The edge of reason: A thematic analysis of how professional financial traders understand analytical decision making
Article
Anderson, I. and Thoma, V. 2020. The edge of reason: A thematic analysis of how professional financial traders understand analytical decision making. European Management Journal. 39 (2), pp. 304-314. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2020.08.006
Authors | Anderson, I. and Thoma, V. |
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Abstract | This study uses thematic analysis to investigate accounts of Type 2 (analytical, rational and reflective) decision- making processes in professional financial traders working in the City of London. Previous studies have focused on using qualitative methods to examine trader understanding of Type 1 decision- making (intuition and ‘gut feeling’). No published study has investigated how traders view Type 2 decisions. Findings from semi-structured interviews with 14 traders revealed two overarching themes derived from four subthemes. The first overarching theme (‘Knowledge gap’) demonstrated that traders do not find their analytical decision-making processes as accessible as dual-process theory predicts. In particular, traders failed to label processes such as reading research or evaluating data as analytical. In contrast, they viewed Type 2 decisions in a ‘saviour’ role where these processes offered traders psychological or emotional support during loss making periods. The implications of these findings are discussed with respect to the decision-training of traders, their management, and practice. |
Keywords | decision-making; finance; traders; dual-system |
Journal | European Management Journal |
Journal citation | 39 (2), pp. 304-314 |
ISSN | 0263-2373 |
Year | 2020 |
Publisher | Elsevier |
Accepted author manuscript | License File Access Level Anyone |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2020.08.006 |
Publication dates | |
Online | 31 Aug 2020 |
Publication process dates | |
Accepted | 28 Aug 2020 |
Deposited | 01 Sep 2020 |
Copyright holder | © 2020 Elsevier |
https://repository.uel.ac.uk/item/884zq
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Accepted author manuscript
Anderson_The-edge-of-reason.pdf | ||
License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 | ||
File access level: Anyone |
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