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Research concerning marketing standardisation is still developing. A new research theme has recently emerged, wherein it is suggested that the structure of marketing decision making is likely to be a factor of marketing standardisation strategy. This study aims to add insights to this new research field. Based on the outcome of previous studies, it aims to propose and test a research framework concerning the relationships among environmental factors, the structure of decision making and marketing standardisation/performance. This study seeks to focus on the two most important programme elements: promotion and product.

The study used the experience of 78 firms operating in the European Union (EU) region to achieve its research objectives. The data used were collected through a postal survey. This analysis used both partial least square (PLS) and hierarchical regression analysis methods to examine its research framework.

The study has generated a framework for future research. It is suggested that, with the absence of direct influence, the structure of decision making is still likely to have an indirect effect on marketing standardisation strategy. Although a path relationship is unlikely to exist between environmental factors, the structure of decision making and performance, the joint effect between environmental factors and the decision‐making structure on performance is confirmed. The outcomes of the study suggest that, through careful selection, firms adopting a high and low degree centralisation structure can benefit from operating in a similar high/low environment, as well as in a country with high/low market size and potential.

The study's findings have enhanced those uncovered by other researchers. A number of implications can be drawn for these findings.

Decision-making structures are commonly associated with the logistics challenges experienced during disaster operations. However, the alignment between the operational level and the decision-making structure is commonly overlooked. The purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of the fit of both levels and its impact on performance.

The research is developed around a case study in Mexico. Through a review of the disaster management policy in the country, interviews and secondary data, the paper provides an analysis of the current decision-making structure, the logistics activities undertaken by authorities and the impact of the alignment between both components on logistics performance.

The analysis suggests that several of the challenges commonly associated with centralisation are actually rooted on its alignment with the operational level. The logistics performance is negatively affected by faulty assumptions, poorly planned procedures, inconsistent decision-making and poorly designed structures. The case showed the need to align the operational level with a centralised perspective to increase responsiveness, flexibility and the interaction between different organisations.

This paper identifies the impact of the misalignment between the decision-making structure and the operational level on logistics performance, an area currently understudied. It moves from the current argument about the appropriate decision-making structure for disaster management to the identification of components to implement an efficient and effective disaster management system. Additionally, this paper provides recommendations for best practices in humanitarian logistics, which are applicable to Mexico and other countries using a centralised decision-making approach.

Purpose: The purpose of the chapter is to determine the dependence of the process of decision making in modern business systems on their organizational structure and to substantiate the necessity for considering the requirements to the process of decision making during designing the organizational structure of a business system.

Methodology: A new simplified classification of the organizational structure of business systems according to the criterion of complexity is offered, and its two main types are distinguished – organizational structure of low complexity and organizational structure of high complexity.

Conclusions: According to the offered classification, dependence of the process of decision making in modern business systems on complexity of their business structure at each stage of making of managerial decisions is determined. As a result of analysis of statistical data, it is determined that business systems with organizational structure of low complexity dominate in Russia. By the example of modern Russian business systems with the organizational structure of high complexity – Sberbank, Lukoil, Gazprom, and Rosneft – it is shown that formation of the structure of this type and supporting its functioning requires resources and thus is inaccessible for most modern business systems. Moreover, the expected advantages, related to high probability of making of optimal managerial decisions, are not always gained in practice.

Originality/value: It is substantiated that the process of decision making in modern business systems largely depends on the complexity of their organizational structure. With increase of complexity of a business system, resource intensity of decision making and duration of this process increase, but the risk of nonoptimal decisions decreases. Organizational structure of low complexity is peculiar for business systems that have deficit of financial and human resources, which does not allow using the means of optimization and fully control the process of decision making. However, in this case, managerial decisions are made much quicker. In the conditions of modern market economy, it is necessary to make quick optimal decisions, which cannot be achieved within the organizational structure of either low or high complexity. Thus, it is necessary to find a way to make quick optimal managerial decisions beyond the design of organizational structure.

To be utilized effectively in decision-making processes, management accounting (MA) information should fit the business context and at the same time reflect the roles, responsibilities and values of the actors taking part in the decision-making. This study aims to investigate the limitations for MA information utilization in decision-making. In particular, this study explores limitations stemming from the decision-making process structure and the involvement of several managerial actors.

An exploratory case study of an energy company and its customer company illustrates the current challenges in providing and integrating MA information into decision-making. The analysis is focused on the analytical and actor-based features of the decision-making and thus the limitations for MA information utilization. As a part of the broader research process, the researchers facilitated a meeting in the customer company, where the actors relevant to investment decisions discussed the current limitations in utilizing MA information.

Analytical and actor-based features may take different forms in the decision-making. Some relevant MA information may not be included in an organization’s decision-making process structure that allows merely conventional, yet analytical, decision alternatives. At the same time, certain actors’ viewpoints (such as sustainability metrics) can be excluded from the process without considering the logic behind the exclusion. This case study identifies the following limitations, largely related to insufficient actor-based features in the decision-making: managers may lack expertise in the use of MA tools, managerial interaction may lack reflection on taken-for-granted assumptions, different managers may appreciate different scope, content and timing of MA information and the process structure can ignore the required managerial viewpoints.

This study demonstrates that both the decision-making process structure and the needs of the several actors involved may lead to limitations for MA information utilization. Although many limitations stemmed from the insufficient actor-based orientation in the case study, introducing new MA analyses and extending the validity of analytical approaches may also help overcome some of the limitations. Further research should address possibilities to integrate different actors’ viewpoints with MA information already in the decision-making process structure, find ways to introduce MA information on unconventional decision alternatives and enable reflection among and about relevant actors with respect to decision-making. These means could lead to more effective utilization of MA information for decision-making and, consequently, economically viable decisions.

This study addresses the limitations in MA information utilization by combining the viewpoints of analytical decision-making processes and reflective actors, and thus unveils possibilities for enhancing MA practice.

This paper describes several structural models and a process model as tools for understanding decision‐making in universities. The validity of each is discussed in terms of the results of a case study of faculty decision‐making in a large university, and some perspectives for describing, analysing and understanding faculty decision‐making are proposed.

Discusses the concept of a well‐functioning economy and attempts to define its principal properties. Examines some aspects of rules of decision making that are essential for the generation of optimal decisions. Brings together the selected properties of a well‐functioning economy and the characteristics of decision making, in order to shed light on how a well‐designed decision‐making system can produce an economy that functions and performs well. Comments on the failure of central planning in eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.

The purpose of this paper is to present decision making as the decisive activity of controllers, necessary to correct deviations from a goal value in controlled systems by deciding on goal‐oriented actions.

Using a functional approach it is shown how an increasing complexity of controller structures follows an increasing ability to make more complex decisions. Two applications are used to analyze that in detail: first, the controller structures necessary for Miller's living systems and for Beer's viable systems are presented in one comparable scheme. Second, a complex controller structure illustrates the basic requirements for a brain.

Analyzing necessary decisions in Beer's viable systems it is shown how the elementary decisions found in feedback systems can be used as a first approximation for decision making. Hence, it is shown how principles of decision making determine the development of complex controller structures.

The paper provides basic analytic tools to understand the interrelation between controller structures and the content of the decision these structures can make. It shows four different evolutionary paths from feedback systems towards brain structures. Also it emphasizes the role of goal values in decision making and their importance especially for social systems.

The paper seeks to present cybernetics as a science of structures that enable certain decisions. It is suggested that making explicit the goal orientation of decision making gives cybernetics an additional relevance for the social sciences.

The purpose of this paper is to aggregate different preference information in group decision‐making process such as interval preference order, interval utility value, interval number reciprocal comparison matrix, and interval number complementary comparison matrix.

First, the consistency definitions of four kinds of uncertain preference information are defined. Then, the upper‐ and low errors are introduced to solve the inconsistent decision‐making case. Following that, the weight model for each uncertain preference is proposed, respectively.

The aggregation approach based on minimal group deviation errors is suggested in order to obtain the utmost consistent opinion. In addition, the consistency judgment level and consistency extent are defined owing to the aggregation result.

The calculation scale is large, if many decision makers will attend group decision‐making process.

A very useful approach for aggregation of the different preference in group decision‐making case.

Because of differences in knowledge structure, judgment level, and individual preference, decision makers express their judgment preferences via differently structured decision‐making processes. Owing to the complexity and uncertainty of decision‐making problems and the fuzziness of human thought, it is unrealistic to depict complex problems in the certain preference style. For decision‐making preference structures, group decision‐making aggregation approaches include the aggregation on the same kind of preference structure and the different kinds of preference structures. The study on the aggregation of the same kind of preference structure has received a deal of attention, but study into the aggregation of the different kinds of uncertainty preference structures is still a new field.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate differences in decision‐making processes between UK and non‐UK managers in the defence manufacturing industry.

A pilot study was conducted with a small number of firms in Yorkshire, UK. A large‐scale survey was conducted of 250 firms in the UK. The response rate was 60 per cent.

Decision making is kept team‐orientated in larger firms with decision making autonomy in place for each team. The research demonstrates that leading firms drive best practice and best practice research disseminates globally through industry‐academic collaboration.

Alliances with leading firms will lead to the evolution of team‐based, programme structured decision making in UK‐non‐UK strategic alliances.

Global managers learn from the experiences of team‐based programme structured decision makers.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how public policies may influence the way members of virtual communities linked with social movements perceive the legitimacy of their leaders and governance structures.

This paper is based on qualitative research (in‐depth interviews) with three Brazilian environmental education virtual communities. It adopts an interpretive approach, grounding the analysis in institutional theory.

The paper shows that a public policy of funding the studied communities has reinforced the legitimacy of some leaders and legitimated more centralised decision‐making structures. The influence of the funding has endured even after the end of the respective contracts.

Although the paper is limited to three virtual communities in a very specific context, its conclusions may inform other studies on the institutional instruments (sanctions mechanisms) governments may appropriate to influence the virtual interactions among members of social movements and civil society organisations and which impact their offline interactions as well.

The paper calls attention to the need to discuss public policies with stakeholders, especially to permit social movements and civil society organisations to have a say in policies that may affect their social structures.

The paper contributes to understanding how public policies impact interactions in virtual environments and in a broader sense, and the relevance of considering the influence of institutions in online interactions.