1. REŞIT AKÇAM - Founder & CEO, American Soft Linen, West Haven, Connecticut, USA.
Rapid organizational growth places extraordinary pressure on executive decision-making, particularly within
distribution companies where operational complexity, inventory intensity, and time sensitivity converge. As
firms scale quickly, executives are required to make high-stakes decisions under conditions of compressed
timelines, information asymmetry, and heightened risk exposure. Despite the prevalence of these
conditions, the business management literature has offered limited insight into how executive decision
making practices adapt under sustained scale pressure. This study examines decision-making under scale
pressure in high-growth distribution companies, focusing on the managerial practices executives employ to
navigate complexity while maintaining strategic control. Drawing on executive management, organizational
decision-making, and growth management perspectives, the paper develops a conceptual framework that
explains how scale pressure reshapes decision authority, judgment processes, and risk assessment at the
executive level. The analysis highlights that scale pressure alters not only the speed but also the structure
of decision-making. Executives increasingly rely on prioritization mechanisms, delegation frameworks, and
simplified decision heuristics to manage cognitive load while preserving accountability. The findings
suggest that decision quality under scale pressure depends less on individual expertise alone and more on
the alignment between executive judgment, organizational systems, and governance structures. By
positioning scale pressure as a defining condition of executive management in high-growth distribution
firms, this study contributes to business management scholarship by clarifying how decision-making
practices evolve as organizations expand. The paper offers practical implications for executives seeking to
sustain performance and strategic coherence in scale-intensive environments and advances theoretical
understanding of decision-making as a core executive capability.
Business Management, Executive Decision-Making, Scale Pressure, High-Growth Distribution Companies, Strategic Management.