study is that it provides initial support for the impact of affective appraisal dimensions on the use of ecologically rational heuristics (i.e. heuristics that save important resources, but bring beneficial results) during an ESDM process.
VL  - 31
IS  - 7
SN  - 0268-3946
DO  - 10.1108/JMP-07-2015-0275
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-07-2015-0275
AU  - Fodor Oana Catalina
AU  - Curşeu Petru Lucian
AU  - Fleştea Alina Maria
PY  - 2016
Y1  - 2016/01/01
TI  - Affective states and ecological rationality in entrepreneurial decision making
T2  - Journal of Managerial Psychology
PB  - Emerald Group Publishing Limited
SP  - 1182
EP  - 1197
Y2  - 2024/04/23
ER  -