Mind the Ambiguity! Exploring How Goal Ambiguity Influences the Role of Information and Worldviews in Decision-Making

Goal ambiguity—defined as the presence of multiple, conflicting goal dimensions without prioritisation—is a defining feature of ill-structured, strategic decisions. When goals are ambiguous, decision-makers must interpret and determine for themselves which outcomes to pursue and how to assess success. Despite its relevance, the role of goal ambiguity in shaping decision processes remains understudied. This multidisciplinary research investigates whether and how goal ambiguity moderates the influence of two key factors in decision-making: the information provided and decision-makers’ worldviews (understood as both descriptive and normative components of cognition). Prior research has produced mixed findings, leaving the role and effects of goal ambiguity unclear. I argue that in ambiguous decisions, where no clear benchmark is available, decision-makers fill this ‘void’ with what is cognitively or contextually available. Specifically, I hypothesised that worldviews become more influential under goal ambiguity, shaping which goals are prioritised. Likewise, ambiguous goals increase susceptibility to information, as available cues can more strongly anchor judgment. To test these hypotheses, I ran a series of dynamic decision-making experiments using a gamified version of the World2 system dynamics model (called Planet X), recalibrated to replicate post-growth sustainability trade-offs, in which I manipulated the information provided and the goal conditions. Results supported the central argument: goal ambiguity shifted the relative weight of worldviews and information in shaping decision outcomes. The findings also partially supported the hypothesised interaction effects, though outcomes varied depending on how ambiguity was operationalised (overarching unclear goal vs juxtaposed conflicting dimensions). This highlights the sensitivity of these interactions and helps explain inconsistencies in prior research. Furthermore, participants struggled to recognise goal ambiguity when asked directly, indicating a potentially critical recognition issue. This research makes several contributions: (1) it introduces goal ambiguity to the operational research domain; (2) provides evidence of its central moderating role on information use and worldviews; (3) offers initial insights into the directionality of these interactions; (4) proposes an explanation for why real-world decisions sometimes appear unaffected by provided evidence; and (5) offers methodological guidance for future research..

Grantor dc:publisher

UNSW, Sydney

Year dc:date

2025

Author dc:creator

• Cunico, Giovanni ; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0450-7725

• goal ambiguity
• behavioral operational research
• system dynamics experiments
• sustainability tradeoffs
• behavioral strategy
• decision-making
• information processing
• organization science
• worldviews
• anzsrc-for: 520402 Decision making
• anzsrc-for: 3507 Strategy, management and organisational behaviour
• anzsrc-for: 490108 Operations research
• anzsrc-for: 41 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
• anzsrc-for: 490105 Dynamical systems in applications

Statement dc:rights

• open access
• CC BY 4.0
• free_to_read

Licence

• https://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
• https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Language dc:language

en

Identifier

https://doi.org/10.26190/unsworks/31822

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:unsworks.library.unsw.edu.au:1959.4/106387