ONE MORE TIME - DOES A COMPUTER-BASED DECISION-SUPPORT SYSTEM IMPROVEMANAGERIAL DECISIONS

The literature contains a number of studies dealing with the effective ness of decision support systems (DSS). The results from these studies have been inconclusive in providing an answer to the question: does a computer-based DSS improve decision effectiveness? These studies have suggested a number of methods to provide a clearer answer to the ques tion. The research reported in this paper has built on the previous re search by incorporating a number of recommendations into the design. A highly restrictive design of a decisional guidance decision support s ystem was tested in a laboratory setting. The results support the noti on that DSS can enhance managerial decision making. More specifically, the experiments indicate that decision makers perform better with com puter-based support that directs a change in the decision process towa rd a normative decision model.