Factors Affecting Changes in Managerial Decisions
Published online on February 07, 2017
Abstract
It is commonly held that revealed managerial decisions depend on the interaction of risk attitudes and preferences, as well as market and firm conditions. In agriculture, production plans can have a horizon of a few months to several years. However, it is not always the case that managers follow through on their plans once established. The purpose of this paper is to investigate factors that contribute to changes between managers’ planned decisions and eventual actions. A unique dataset consisting of farm financial data, consultant generated production plans, and a follow‐up producer survey was constructed with participants in the Texas FARM‐Assistance program. We evaluate the effects of managers’ behavioral attributes, farm financial indicators, and production characteristics on the decision to follow through on business plans. Our findings provide new insights into the decision‐making and planning processes of managers under risky market conditions, and the interactions of same with behavioral characteristics. [EconLit citations: Q12; Q13; Q14; D22; G02].