Sean B. Eom

A survey of decision support system applications (1988-1994)

To extend two previous surveys of specific decision support system (DSS) applications over the period (January 1971–December 1994), we have conducted a follow-up survey covering the period between 1995 and 2001. A total of 210 published applications are identified. To examine the development pattern of a specific DSS over time, we analysed and summarized the survey results according to (1) the area of application, (2) the year of publication in each area of application, (3) the distribution of underlying tools in DSSs, (4) a classification based on Alters taxonomy, and (5) the management level (operational, tactical, or strategic) for which the DSS was designed.

Designing effective cyber store user interface

Complementary to the increasing popularity of the Internet and WWW, electronic commerce (e‐commerce) has become a fast emerging industry and a significant global economic force. The online retail stores need to attract more visitors and convert them into the customers who actually purchase the products or services. To achieve this goal, these stores need to endeavor to enhance customers’ satisfaction to maintain positive relationships with customers. Satisfied customers have a higher chance of purchasing merchandise from the same store and remaining loyal customers. This study investigates the features that possibly influence the perceived satisfaction of online retail shopping among university students using 27 questionnaire items. The study findings imply that the online retailers may need to put emphasis on specifying how they guarantee on‐time delivery and risk‐free, hassle‐free return clearly on their Web pages. They should follow what they promise as much as possible to improve shoppers’ satisfactio...

Virtual teaming: a strategy for moving your organization into the new millennium

The concept of teams and teamwork is increasingly becoming an important key to productivity and employee satisfaction in the contemporary workplace. This paper looks at the concept of teams and teamwork and several innovative ways of using teams. Among the innovative ways of using teams are globally networked teams, team‐based strategic planning, flexible‐jobbing, the horizontal corporation, and the virtual corporation. The use of computer‐mediated communication technologies and other groupware technologies provide a workable, reliable, and flexible base of systems for creating the platforms for virtual teams and virtual organizations. An overview of current information technology available for supporting teams and which types of information technology are most valuable in enhancing the new team applications is briefly addressed. Supporting technologies include groupware for facilitating communication, supporting information storage and retrieval, and supporting decision making. Lastly, the many competitive advantages to the use of virtual teaming in the global environment as well as its managerial implications and strategic recommendations for improving the performance of virtual teams are presented.

Decision support systems research: current state and trends

This study investigates the changing intellectual structure of the decision support system (DSS) field by means of an empirical assessment of the DSS literature over two successive time periods, 1971‐1990 and 1991‐1995. A multivariate data analysis tool, cluster analysis, is applied to an author cocitation frequency matrix derived from a large database file of comprehensive DSS literature over the two consecutive periods. The study concludes that the core areas of DSS research have shifted to group decision support systems, model management, and design and implementation, while the study of foundations and individual differences has faded away. Moreover, DSS researchers have diversified their reference disciplines in an effort to improve their research. Influence of organization science has been diminished, while cognitive science and psychology have emerged as the most influential contributing disciplines.

Mapping the intellectual structure of research in decision support systems through author cocitation analysis (1971–1993)

Abstract This study applies factor analysis of an author cocitation frequency matrix derived from a database file that consists of a total of 23,768 cited reference records taken from 944 citing articles. Factor analysis extracted eleven factors consisting of six major areas of DSS research (group DSS, foundations, model management, interface systems, multicriteria DSS, and implementation) and five contributing disciplines (multiple criteria decision making, cognitive science, organizational science, artificial intelligence, and systems science). This research provides hard evidence that the decision support system has made meaningful progress over the past two decades and is in the process of solidifying its domain and demarcating its reference disciplines. Especially, much progress has been made in the subareas of model management such as representation, model base processing, model integration, and artificial intelligence application to model management leading towards the development of a theory of models. To facilitate the transition from the pre- to post-paradigm period in DSS research, this study has completed important groundwork.

The intellectual structure of decision support systems (1971–1989)

Abstract This study aims at identifying the intellectual structure of decision support systems (DSS), using factor analysis and multidimensional scaling of author cocitation frequency. Eight subsets of DSS research are identified; they are foundations, group DSS, routing DSS, data base management systems, multiple criteria DSS, marketing DSS, multiple criteria decision making, and management science. Earlier studies by Culnan reported that management information systems (MIS) have made significant progress toward a cumulative research tradition. This study extends the study of Culnan and examines a subspecialty of eight areas of MIS research identified by prior research. Contrary to the prior research, this research supports the theory of continuing fragmentation of DSS research and finds very little cumulative research tradition. Further, this study suggests that DSS research should be directed toward the improvement of organizational decision making.

Decision support systems research: Reference disciplines and a cumulative tradition

This study applies factor analysis of an author cocitation frequency matrix derived from a database file consisting of a total of 15,030 cited reference records taken from 692 citing articles. Seven informal clusters of decision support systems (DSS) research subspecialties and reference disciplines were uncovered. Four of them represent DSS research subspecialties--foundations, group DSS, model/data management, and individual differences. Three other conceptual groupings define the reference disciplines of DSS--organizational science, multiple criteria decision making, and artificial intelligence. DSS is a very young academic field and is still growing. DSS has just entered the era of growth after 20 years of research. During the 1990s, DSS research will be further grounded in a diverse set of reference disciplines. Furthermore, DSS is in the active process of solidifying its domain and demarcating its reference disciplines. A DSS theory is imminent in the very near future in some area of DSS research such as model management.

The contributions of organizational science to the development of decision support systems research subspecialties

This study is conducted to infer the intellectual structure of the decision support systems (DSS) field by means of an empirical assessment of the DSS literature over the period 1971 through 1990. Three multivariate data analysis tools (factor analysis, multidimensional scaling, and cluster analysis) are applied to an author cocitation frequency matrix derived from a large database file of comprehensive DSS literature over the same period. We conclude that decision support systems are grounded in several contributing disciplines, such as organizational science, multiple criteria decision making, group decision making, and strategic planning. We further conclude that the DSS area is in the process of building its own articulated theories in the subareas of foundations, group decision support systems, model management, user interface/individual differences, and decision support systems implementation, and that organizational scientists have made important contributions to the development of DSS research subspecialties.

Author Cocitation Analysis: Quantitative Methods for Mapping the Intellectual Structure of an Academic Discipline

Over the past 80 years, the way that citation frequency was counted and analyzed changed dramatically from the early manual transcribing and statistical computation of citation data to computer-based citation data creation and its manipulation.Author Cocitation Analysis: Quantitative Methods for Mapping the Intellectual Structure of an Academic Discipline provides a blueprint for researchers to follow in a wide variety of investigations. Pertinent to faculty, researchers, and graduate students in any academic field, this book introduces an alternative approach to conducting author cocitation analysis (ACA) without relying on commercial citation databases.

An Integrated Decision Support System for Global Logistics

As the globalization of business activities broadens and diversifies logistics operations, many logistics managers have found themselves challenged by extreme complexities and uncertainties. Consequently, planning and control of multinational firms (MNFs) have become onerous due to the multiplicity of international decision environments. Perhaps the most effective way of coping with such challenges is to utilize an integrated decision support system (IDSS) linking world‐wide communication and distribution networks among the parent company, its foreign business partners and third‐party logisticians. In response to such a need, provides important guidelines for the design and development of an integrated DSS that helps the multinational firm centrally to control and co‐ordinate international transfers.