An Empirical Study on Managerial Decision-Making Styles Across Demographics in India

Abstract

This study explores the diversity of decision-making styles adopted by managerial professionals and examines how these styles differ across demographic variables including age, gender, educational qualification, and work experience. Using the General Decision-Making Styles (GDMS) scale developed by Scott and Bruce (1995), five key decision-making orientations—rational, intuitive, dependent, avoidant, and spontaneous—were measured on a sample of working managers. A cross-sectional quantitative design was used, with data collected from 111 managers across sectors in India using stratified random sampling. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses, including ANOVA and t-tests, were conducted. Results indicated managers predominantly use rational and intuitive decision-making styles, with dependent styles also notably present. Significant differences were observed in rational decision-making across age and education, with older and more educated managers showing higher rationality; intuitive and dependent styles differed by gender, favoring females, while dependent style also varied significantly by experience, being more common among less experienced managers