Exploring the impact of individual differences in scenario planning workshops

Scenario planning enjoys wide acceptance as a decision support aid in the strategy formulation process. It is usually deployed in a group workshop format and led by a facilitator. This setting has led managerial cognition scholars to argue that the cognitive diversity of the workshop participants is likely to be a critical determinant of the effectiveness of scenario planning interventions. This paper explores this proposition, by articulating a theoretical framework to inform the investigation of the role of cognitive style in scenario planning interventions. The impact of individual differences in ways of perceiving and judging on participants’ observed behaviours within the scenario planning workshops are highlighted. We discuss the implications of our framework for the research and practice of scenario planning workshops.

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