General decision making style: evidence from India

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine applicability of the general decision-making style (GDMS) inventory in India, using a sample of managers. In addition the authors identify various decision-making styles (DMS) of Indian managers and explore their association with respondents’ gender, age, education, experience level, annual income, sector, industry and organizational output. Design/methodology/approach – The sample consisted responses of 500 Indian managers from public (13 percent) and private (87 percent) sector organizations. The data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, correlation analysis, regression analysis, independent sample t-tests and ANOVA. Findings – All decision-making sub scales (rational, intuitive, dependent, avoidant and spontaneous) had satisfactory reliabilities and internal consistencies. Results obtained factor structure that confirmed the original five-factor structure of GDMS. There were also mutual correlations among the styles. Moreover, there were significant differences in the DMS across respondents’ profile variables. Research limitations/implications – This research is based upon survey method and voluntary participation. Hence one can question generalization of findings to larger samples. Practical implications – Results provide insights into DMS of the Indian managers. Organizations may use GDMS as a selection tool, respondents may hone their DMS. Originality/value – A majority of researchers use survey without evaluating validity of the instruments in the selected context and sample. This research contributed to the literature and practice by testing validation of the GDMS inventory in India.