BIAS AND ORGANIZATIONAL OUTCOMES (DECISION-MAKING, CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY, BANKING, COMPARATIVE ADMINISTRATION, FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS)

Models of organizational decision-making rarely consider systematic bias as a source of difference in outcomes and performance between organizations. Based upon a multivariate analysis of corporate financial reports, this study considers the impact of management type and systemic values, in the form of varying degrees of conservatism, on the administrative cost levels of a matched sample of depository institutions, residential development companies and mortgage insurance companies in Canada and the United States. The conclusion of the research is that organizations and their management are biased in a fashion consistent with the systemic values of the country in which the organization is a part; and to a lesser extent in a fashion consistent with the values of the sub-system from which the management group emanate. While factors such as size, technology, task environment and previous performance levels are important in predicting outcomes, they are more important in some countries and to some types of management than others.