Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
acceptedVersion
Publication Date
3-2012
Abstract
Committee decision making is examined in this study focusing on the role assigned to the committee members. In particular, we are concerned about the comparison between committee performance under specialization and non-specialization of the decision makers. Specialization (in the context of project or public policy selection) means that the decision of each committee member is based on a narrow area, which typically results in the acquirement and use of relatively high expertise in that area. When the committee members’ expertise is already determined, specialization only means that the decision of each committee member is based solely on his/her relatively high expertise area. This form of specialization is potentially inferior relative to non-specialization under which the decision of each committee member is based on different areas, not just his/her relatively high expertise area. Given that the expertise of the committee members is already determined but unknown, our analysis focuses on non-specializing individuals whose decision is based on a decision rule that does not require information on the decision-making skills. Under these realistic assumptions, non-specialization is shown to be preferable over specialization, depending on the aggregation rule applied by the committee. The significance of our approach is not limited to the specific results that we obtain. Rather, it should be viewed as a first step toward a deeper examination of the role of individual decision makers in enhancing the performance of collective decision making.
Keywords
Project selection, Public policy, Collective decision making, Committee, Uncertain dichotomous choice, Specialization, Simple majority rule
Discipline
Behavioral Economics | Strategic Management Policy
Research Areas
Applied Microeconomics
Publication
Theory and Decision
Volume
72
Issue
3
First Page
341
Last Page
357
ISSN
0040-5833
Identifier
10.1007/s11238-011-9260-9
Publisher
Springer
Citation
BEN-YASHAR, Ruth; KOH, Winston T. H.; and NITZAN, Shmuel.
Is Specialization Desirable in Committee Decision Making?. (2012). Theory and Decision. 72, (3), 341-357.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soe_research/1338
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11238-011-9260-9
Comments
Condition acceptance for final revision