Frameworks and strategic decision-making

Last registered on September 20, 2023

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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

Frameworks and strategic decision-making

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0012114

Initial registration date

September 14, 2023

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published

September 20, 2023, 10:27 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name

Hyunjin Kim

Affiliation

Harvard University

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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Nety Wu

PI Affiliation

INSEAD

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Additional Trial Information

Status

In development

Start date

2023-09-15

End date

2024-09-15

Keywords

Behavior, Firms & Productivity

Additional Keywords

Strategic decision-making

JEL code(s)

Secondary IDs

Prior work

This trial is based on or builds upon one or more prior RCTs.

Abstract

This project aims to understand how using a framework affects the crafting of strategic options.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Kim, Hyunjin and Nety Wu. 2023. "Frameworks and strategic decision-making." AEA RCT Registry. September 20. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.12114-1.0

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

Intervention Start Date

2023-09-15

Intervention End Date

2023-09-22

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

We will observe the following outcomes:
(1) the number of total options that the student brainstormed
(2) the number/share of strategic (rather than operational) options that the student brainstormed
(3) a binary measure of whether the options were mutually exclusive
(4) the number/share of options that suggest that the company continue its current strategy (vs. exit or expand)
(5) binary measures of whether the best-chosen option is to "continue", "exit", or "expand"

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Some of the measures will be coded by two independent coders using a rubric who are blind to the random assignment, e.g.:
(1) whether the options are strategic or operational
(2) whether the options are mutually exclusive
(3) whether the options suggest that the company continue its current strategy vs. exit or expand

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Survey questions to all participants: (1) Describe how you developed your options; (2) How confident are you in the options you have developed? (3) How would you describe the difficulty of the task?
Additional survey questions to the treatment group only: (1) Did you find the framework provided in the instructions helpful in developing your options? (2) Please elaborate on why it was helpful or not helpful.
Peer evaluations of option quality, binary variable on how detailed the option is, various details about the nature of the option, and group-level outcomes on strategic options. Secondary outcomes will be collected and coded based on feasibility (e.g., if budget allows).

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

This project aims to understand how using a framework affects the crafting of strategic options. This project is an extension of prior works (Kim, Hyunjin and Nety Wu. 2022. "Frameworks and strategic decision-making." AEA RCT Registry. October 03. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10146-1.0 and Kim, Hyunjin and Nety Wu. 2023. "Frameworks and strategic decision-making." AEA RCT Registry. February 21. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10961-1.0). We plan to run the same experiment on a new cohort of students.

Experimental Design Details

Not available

Randomization Method

Individuals are randomized into control and treatment by stratifying on gender and industry (whether they worked in consulting), using a computer.

Randomization Unit

Randomization is conducted at the individual level. Each participant is first randomly assigned to the treatment or the control group, stratified on gender and industry (whether they worked in consulting). Then, within each group, participants are randomly assigned to subgroups for further brainstorming of options.

Was the treatment clustered?