Individual Differences in the Use of Decision Support Aids

Abstract

Mason and Mitroff [1973] stated that the study of decision maker characteristics is based on the rationale that decision makers perform more effectively with reports or decision support aids which match their particular psychological (cognitive) styles. Recent studies in accounting have attempted experimentally to evaluate the impact of these styles on information system use (e.g., Huysmans [1970], Benbasat and Schroeder [1977]. Vasarhelyi [1977], Lusk [1979a], Benbasat and Dexter [1979]). In this paper we report on the results of an experiment which was designed to assess whether decision aids can improve the performance of heuristics (low analytics) in task environments unsuitable for their cognitive styles. The task environment consisted of a relatively structured inventory control/production scheduling system which is better suited for decision makers of high analytic capabilities. Even though high analytics generally outperform low analytics in such environments, it is conceivable that appropriate decision aids may allow the latter to perform as well, thus allowing them to compete within a broader set of job opportunities. The particular decision aid used in this study was a simulation model. In both government and industrial decision making, simulation has become a widely used managerial computer-based technique (Keen and Scott-Morton [1978]) and may achieve even broader utilization with the increasing use of personalized computers.