Preferences for Intuition and Deliberation in Decision-Making in the Public Sector: Cross-Cultural Comparison of China, Taiwan, the Philippines, and the USA

Abstract

This paper explores hypotheses based on Hofstede’s cultural framework showing that decision-makers’ culture impacts their implicit choice. How people make decisions is tested through the behavioral dimension preference for intuition/preference for deliberation based on data from 1,233 employees in China, Taiwan, the Philippines, and the USA. This study reveals significant variation in individuals’ intuitive and affective decision-making in the public sector across different countries. Individuals’ deliberative decision-making is impacted by long-term orientation and uncertainty avoidance. The study finds that Eastern countries (China, the Philippines, and Taiwan) have higher scores for intuitive/affective decision making than the Western countries (the USA).