Organizations succeed by making strategic decisions under the guidance of the top management level ( Avinadav, Chernonog, & Perlman, 2015) . This implies that human factors play a major part in the decision taken by the manager. It is therefore important to investigate the role that attitudes play in the choice of the supply chain management strategies.
The Problem
The problem to be addressed is the connection between the attitudes that managers have towards risks and the choices they make about the supply chain management strategies ( Hopkin, 2017) . Supply chain risk management has emerged as a very important part of the organization due to the new risks emerging, the increased exposure to the risks, and the escalating costs that might emanate from compensation in case the risks materialize ( Hopkin, 2017) . A literature review in this particular direction reveals that the managerial attributes act as moderators as managers differ in their scanning practices and values. One of the managerial characteristics is risk attitudes. However, the role that risk attitudes play in decisions about supply chain management strategies has not been exhausted by previous research ( Schaltegger & Burritt, 2014) . This problem can be solved by incorporation of risk attitude of managers as a moderating factor. This premise comes from the argument that risk attitudes of the manager or the decision maker have a direct impact on the management decision that one is making.
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Significance of the study
This study is innovative as it combines different research areas that are the supply chain management, organizational decision-making, and the supply chain risk management ( Hopkin, 2017) . The integration is important as it allows for the closing of a research gap that exists in the area of supply chain management strategies ( Heckmann, Comes, & Nickel, 2015) . Research indicates that failure to mitigate the risks in the right manner by the organization may lead to detrimental results for the organization, as it would not be able to attain the desired competitive advantage ( Choi, 2016) . A survey of managers and the impact that attitude has on the decisions they are beneficial to organizations as it would provide recommendations on how to change the decision-making system of the company. Findings from this research would also help companies in developing their risk management strategies to enhance their competitive advantage ( Liu & Wang, 2015) . Globalization has brought many opportunities as well as risks for an organization. The issue of diversity means that different managers with different attitudes are involved in the management of different operations in the company ( Choi, 2016) . This study is, therefore, significant in analyzing how managers can mitigate their attitudes to ensure they are not biased towards a strategy that would prevent the company from competing effectively in the market.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate how managerial characteristics and attitudes influence the decisions made concerning the strategies in supply chain management ( Li, Fan, Lee, & Cheng, 2015) . Global companies depend on supply chain strategies to gain competitive advantage. The purpose of the study is to outline the negative impact of risk attitudes on the strategies employed by the company ( Hazen, Skipper, Boone, & Hill, 2016) . This research will also strengthen the need for the companies to implement supply chain risk management that would ensure managers can make the right decisions. The number of risks faced by companies today is many due to the possibility of supply chain being stretched across the world to ensure customers are provided with the lowest cost and best quality of the product they are looking for.
Research shows that previous research on the concept of risk was isolated from any behavioral analysis ( Kırılmaz & Erol, 2017) . However, the strategic nature of decision making in organizations has created the need to include risk attitude as a moderator in organizational decision-making ( Hazen, Skipper, Boone, & Hill, 2016) . Managers are at the center of the wheel when planning for the supply chain management strategies, which means the perception and attitude they have towards risks is important in analyzing the quality or effectiveness of the decisions made by the organization ( Heckmann, Comes, & Nickel, 2015) . For example, the manager may avert risks if the company is performing well. It might opt to take risks in an attempt to attain the required level.
Research conducted by Kırılmaz & Erol (2017) reveals that attitude of managers towards risks is important in designing the risk response strategy. The risk acceptance level of the manager means that the manager may be willing to take risks that occur below a certain threshold ( Li, Fan, Lee, & Cheng, 2015) . The same manager will use risk responses when the risk occurs above a certain threshold. However, research has not adequately outlined the level of acceptance, but there is a considerable analysis that put the level as depending on the risk attitude that the manager has ( Heckmann, Comes, & Nickel, 2015) . Therefore, a manager may be risk neutral, risk-averse or risk seeking. The risk attitude of the manager is important in understanding the supply chain management where the level of risk management activities are greatly influenced by the manager's risk aversion profile ( Olsson, Eriksson, Sjöström, & Anerud, 2016) . A risk-averting manager will take action to understand the risk profile of the stakeholders fully.
References
Avinadav, T., Chernonog, T., & Perlman, Y. (2015). The effect of risk sensitivity on a supply chain of mobile applications under a consignment contract with revenue sharing and quality investment. International Journal of Production Economics , 168 , 31-40.
Choi, T. M. (2016). Supply chain systems coordination with multiple risks sensitive retail buyers. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics: Systems , 46 (5), 636-645.
Hazen, B. T., Skipper, J. B., Boone, C. A., & Hill, R. R. (2016). Back in business: Operations research in support of big data analytics for operations and supply chain management. Annals of Operations Research , 1-11.
Heckmann, I., Comes, T., & Nickel, S. (2015). A critical review of supply chain risk–Definition, measure, and modeling. Omega , 52 , 119-132.
Hopkin, P. (2017). Fundamentals of risk management: understanding, evaluating and implementing effective risk management . Kogan Page Publishers.
Kırılmaz, O., & Erol, S. (2017). A proactive approach to supply chain risk management: Shifting orders among suppliers to mitigate the supply-side risks. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management , 23 (1), 54-65.
Li, G., Fan, H., Lee, P. K., & Cheng, T. C. E. (2015). Joint supply chain risk management: an agency and collaboration perspective. International Journal of Production Economics , 164 , 83-94.
Liu, W., & Wang, Y. (2015). Quality control game model in logistics service supply chain based on different combinations of risk attitude. International Journal of Production Economics , 161 , 181-191.
Olsson, O., Eriksson, A., Sjöström, J., & Anerud, E. (2016). Keep that fire burning: Fuel supply risk management strategies of Swedish district heating plants and implications for energy security. Biomass and Bioenergy , 90 , 70-77.
Schaltegger, S., & Burritt, R. (2014). Measuring and managing sustainability performance of supply chains: Review and sustainability supply chain management framework. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal , 19 (3), 232-241.
