The role of controlled and dynamic process environments in group decision making: An exploratory study

Information systems have focussed on controlling the decision-making environment, whereas in real life groups operate in an uncontrolled, asynchronous environment. In this article, we examine existing information system research on groups, analyze the role played by the process environment on the quality of group decisions, and argue the need for the design and research into information systems for uncontrolled dynamic environments. The recent growth of the Internet and Internet-mediated simulations provide unique uncontrolled environments for group decision making. We recommend that researchers in information systems and in group decision making these Internet-mediated simulations for additional research in the area of decision making in uncontrolled dynamic environments.