Attaining Decision Quality and Commitment From Dissent: The Moderating Effects of Loyalty and Competence in Strategic Decision-Making Teams

Contradictory forces of dissent and consensus building attend the strategic decision process. Taking an information-processing perspective, it is argued that two factors that affect perceptions of trustworthiness within strategic decision-making teams - loyalty and competence - play different roles in enabling dissent to enhance decision quality and build decision commitment. Results from a sample of 86 strategic decision-making teams in US hospitals indicate the perceptions of loyalty within teams strengthen the relationship between dissent and decision quality. Perceptions of within-team competence strengthen the relationship between dissent and decision commitment.