Incremental validity of decision-making styles in predicting work-related outcomes

Across three studies and three different samples, we investigated whether decision-making styles exhibit incremental validity in predicting various real-life outcomes over and above cognitive abilities and personality traits. In Study 1, we showed that decision-making styles (especially avoidant and spontaneous one), but not cognitive abilities, predict important real-life and academic outcomes in a sample of undergraduate students. In Study 2, on a sample of employed adults, we showed that although the effects of decision-making styles were diminished once the effects of personality traits were taken into account, styles nevertheless remained important for several important work-related outcomes. Finally, in Study 3, on a sample of entrepreneurs, decision-making styles generally exhibited stronger correlations with indices of entrepreneurial success and employee work-related attitudes than the need for achievement, a motivational trait that was meta-analytically shown to be one of the most important traits for the entrepreneurial success. In sum, we believe that our research program fills the gap in research of decision-making in organizational behavior domain, offering convincing evidence that decision-making styles matter for various important work-related outcomes.