Books and journals Case studies Expert Briefings Open Access
Advanced search

Policy-Capturing: An Ingenious Technique for Exploring the Cognitive Bases of Work-Related Decisions

Karen Nokes
Gerard P. Hodgkinson

Methodological Challenges and Advances in Managerial and Organizational Cognition

ISBN: 978-1-78743-677-0, eISBN: 978-1-78743-676-3

ISSN: 2397-5210

Publication date: 5 December 2017

Abstract

Policy-capturing is an experimental technique potentially capable of providing powerful insights into the cognitive bases of work-related decision processes by revealing actors’ “implicit” models of the problem at hand, thereby opening up the “black box” of managerial and organizational cognition. This chapter considers the strengths and weaknesses of policy-capturing vis-à-vis alternative approaches that seek to capture, in varying ways, the inner workings of people’s minds as they make decisions. It then outlines the critical issues that need to be addressed when designing policy-capturing studies and offers practical advice to would-be users concerning some of the common pitfalls of the technique and ways of avoiding them.

Keywords

  • Decision making
  • Experimental design
  • Mental representations
  • Policy-capturing

Citation

Nokes, K. and Hodgkinson, G.P. (2017), "Policy-Capturing: An Ingenious Technique for Exploring the Cognitive Bases of Work-Related Decisions", Galavan, R.J., Sund, K.J. and Hodgkinson, G.P. (Ed.) Methodological Challenges and Advances in Managerial and Organizational Cognition (New Horizons in Managerial and Organizational Cognition, Vol. 2), Emerald Publishing Limited, pp. 95-121. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2397-52102017005

Download as .RIS

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2018 Emerald Publishing Limited

Please note you do not have access to teaching notes

You may be able to access teaching notes by logging in via Shibboleth, Open Athens or with your Emerald account.
Login
If you think you should have access to this content, click the button to contact our support team.
Contact us

To read the full version of this content please select one of the options below

You may be able to access this content by logging in via Shibboleth, Open Athens or with your Emerald account.
Login
If you think you should have access to this content, click the button to contact our support team.
Contact us
Emerald Publishing
  • Opens in new window
  • Opens in new window
  • Opens in new window
  • Opens in new window
© 2021 Emerald Publishing Limited

Services

  • Authors Opens in new window
  • Editors Opens in new window
  • Librarians Opens in new window
  • Researchers Opens in new window
  • Reviewers Opens in new window

About

  • About Emerald Opens in new window
  • Working for Emerald Opens in new window
  • Contact us Opens in new window
  • Publication sitemap

Policies and information

  • Privacy notice
  • Site policies
  • Modern Slavery Act Opens in new window
  • Chair of Trustees governance statement Opens in new window
  • COVID-19 policy Opens in new window
Manage cookies

We’re listening — tell us what you think

  • Something didn’t work…

    Report bugs here

  • All feedback is valuable

    Please share your general feedback

  • Member of Emerald Engage?

    You can join in the discussion by joining the community or logging in here.
    You can also find out more about Emerald Engage.

Join us on our journey

  • Platform update page

    Visit emeraldpublishing.com/platformupdate to discover the latest news and updates

  • Questions & More Information

    Answers to the most commonly asked questions here