Hubris research in business: taking stock and moving forward

Abstract

Purpose – There is growing interest in how hubris bias shapes managerial and entrepreneurial judgments and decisions and, in turn, firm strategy and performance. Based on a 44-years dataset of articles reaching the beginning of 2023, the authors offer a synthesis of hubris research published within business journals. Design/methodology/approach – The authors implement a mixed-method approach offering a content representation of 600 peer-reviewed articles extracted from Scopus. The authors conduct a bibliometric investigation – employing Excel, VOSViewer and Biblioshiny software – and perform a qualitative review. Findings – The analysis unveils four thematic clusters: hubris bias in financial policies (Cluster 1), hubris bias in restructuring deals (Cluster 2), hubris bias in entrepreneurial contexts (Cluster 3) and hubris bias in strategic decision-making (Cluster 4). Moreover, the authors infer that hubris research in business predominantly developed from three disciplinary perspectives – finance, entrepreneurship and strategic management – and progressed with limited interdisciplinary dialogue. Practical implications – The authors call practitioners’ attention to the impact of the hubris bias in forming financial, entrepreneurial and strategic choices. Managers get conscious of the risks of hubristic choices; hence, they implement organizational practices that move forward with unbiased (or less biased) judgments and decisions. Originality/value – The authors offer an up-to-date and comprehensive view of hubris research in business. Furthermore, the authors provide an integrative framework and a research agenda.