ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT, FAMILIARITY, FRAMING, AND THE ILLUSION OF CONTROLDURING DECISION-SUPPORT SYSTEM USE

Results of a laboratory experiment on Decision Support System (DSS) us e indicated that (a) active involvement in model building and data ent ry, (b) familiarity with model execution and the decision situation, a nd (c) consistency between a normative solution and the alternative en couraged by the problem frame led to an illusion of control, defined a s an unwarranted inflation in expectations of success. Furthermore, hi gher expectations of success were associated with greater user satisfa ction, better mood, and lower preference for thinking more before maki ng the final decision. Higher expectations of success were less likely to be associated with preference for creating another model but were more likely to be associated with preference for further refinements t o the existing DSS model before making the final decision. However, va riations in expectations of success induced by sources of illusion of control were not associated with variations in decision performance. I mplications for practice and research are presented. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.