Gordon Bowen¹, Richard Bowen²

(1. Regent’s University, London, UK; 2. Facebook, Inc.)

 

 

Abstract: The 2016 UK Referendum required the electorate to take an important strategic decision. To address strategic decisions effectively, flexibility and an understanding of the issues holistically are important characteristics. Issues that require strategic decision-making are challenging and should not be attempted without prerequisite knowledge and understanding. Hence, strategic decisions in firms are the sphere of influence of senior management and middle management (the latter at least having some input). Given this scenario, are referendums that are propagated on strategic decision-making appropriate for the whole electorate or are they the preserve of the lawmakers? The scope of referendums needs to be defined very carefully. Strategic decisions are converted to tactical decisions by building a context, and thus a consensus, via a cost-benefit analysis. Thus the aim of the paper is to add to the understanding of strategic decision-making in the political context, namely a referendum. The paper will use information in the public domain on the 2016 UK Referendum and evaluate it based on the academic literature on strategic decision-making and related areas.

 

 

Key words: strategic decisions; characteristics of strategic decisions; UK Referendum 2016; uncertainty; unpredictable environments; unknowable environments; decision-making

 

JEL codes: M1, M3 & L8