A research on the possibility of artificial intelligence in strategic thinking and strategic decision making

In this study, the potential of artificial intelligence in strategic thinking and strategic decision-making was investigated. The strategic thinking variable consists of five dimensions: systems perspective, focused on intent, intelligent opportunism, thinking in time, and hypothesis driven. As for strategic decision-making, it consists of three feature: influencing decisions to be made in the future of the business, guiding other decisions made within the business, and shaping the dynamics of competition. This study also includes significant informations on the philosophical background and research process of cognitive phenomenology design, which can be considered a novel approach within qualitative research designs. In addition, in order to provide theoretical richness in the study, a cognitive phenomenology quadrant was developed based on the categories of "cognitive and propositional attitude" and "practical reflection" and participant selection criteria were determined accordingly. The study's sample population consists of project teams, academics, and managers. Interviews were conducted with a total of 9 participants on different platforms using semi-structured interview questions formulated based on framework of the literature. These participants were selected among the participants who were thought to provide theoretical richness to the study and met the criteria established within the framework of the cognitive phenomenology design, using the common aspects of theoretical sampling, maximum diversity sampling and criterion sampling. The data obtained from the participants were evaluated with content analysis and codes, categories and themes were obtained as the findings of the study. As a result of the analysis, 534 codes, 20 categories and 8 themes were reached. The themes obtained in the study are; the potential for comprehensive evaluation, the potential for developing solutions to uncertainty, the potential for combinatorial thinking, the potential for developing strategies, the potential for creating decision styles, the potential for decision-making, the potential for shaping competitive dynamics, current and potential challenges/threats of artificial intelligence. In the next stage, where the findings and participants' opinions were evaluated together, the research model revealing the strategic thinking and strategic decision-making potential of artificial intelligence and 11 propositions that constitute the dynamics and conceptual framework of this model were reached. Additionally, within the framework of cognitive phenomenology quadrant, participants were identified, and their contributions to the research findings were revealed through data flow tables based on the sampling and quadrant criteria.