Theorizing intuition in practice: developing grounded theory with elite business leaders

Title
Theorizing intuition in practice: developing grounded theory with elite business leaders
Publication Date
2014
Author(s)
Robson, Martin
Cooksey, Ray W
Editor
Editor(s): Marta Sinclair
Type of document
Book Chapter
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
Edward Elgar Publishing Limited
Place of publication
Cheltenham, United Kingdom
Edition
1
Series
Handbooks of Research Methods in Management
DOI
10.4337/9781782545996.00027
UNE publication id
une:16676
Abstract
The experiential system, responsible for feelings and intuitions, evolved before the conscious functioning enabled by the rational system (Bastick, 1982; Epstein, 1998). Thus, intuition has been characterized as the 'older and greater part of intelligence' (Bastick, 1982: 77). Feeling is therefore primal and primary - the most fundamental and visceral human experience. It should not then be a surprise that organizations are often emotional arenas (Fineman, 1993, 2000; Mumby & Putnam, 1992) - 'the very essence of ... work concerns what people do with their feelings' (Fineman, 1993: 9). Although one may strive for 'professionalism' at work, there are a range of possible non-rational drivers for behaviour. Indeed, some are sought after: enthusiasm and passion, even aggression, ambition and greed. Clearly, feelings count in organizations, whether we are aware of their influence or not - they influence behaviour and, in particular, decision making (Robson, 2011). Leaders in organizations are appointed for their ability to make good decisions based on complex and imperfect information. Research suggests that feelings are important in guiding this kind of decision making and leadership. Intuition use by managers and leaders in organizations has been mostly associated with the term 'gut feeling' - an immediate feeling of knowing based on experience and pattern recognition (Lank & Lank, 1995; Parikh et al., 1994; Sadler-Smith, 2008; Sadler-Smith & Sparrow, 2007).
Link
Citation
Handbook of Research Methods on Intuition, p. 219-232
ISBN
9781782545996
9781782545989
Start page
219
End page
232

Files:

NameSizeformatDescriptionLink