Abstract :
This paper reviews the strategic decision-making process literature with respect to the
synoptic formalism/political incrementalism debate. Procedural rationality is chosen as a
representative of the synoptic formalism perspective; and both intuitive synthesis and
political behaviour are employed as representatives of the political-incrementalism
perspective. In this paper, the author discusses the theoretical underpinnings of these three
process dimensions, as well as the key research efforts gathered together under each
perspective. In conducting this review, a number of areas have been identified which could
profitably be examined further, and a number of implications for managers will be
highlighted and discussed.
