STRATEGIC IGNORANCE: THE PARADIGM OF UNVEILING THE HIDDEN MOTIVES BEHIND MANAGERIAL BLIND SPOTS

Bahareh Abedin; Cristina Veres; Manuela Rozalia Gabor

doi:10.2478/eoik-2025-0080

Authors

Bahareh Abedin Associate Professor, Department of Executive Management, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8958-8992
Cristina Veres George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Targu Mures
Manuela Rozalia Gabor

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2478/eoik-2025-0080

Keywords:

Strategic ignorance, Wilfull managerial ignorance, Phenomenology, Decision making

Abstract

The prevailing idea is that decision makers tend to have access to in-

formation as much as possible and consider all information related to

a subject for their decisions. However, the evidence shows that some-

times managers deliberately ignore some information. It is a kind of

conscious ignorance that empowers managers to decide and act in the

way they think is right. This behavioural strategy is called “strategic

ignorance”. The aim of this study is to investigate the reasons why

strategic ignorance is used by managers in SMEs across various in-

dustries. To achieve this goal, we conducted in-depth interviews with

12 managers. The results turn our attention to a hidden reality behind

the logical behaviours of managers, and that is the human desire to use

“conscious ignorance”. This study confirms that “strategic ignorance”

is a deliberate attempt to prevent the organizations flow of knowledge

or information. This phenomenon is influenced by the systematic, en-

vironmental, and cognitive stimuli of ignorance and the indicators of

the information itself. Our research could help organizations develop

more effective strategies for preventing and mitigating strategic igno-

rance. By understanding the underlying motivations and mechanisms

of “Strategic ignorance”, organizations could implement interven-

tions to promote more informed decision-making practices.

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STRATEGIC IGNORANCE: THE PARADIGM OF UNVEILING THE HIDDEN MOTIVES BEHIND MANAGERIAL BLIND SPOTS

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