Mapping and interpreting a decision-making framework for the implicit managerial theory in the Arab Gulf States

Abstract

This article developed an empirical design to examine the direct effects of four dimensions of the strategic decision-making process (SDMP) on the organizational innovation in the context of cultural value characteristics of executive managers in Qatar. The study used the cultural relativity theory to explain and advance hypotheses regarding the associations between SDMP dimensions, culture attributes, and innovation performance in an input-process-outcome model. To test the raised research hypotheses of the proposed framework, the methodology of structural equation models was used. Based on quantitative evidence of 140 Qatari public and private organizations, the results demonstrated the following three major issues: (1) strategic decision-making practices have a direct and more significant impact on process innovation performance than product/service innovation performance, (2) innovation performance is both process and context specific, and (3) certain contextualizing constructs verify a particular cultural orientation.