Executive and consumer decision processes: increasing useful sensemaking by identifying similarities and departures

Both marketing executives and consumers engage in a combination of automatic and strategic (i.e. controlled) thinking and doing processes when they become aware of problems/opportunities. Similarities and departures in these processes among executives and consumers occur through all stages of their decisions. This article includes a paradigm describing similarities (S i ) and departures (D i ) in the stream of thinking and behaviors of executives and consumers. For example, both executives and consumers apply simplifying categorizing rules for defining decision contexts; for repetitive decision‐making contexts, categorization rules are more often formalized in writing by executives but not by consumers. The extant literature on the quality of decision processes offers several easy‐to‐apply, but often unknown rules helpful for both executives and consumers for improving the quality of their decisions; these rules are examined briefly within the framework of similarities and departures. Formal study by all marketers of such similarities and departures of consumer/business buying decisions may be helpful for recognizing nuances critical in selling‐buying processes for achieving desired outcomes – such as getting a sale or building a marketing relationship. The article describes “direct research” studies of decision processes implemented by executives and consumers; direct research studies hold particular promise for uncovering similarities and departures when comparing the two areas of study.