Managers' opinions: reality or fiction : A narrative approach

Purpose – The current work aims to study the discrepancies that arise between the observed stimulus and the perception that managers form this reality. Individuals' bounded rationality, the complexity of the observed reality and the influence of the managers' beliefs are among the factors that give rise to these discrepancies. Thus, one can distinguish between different types of cognitive biases: simplification biases, affective influence biases, and interaction biases. Design/methodology/approach – In the empirical application of this study, and using the narrative approach, this study analyses the opinions offered by CEOs of toy manufacturers about two questions: the current situation of their sector, and their firm's product portfolio. Findings – The study reveals that managers' perceptions do not coincide with the information obtained from other bibliographic sources. Hence the results confirm the presence of biases in their opinions, which derive from simplification processes in the manager's cognitive process and from the influence of their belief schema. Research limitations/implications – The adoption of the narrative approach determines the limitations of this research. On the other hand, the information used to test the managers' opinions is also the result of a perception process, which undoubtedly entails cognitive biases. Practical implications – This work examines the cognitive biases that are produced throughout the process of individual perception. Thus, the proposed model of perception stresses the factors that distort individual perception: the complexity of the stimulus and the individual's belief schema. Originality/value – This research analyses the reliability of managers' opinions using a qualitative methodology that includes various information sources.