Exit or stay: A critical incident analysis of decision-making in conflict-torn countries

Arrian Cornwell*, Emmanuel Ogiemwonyi Arakpogun, Mary E. Thomson

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)
36 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Deploying small world representation logic, we examine the context-specific factors that inform managerial decision-making in conflict-torn countries. Drawing on insights from thirty-one managers, we spotlight nine higher-order heuristics that commonly inform MNEs’ mental representations and their managers’ decision to exit or stay. These heuristics were identified by categorising the commonalities arising from our respondents’ accounts on what information they search for (discovery heuristics) and how it was evaluated (evaluation heuristics). We discovered that information accessibility, conditioned by firms’ in-country experiences, is paramount. Furthermore, since employees are strategy shapers, they can undermine the resilience-enhancing benefits of operational flexibility in conflict-torn countries.
Original languageEnglish
Article number101459
Pages (from-to)1-19
Number of pages19
JournalJournal of World Business
Volume58
Issue number4
Early online date28 Apr 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2023

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