Mitigating Cognitive Biases in International Business Through Experiential Exercises
Yang Xu
Department of Management and Marketing, Midwestern State University, USA
Volume 21: 2026, pp. 00-00; ABSTRACT
Given cultural differences and environmental uncertainty in international business,
managers consciously or subconsciously rely on heuristics or mental shortcuts in making decisions
to solve complex and challenging issues. However, these mental shortcuts can lead to severe
systematic errors, known as cognitive biases. The experiential learning exercises presented in this
paper expose students to three common cognitive biases: overconfidence, the availability heuristic,
and the anchoring trap. Through these exercises, students step into the shoes of decision-makers and
learn strategies to mitigate the impact of cognitive biases on good decision-making in international
business. These activities have been successfully implemented in international business education
and are frequently lauded as high-impact learning experiences.
Keywords: cognitive biases, experiential exercise, international business.
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