A Scientific Approach to Decision-Making: Key Tools and Design Principles

The recent empirical evidence supporting the application of a scientific approach to decision-making has provided evidence of its positive impact on entrepreneurial performance. Building on this evidence, this article offers a description of the scientific approach that is oriented toward its practical implementation by entrepreneurs. Focusing on the approach's two main pillars – the processes of theory-building and evidence gathering – the authors outline a set of tools developed to facilitate the application of the scientific approach in practical decision-making activities. Ultimately, they derive a set of design principles that researchers can adopt to develop novel tools and methodologies to aid entrepreneurial actions based on the prescriptive aspects of the scientific approach.