J. Hornik et J. Cherian, DATA-USE IN MARKETING - A NORMATIVE ANALYSIS FROM AN ARTIFICIAL SCIENCE PERSPECTIVE, Journal of business research, 27(3), 1993, pp. 229-238
Literature about data-use has tended to overstate the importance of da
ta-providers (ie, of researchers), and to understate the importance of
data-users (ie, of managers). Because data-use is just as much under
the influence of the user as of the provider, the disparity in importa
nce given to researchers and managers is improper. A model of data-use
is developed here from the point of view of the data-user, based on a
n analogy between rational decision-making and Bayesian analysis. The
model then empirically illustrates how different decision-makers use i
dentical data in different ways. Specifically, the model shows how dec
ision-maker predispositions shift the balance between the two fundamen
tal decisions in data-use: deciding to act or deciding to gather more
data.