Why who you are at the time matters: An examination of the relationship between social identity salience and risky decision making

• Main Author: Simms, Shalei V. K
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01-01-2010
• Subjects: Athletic recruitment; Bias; Decision making; Dissertations & theses; Executives; Gender identity; Identification; Influence; Management; Perceptions; Risk aversion; Social identity; Studies
• ISBN: 9781124054858; 1124054855

Risky choice is an integral part of the strategic decision making process. It encompasses both organizationally and personally relevant outcomes. Individual decision makers must navigate the process in such a manner that yields optimal results for the organization as well as the individual decision maker. As a result, it is important to further uncover additional antecedents to strategic decision making in organizations. The goal of this dissertation is to examine how salient social identities, or the social identity that is psychologically active at the time a decision is made, influences the risky decision making process. Specifically, I explore the question of whether individuals in a particular social group change their risk taking depending on the context that activates their social identity. I argue that individuals will be more likely to make a risky decision when their identity puts them at an advantage (positive social identity) than when they are put in a disadvantageous position (negative social identity). In addition, I argue that identity orientations, or whether an individual views himself as separate from or a representative of their social group, influence risky decision making. The results provide some evidence that priming social identities can affect the nature of an individual‘s risk taking. Boundary conditions to these relationships are discussed.