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GONG Stephen, XU Hongjia
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DOI:10.17265/2328-2185/2026.05.003
Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, China
This study examines the occurrence of cognitive biases in the operational decision-making of micro-enterprises using a comparative experiment. By comparing and analysing the operational “footprints” of two technologically matched vending machines, one managed by human intuition and the other by a simple, deterministic set of rules, we identify fundamentally distinct behavioural archetypes in decision-making. The human-managed case exhibited patterns of anchored adjustment, situational filtering, and outcome-sensitive volatile learning. In contrast, the rule-managed case demonstrated mechanical rigidity and contextual blindness, but also remarkable stability. The systematic divergence in their operational pathways, particularly in response to predictable events, provides process-based evidence that cognitive biases are not merely statistical correlates, but actual enacting and structuring forces that can lead to decision inefficiencies over time. We conclude that for micro-enterprises, improving decision quality may depend less on acquiring more data and more on structuring decision processes to mitigate the inherent instability of intuitive judgment.
managerial cognitive biases, micro-enterprises, qualitative experiment, operations management, decision archetypes
GONG Stephen, XU Hongjia. (2026). A Comparative Qualitative Analysis of Managerial Cognitive Biases and Decision Inefficiency in Micro-enterprises: Evidence From a Process-Oriented Experiment. Management Studies, Vol. 14, No. 5, 275-289. doi: 10.17265/2328-2185/2026.05.003.
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