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Qualitative information‐gathering techniques are focused on to determine whether they can be adapted or adopted to support strategic goal‐setting. Much of the literature suggests that if planning is based on information gathered and presented in a manner which managers can understand they are more likely to act on it, and, for this reason, qualitative rather than quantitative techniques are stressed here. Factors which are not amenable to numerate analysis but which are useful to the strategic planner, such as experience, judgement and intuition, are also isolated and analysed. An attempt is made to facilitate the use of qualitative data‐gathering methods and suggestions are made as to where particular techniques may prove beneficial, together with their limitations. Research, from a small (n = 20), in‐depth survey of small business owners/ managers in Canada, is included which shows that they do not use quantitative planning processes but that judgemental techniques were most widely used; in general, the less sophisticated the planning process the higher it would be ranked among the survey participants. The research from other surveys also shows that scientific mathematically based models often do not fit with small business organisational reality and that methodologies should be developed that integrate research into the decision‐making process.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the application of qualitative diary methods in the context of research on the work‐family interface.

The diary method was used, in conjunction with semi‐structured interviews, to collect data from 24 dual‐earner couples over a one month period.

The diary method revealed important new insights into how couples managed their work‐family balance on a daily basis by allowing the researcher access to rich episodic data that would not have been available using more traditional approaches. This is particularly important in the area of work and family given its dynamic nature.

The use of this method is time consuming, requires a great deal of dedication from participants and usually results in large quantities of complex data to be analysed. Despite this the suggestion is that this approach is highly valuable in work‐family research in providing a more in‐depth understanding of how these two domains are negotiated.

This paper contributes to the literature on effective qualitative research and explores important areas of consideration for those conducting qualitative diary studies. It is intended to be of use to researchers investigating the area of work and family, as well as to those interested in using qualitative diaries in their research.

While the problem of unethical leadership is undoubtedly a global one, the urgency of generating ethical leadership to advance the development of Africa has never been more evident than it is today. The challenge for higher education in developing ethical leaders is of core importance, as it is responsible for providing the main recruiting ground of business leaders. The current paper reports findings of a qualitative study of postgraduate students’ ethical development at the end of courses in business ethics aimed to enhance moral reasoning and ethical decision-making. The paper aims to ascertain whether stand-alone ethics courses are more effective than integrated ones in achieving academic ethical competency.

The study adopts an idiographic approach which aims at eliciting individual student subjective perceptions of the effects of the direct and indirect courses of ethical instruction on their moral reasoning and ethical practice. The research design broadly follows Mill’s (2017) method of difference.

Findings indicate perceived differences in the relative effectiveness of stand-alone and embedded ethics courses among students but also show that most students hold positive overall evaluations of the effectiveness of the both types of ethics instruction.

Limitations to the study include that it is cross-sectional, involves a small sample of postgraduate students and is restricted to two management courses at one institution of higher learning. Furthermore, while Mill (2017) provides a useful research design in this context, it is not able to indicate causality, as there are other possible unidentified “third variables” that may be the actual cause of student differences between embedded and stand-alone ethics courses. The study is not able to show the durability and transfer of ethical competencies into students’ later working lives.

The study provides a useful practical educational contribution to the extant knowledge in the field in that it suggests that ethical courses aimed at giving students a moral reasoning “toolkit” for ethical decision-making are more effective when delivered in the stand-alone format, whereas practical decision-making skills are best honed by embedded business ethics courses.

The problem of corruption in business and politics in South Africa is widely documented and has been regarded as responsible for creating a serious developmental drag on the alleviation of poverty and quality of lives of the majority of people in the country. The moral/ethical competency and behavior of future business leaders is partly the responsibility of institutions of higher learning. The study aims to find the most effective means of imparting moral awareness in postgraduate students who are likely to take up business leadership positions in their future careers.

The study provides useful contribution to the extant knowledge in the field in the African context in that it suggests that ethical courses aimed at giving students a moral reasoning “toolkit” for ethical decision-making are more effective when delivered in the stand-alone format, whereas practical decision-making skills are best honed by embedded business ethics courses.

The purpose of this paper is to characterize issues related to head nurses’ decision making when managing ethical dilemmas.

The study is qualitative descriptive, in which researchers stay close to the data. The data were collected in the format of unstructured written reflections. Inductive conventional latent qualitative content analysis was applied to the data.

The issues of head nurses’ management of decision making in ethical dilemmas relate to the following aspects: taking risks in deviating from the formalities, balancing power and humaneness, maintaining the professional hierarchy, managing resistance to change, managing with limited options, and experiencing the decline of nurse’s professional and/or human dignity.

Reflections in written form were preferred to semi-structured interviews and the researchers were unable to contact the participants directly and to ask additional questions. All the reflections were produced in a language other than English.

The issues of head nurses’ management of decision making in ethical dilemmas reveal the gap between societal expectations and the opportunities to improve nursing leadership in health care organizations.

The issues of head nurses’ decision making when managing ethical dilemmas are related to contexts that reflect the attitudes of society and health care system toward nursing management.

The study adds to the understanding of issues of the management of decision making in ethical dilemmas. It is an ongoing systematic process that encourages head nurses to learn from practice and manage the quality of care by empowering themselves and nurses to take responsibility for leadership.

This article details a qualitative descriptive case study of affective factors of effective decision-making of one local government organization in the United States of America. The specific problem was that many elected American local government representatives lack effective decision-making strategies. This research focus indicated a lack of qualitative research on the real-world experience of factors that were taken into consideration during decision-making within American local government organizations.

Using a local government organization in southwest Illinois, elected representatives were interviewed and observed. The interviews and observations surfaced how the representatives made decisions. Data were analyzed using manual coding and theming to determine themes and patterns.

The results produced six themes about factors, including emotional intelligence, which impacted decision-making. They are: (1) remembering the past, (2) communication and respect, (3) spurring economic growth and development, (4) fairness, (5) recognizing and removing emotions and bias and (6) accountability.

Being a single case study, this research is limited in generalization. The research was limited to the identification of current, real-world experience of elected local government representatives.

The findings of this research can be used to create more effective decision-making practices for local government organizations of similar size.

This is the first study to review, in-depth, the decision-making and emotional intelligence factors of local government organizations in the United States of America. The conceptual background, discussion, implications to local government organizations, limitations and recommendations for future studies are discussed.

The purpose of this research is to present a detailed description of the qualitative research method adopted by the author in his doctoral research into the investment decision‐making process in small manufacturing enterprises; and to inform small firm researchers generally, particularly those who may be considering the use of a qualitative research methodology for the first time in the study of processes of decision‐making.

“Insider accounts” is an innovative qualitative methodology, which involves in‐depth, semi‐structured interviews and direct observation, conducted longitudinally in a case study approach. It is a research method, which includes detailed accounts from the actors themselves, incorporating the actual motives and behaviour of owner‐managers. It is based on a philosophy that the “objects” studied are in fact “subjects”, producing accounts of their world.

The finding in the study for which this methodology was used is that owner‐managers predominantly use “bootstrapping” techniques for their investment appraisal rather than the more formal methods suggested in the financial management literature. So‐called “objective” studies of decision‐making process using questionnaires and positivist‐type approaches, do little to help to answer the basic questions relating to how and why decisions are taken. Without answering these questions it is impossible to recommend how practices can become more effective.

The study is limited to the extent to which it can be generalised to a wider population of small firms.

The paper presents a detailed description of a qualitative research method, “insider accounts”.

The purpose of this study, which is grounded in decision-making theory, is to explore whether the occurrence of meaningful coincidences can positively influence executive confidence during periods of crisis.

Through a qualitative study with 24 interviews, this study focuses on Italian hospitality facilities in the Campania Region of southern Italy to explore how an executive confidence led by meaningful coincidences can influence managerial decisions during crisis situations. Data are analyzed through a deductive coding for qualitative analysis.

The framework proposes the connection by coincidences and confidence, emphasizing the process through which meaningful coincidences can positively influence executive confidence and managerial decision-making. The insights that emerge suggest a number of positive and beneficial aspects for decision-making during a period of crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study in the literature aimed at investigating, by means of qualitative methodologies, the positive outcomes of executive confidence in decision-making led by meaningful coincidences during crisis periods in the specific context of the Italian hospitality industry.

This study will examine the school principals’ ethical decision-making processes and to explore gender-related differences.

This study employed a mixed-method research design, combining qualitative and quantitative approaches. Data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews with a sample of 10 male and 10 female principals, who were presented with ethical dilemma scenarios. The qualitative component utilized a phenomenological analysis, while additional quantitative analyses were performed on the same dataset to explore gender-related differences.

Our analysis of principals' ethical evaluations identified three key areas where gender-related differences were evident: decision-making approaches, leadership styles, and philosophy/value orientations. The analysis revealed that women more frequently employed personal approaches, while men favored institutional approaches in their ethical evaluations. Secondly, men tended to adopt a democratic style, while women leaned towards an autocratic style. Finally, men exhibited a relativist orientation, while women displayed an idealist orientation in their ethical decision-making processes.

Gender-based analysis of school principals’ ethical decision-making process has remained an under-researched area. This study contributes to the understanding of gender-related differences in principals’ ethical decision-making processes.

This paper aims to explore the common ethical decision-making challenges faced by financial advisers and how they meet these challenges. The purpose is to identify successful decision-making tools used by investment advisers in doing business ethically. Additionally, the authors uncover common challenges and offer decision-making tools to provide support for supplemental ethics training in the future.

Questions were analyzed through a qualitative approach using individual interviews to examine a range of experiences and attitudes of active financial advisers. The sample was represented by 11 practicing financial advisers affiliated with US independent broker-dealers: six women and five men, each with 10 or more years of experience, ranging in age from 35 to 75. Grounded in four ethical decision-making models, this research examines individual ethical decision-making using individual (internal, personal) and organizational (external, situational) factors.

The method used uncovered struggles and revealed strategies used in making ethical decisions. Two research questions were examined: what are the common ethical decision-making challenges faced by financial advisers in the US financial industry? How do financial advisers handle ethical decision-making challenges? Four themes emerged that impacted ethical decision-making: needs of the individual, needs of others, needs of the firm and needs of the marketplace. Financial advisers identified moral obligation, self-control and consulting with others as major considerations when they contemplate difficult decisions.

A limitation of this review is its small sample size. A more robust sample size from investment advisers with a broader range of experiences could have widened the findings from the study.

Investment advisers can use the findings of this study as a tool for improving their own ethical decision-making or designing training for their employees to be better decision-makers.

The study explores the decision-making experiences of investment advisers to reveal multifaceted, often private struggles that qualitative methods can uncover. The study provides support for the development of additional training in ethical decision-making specific to investment advisers.

The main purpose of this study was to examine the investment decision behaviour of retail investors in Malaysia.

The study adopted semi-structured interviews to solicit an understanding of six retail investors on investment decision behaviour in Malaysia. Content analysis technique was used to analyse the data and verbatim texts were applied in discussing the emergent themes.

The findings indicate that retail investors in Malaysia are patriotic in nature, and their investment decisions are based on feeling of comfort or convention rather than quantitative analysis. They rely so much on their findings rather than third party’s views for making investment decisions. They were influenced by the psychological biases because they herd on the information. Challenges are solved through experience, and they believe that proper understanding of the financial and economic settings of the country can enhance better investment decision-making.

A more detailed investigation on the investors’ behaviour with more samples may expand our understanding of this issue. Future studies need to examine the investment decision behaviour with more samples.

First, it will prepare hit and run investors to be more ready to remain in the market and improve their skills on how to make sound investment decisions. Second, it helps the investors to know that knowledge of traditional finance theory is not sufficient to excel in stock market, and, hence, they need to know more about behavioural finance. Third, investors are exposed to various reasons as to why investment decisions deviate from expected and different means of solving the challenges faced in making investment decision within the Malaysian context. Fourth, investors are reminded that understanding the financial settings before investing is essential. Finally, policy makers in stock market are able to understand the retail investors’ behaviour.

This study examines the experience and prospect to remain as stock market investors, their priorities in selecting the right company for investment purposes, the kind of information seeking from third parties, the challenges faced by them and other important considerations in investment decisions. These have never been examined together in this way in investigation of retail investors’ investment behaviour.