Comment on “Heuristics in the strategy context” by Bingham and Eisenhardt (2011)

Bingham and E isenhardt (2011) highlight the positive role of heuristics in the strategy context. They discuss four mechanisms through which heuristics have positive effects for strategy. The first mechanism—using a heuristic cue as a proxy for complex, correlated information—builds directly on G igerenzer's research on positive heuristics. The second (capturing a window of opportunity) and third (providing some direction while allowing freedom to improvise) mechanisms, combine G igerenzer's ideas with E isenhardt's earlier work. The fourth one relates to coordination. In this commentary, we critically evaluate the applicability of these four mechanisms in the strategy context, which differs fundamentally from G igerenzer's context. Our primary contribution is the explication of central limitations in the ways heuristics can function in the strategy context .