Rationality and Use of Information in Policy Decisions

In the field of knowledge acquisition, dissemination, and utilization/impact, few studies have examined the appropriateness of rational actor theories as a theoretical framework. Rather, the rational actor perspective has been simply taken for granted as a relevant analytical tool for explaining the use of information in policymaking. This article singles out one major set of assumptions imbedded in rational actor theories, those dealing with information acquisition and processing in individual decisionmaking, and empirically examines to what extent the assumptions are realistic. It then puts forward an organizational interest and a communications perspective as alternative explanations for information processing in individual and organizational decisionmaking. The findings of this article show that decisionmakers' behavior does not conform to the assumptions put forward by the rational actor theorists. Instead, the organizational interest perspective is far more promising in accounting for the actual behavior of individuals in processing information in making policy decisions.