The representativeness heuristic is one of the cognitive shortcuts that
simplify human decision-making. The simplicity provided by the heuristic brings
advantages but also risks arising from a lack of information, leading to cognitive
errors and biases. The aim of this study is to identify and evaluate the impact of biases
connected to the representativeness heuristic on the quality of economic
decision-making. For that purpose, a systematic literature review was conducted, and
seventeen empirical studies were analyzed. The review found that the effect of the
biases is indeed significant in the real world, namely in the area of business. Most of
the studies analyzed the representativeness heuristics in investment and did not prove
any strictly negative impact of heuristic decision-making. In fact, under certain
circumstances, representativeness heuristics can be recommended. In addition to
investment, we covered studies focusing on management, auditing, insurance and
consulting. Although these studies show the possible impact of the heuristic on the
quality of decision making, it is impossible to form general conclusions due to the lack
of research in these fields. Alongside investment, further research into the use of the
representativeness heuristics in various settings is recommended as well as research
into the possible ways to reduce or even eliminate the negative side effects and biases
of the heuristics.