An attribution model of decision support systems (DSS) usage

Abstract

The effort to utilize DSS in the corporate sector has largely involved the implementation of a decision based only on strategic corporate advantages with little, if any, regard for behavioral issues. Businesses are social organizations and must consider behavioral influence on the success of implementing decision results. The application of attribution theory provides a means of preemptively incorporating behavioral considerations in the decision making process. By incorporating attribution theory in DSS models, the decision maker is able to increase the probability of success in the implementation of a selected decision alternative. This paper discusses why it is important to consider attribution theory in deriving a DSS model and suggests a simplistic means of applying this potentially powerful theory.