Heuristics in entrepreneurial decisions: A review, an ecological rationality model, and a research agenda

How are heuristics used for information exploitation in entrepreneurial decisions? To answer this open-ended question, a Systematic Literature Review of 63 contributions concerning the influence of heuristics in EDs is proposed. Papers are analyzed looking at the type of EDs, heuristic outcomes, and ecological rationality assumptions. By adopting a “unified” mind theory of information processing, an explanatory framework of how heuristics can positively or negatively exploit information and social environments and, in turn, affect entrepreneurial decisions, is offered. Affective states are the first response to environmental stimuli, initially driving rational judgment; affect and cognition then intersect each other – in a dialectical way – when making EDs, with both of them concurrently contributing to the formation of choices. A research agenda is provided for investigations of heuristics and EDs in entrepreneurship.