1.1 Required Reading
Emerging Trends and Theories
Access Required DBA Program Resources
All required DBA program resources are available in the Excelsior Library’s Scholar Source. Use Scholar Source to support your research, discussions, and assignments throughout the course.
Prepare Before You Begin
Complete the required readings prior to participating in the seminar or completing the module assignments.
This module’s readings focus on theories about how organizations and leaders make decisions and adapt in rapidly changing environments.
As you read, consider how organizational capabilities, resilience, behavioral strategy, and AI-human decision-making shape strategic leadership and organizational performance.
Dynamic Capabilities
Examine how organizations sense opportunities, respond to disruption, and sustain competitive advantage.
Organizational Resilience
Explore how organizations adapt to uncertainty and maintain performance during disruption and change.
Behavioral Strategy
Consider the role of cognition, judgment, bias, and managerial behavior in strategic decision-making.
Human and AI Decision-Making
Analyze the evolving relationship between human judgment and artificial intelligence in organizational decision-making.
Required Readings
Dynamic Capabilities
How organizations sense opportunities, respond to disruption, and sustain competitive advantage in rapidly changing environments.
- Teece, D.J. (2025). Dynamic Capabilities: Foundational Concepts. Cambridge University Press.
- Bouquet, C., Wright, C.J., and Nolan, J. (2026). Match your AI Strategy to Your Organization’s Reality. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2026/01/match-your-ai-strategy-to-your-organizations-reality
Organizational Resilience Theory
How organizations build resilience, adapt to uncertainty, and maintain performance during disruption and change.
- Martín-Rojas, R., Garrido-Moreno, A. & García-Morales, V.J. (2026). Building organizational resilience in SMEs: the key role of digital technologies, transformational leadership, and innovation. Rev Manag Sci.
Behavioral Strategy
The role of cognition, judgment, bias, and managerial behavior in strategic decision-making.
- Rau, D. and Bromiley, P. (2025). A review of cognitive biases in strategic decision making. Long Range Planning, Volume 58, Issue 3.
- Midgard, K. and Selart, M. (2025). Cognitive Biases in Strategic Decision-Making. Administrative Sciences, 15(6), 227.
Human and AI Decision-Making Theory
The evolving relationship between human judgment and artificial intelligence in organizational decision-making and strategic leadership.
- Li, H. and Tian, F. (2026). Advancing Decision-Making through AI-Human Collaboration: A Systematic Review and Conceptual Framework. Group Decision and Negotiation, Volume 35, article number 26.
- Sacavem, A., et al. (2026). AI-Driven Leadership: Decision-Making, Competencies, and Ethical Challenges – A Systematic Review. Administrative Science, 16(4), 173.
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