Intuitive decision making in banking and finance

SummaryInterest in the phenomenon of intuition in business and management has grown rapidly in recent years; however whilst there have been significant theoretical advances, empirical work has lagged somewhat. We studied the phenomenon of intuitive decision making in the banking and finance sector through the use of in-depth semi-structured interviews with experienced executives in a FTSE-100 bank. Participants’ reliance on intuition was related not only to the nature of the task (e.g., factors of time and uncertainty) and individual factors (e.g., participants’ experience and confidence), but also organizational contextual factors (e.g., constraints and conventions, accountability and hierarchy, team dynamics and organizational culture). Based on our findings we offer a conceptual framework, and a typology of intuitive and contextual ‘signalling’ which provide bases for practical recommendations and potential directions for future inquiry into this vital aspect of managerial cognition and decision making behaviour.