Count on me! How to act and be accountable for one’s choices in organizations

Abstract

By comparing junior versus senior professionals, this study explored the degree of agency, responsibility, and the ability to consciously report motivations in critical decisionmaking situations. Additionally, the relationship between these factors, decision-making styles and personality traits was investigated. Faced with organizational decisionmaking critical scenarios, participants were asked to choose among four alternatives with increasing levels of agency and responsibility and, secondly, to report the motivations behind the choice. The type of decision, the number of motivations reported, and the reaction times (RTs – both for selecting the decision and writing the motivations) were considered. Self-report scales were also administered to investigate professionals’ profiles. Findings showed that decisions with a high level of agency and responsibility, as well as ability to report motivations, are influenced by seniority. In junior professionals, responsibility in decision-making was linked to the ability to motivate the choice and to RTs in deciding. Behavioral data for each professionals’ group were also linked to distinct decision-making and personality profiles.

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