Locally Rational Decision Making: The Distracting Effect of Information on Managerial Performance

This paper describes a phenomenon called “locally rational” decision-making, in which the mere presence of information may have dysfunctional consequences even if decision makers do not process the information incorrectly. Using the results from an experiment conducted with a strategic market simulation game, we find that the accessibility of information results in a disposition to focus on those components of decision-making most clearly addressed by the information. If these are not the components most closely tied to success, overall performance may in fact suffer. The decision-making process is thus “locally rational” since it may be optimal with respect to specific components of a larger plan, but globally suboptimal with regard to ultimate outcomes and for the organization as a whole. We describe the implications of the phenomenon for the use of market-related data in managerial decision-making.