Emotion regulation in management: Harnessing the potential of NeuroIS tools

Abstract

Management decisions are taken by human beings, not by robots. Consequently, management decisions, and of course also the respective managers, are affected by emotions. Thus, they rely on accurate emotional processing. Research on decision making has shown that individuals with high emotion regulation capabilities perform better in taking effective decisions. Managers perpetually have to take rapid decisions in fast-paced environments, between the poles of diverse interests and motives of colleagues, customers, partners, and rivals. Sophisticated management is the key to any business. Therefore, we argue that IS research should build on the advances in cognitive neuroscience and harness the potential of NeuroIS tools in the field of management support. In this paper, we propose a conceptual framework and taxonomy for how NeuroIS tools may support managers in taking effective decisions by firstly improving their emotion regulation capabilities and, secondly, providing them with real-time feedback and decision support based on physiological measurements. Based on the framework, we outline a specific application for how emotions can affect decision making in the dynamic process of negotiations and for how NeuroIS research can contribute to a better understanding of the underlying visceral processes.