Time management: how much time should information search receive?
Comparing suppliers, documenting an investment or preparing a partnership can occupy a largely invisible share of the working day. The managerial question is specific: under what conditions does continuing to search for information justify the time spent?
What the literature establishes
George J. Stigler (1961, Journal of Political Economy) analyses information search, particularly for prices, as a costly activity that can generate a benefit. In this framework, further search is justified as long as its expected benefit exceeds its cost. This is an economic argument, not evidence that teams will spontaneously identify the appropriate stopping point.
Effort also depends on how the search is conducted
John W. Payne, James R. Bettman and Eric J. Johnson (1988, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition) use simulation and experimentation to examine the trade-off between cognitive effort and accuracy in decision strategies. Their findings show that a strategy’s value depends on the structure of the problem and processing constraints. For managers, this suggests distinguishing the time spent gathering information from the method used to compare it.
The premature conclusion
One might conclude that every search simply needs a time limit. Yet these studies provide no universal time budget: additional information may change a choice, or merely reinforce an established preference. The useful distinction concerns uncertainty that could change the decision, rather than the number of documents consulted. (our executive and employee training programmes)
What the evidence cannot prescribe
The economic search model and experimental choice situations do not reproduce the full complexity of an industrial purchase or a university partnership. In practice, the expected benefit of information is difficult to estimate before obtaining it. Food safety, legal and contractual requirements therefore cannot be replaced by a simple calculation of time saved.
A practical check in Fribourg
Within SHR’s “Time Management & Prioritisation” programme, one possible exercise is to track additional searches for comparable decisions over two weeks: food-sector purchasing, supplier consultations in French and German in industry, or service-provider selection within Fribourg’s university hub. Before each search, record the unresolved question and what would change the choice; afterwards, record the time spent and any change to the decision. Measure the proportion of searches that actually changed the choice alongside the total time invested, without treating necessary confirmation as waste. This observation opens an evidence-based discussion about search time; it does not, on its own, establish decision quality. To go further: explore the Time Management & Prioritisation training in Fribourg, or browse our executive and employee training programmes in Switzerland.
In pictures: Time Management & Prioritisation in Fribourg
- time management & prioritisation
- Fribourg
- research
- training fribourg