Tell me how you gaze at Strategy Tools and I tell you how you decide

Strategy tools are frequently used in organizations and extensively taught in educational institutions. However, the real impact of strategy tools in practice is still uncertain. In addition, strategy tools can also introduce misunderstandings and are by no means guarantees for establishing shared meaning. This study analyzes the gaze behavior, i. e., eye movements, of 91 decision makers. Therein, it is determined that the gaze of decision makers carries significant
predictive value for the actual decisions made and is closely linked to the cognitive processing of the decision makers. These results establish eye tracking as a viable method for analyzing the individual interpretation of strategy tools by users and contribute to an under-represented area of strategic management research. The authors raise awareness to the importance of the gaze on information processing and provide ideas on how those insights can be used to establish shared meaning in organizations.