Micro-Level: Impact of Demographics on Decision Making

Demographics of Those Served

• Influence facility location, program viability, and policy impact in public sector
• Guide site selection, market analysis, product viability, and HR planning in private sector

Demographics of Decision Makers

• Upper‐echelon characteristics shape strategic choices implemented by middle & line managers
• Key variables: age, tenure, education, gender

Age

• Younger: greater openness to change and risk
• Older: prefer routines, seek more information, slower decisions, cautious about risk

Tenure

• Longer shared tenure in TMT → more effective, less conflict decisions
• CEO tenure boosts strategic risk‐taking via accumulated firm‐specific knowledge

Education

• Higher education → greater receptivity to innovation, tolerance for ambiguity, moral development, and strategic change

Gender

• Women: emphasize time, money, and potential consequences
• Men: prioritize in‐depth information analysis & goal definition

Stress, Cortisol & Risk

• Cortisol spikes triage body for "fight or flight"; heightens immediate‐reward sensitivity → risk shifts
• Under stress:
  • Men: \uparrow cortisol → \uparrow risk seeking (focus on big but unlikely gains)
  • Women: moderate cortisol → improved risk decisions; high cortisol → \downarrow risk (favor smaller, surer gains)
• Different cortisol effects underpin gendered risk behavior; balance is key

C-Suite Outcomes

• Firms with \ge 30\% women in top roles earn \approx 15\% more on average
• Greater female representation linked to smarter, superior decisions

Ethics

• Study of 222 US & Spanish execs: no gender gap in ethical judgments
• Women showed stronger intent to act ethically, but actual decisions similar to men