Reshaping Society through Analytics, Collaboration, and Decision Support

This volume explores emerging research and pedagogy in analytics, collaboration, and decision support with an emphasis on business intelligence and social media. In general, the chapters help understand where technology involvement in human decisions is headed. Reading the chapters can help understand the opportunities and threats associated with the use of information technology in decision making. Computing and information technologies are reshaping our global society, but they can potentially reshape it in negative as well as positive ways. Analytics, collaboration and computerized decision support are powerful decision aiding and decision making tools that have enormous potential to impact crisis decision making, regulation of financial systems, healthcare decision making and many more important decision domains.

Many information technologies can potentially support, assist and even decide for human decision makers. Despite the potential, some researchers think that we know the answers to how these technologies will change society. The "Wisdom of Crowds" or "Big Data" become the topic of the day and are soon replaced with new marketing terms. In many ways, mobile technology is just another form factor to adapt decision support capabilities too and experiment with new capabilities. The cloud is a nebulous metaphor that adds to the mystery of information technology. Wireless technology enables the ubiquitous presence of analytics and decision support. With new networking capabilities, collaboration is possible anywhere and everywhere using voice, video and text. Documents can be widely shared and massive numbers of documents can be carried on a small tablet computer. Recent developments in technologies impact the processes organizations use to make decisions. In addition, academics are looking for ways to enhance their pedagogy to train students to be more adept in understanding how emerging technology will be used effectively for decision making in organizations.

The chapters are based on papers originally reviewed at the Special Interest Group on Decision Support Systems (SIGDSS) Workshop at the 2013 International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS 2013). Ultimately this volume endeavors to find a balance between systematizing what we know, so we can teach our findings from prior research better, and stimulating excitement to move the field in new directions.

Lakshmi Iyer is an Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Programs in the Information Systems and Supply Chain Management Department, Bryan School of Business and Economics at the University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG). She received her Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Georgia, Athens, GA and her M.S. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. Her research interests are in the area of business analytics, knowledge management, emerging technologies & its impact on organizations and users, and diversity in computing. Her research work has been published in or forthcoming in Communications of the AIS, Journal of Association for Information Systems, European Journal of Information Systems, Communications of the ACM, Decision Support Systems, eService Journal, Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, International Journal of Business Intelligence Research, Information Systems Management, Journal of Global Information Technology and Management, and others. She is a Board member of Teradata University Network, Chair of the Special Interest Group in Decision Support and Analytics (formerly SIGDSS), and served as research track co-chair for BI Congress.

Dr. Iyer is also involved in community engaged outreach and scholarship that furthers the role of women in IT (wiit.uncg.edu). She is a member of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and received the Dr. Shirley Hall Award from AAUW Greensboro Branch in April 2011 for exemplary contribution to enrich STEM education for women. She is founder and Director of the “IT is for Girls” at UNCG, an outreach program for middle and high-school girls that aims to increase their awareness about education and career paths in computing. She has received funding from AAUW, National Center for Women in IT (NCWIT) and from foundations to offer STEM events for young women. Dr. Iyer serves as a co-chair of the Association of Information Systems’ (AIS) task force on Women in IS to enhance the outreach efforts of AIS to women in Information Systems (IS) based on systematic assessment of the current status of women in IS, globally, including students (both current and potential) and professionals in academia, corporate, and non-profit organizations with the intent to creating a nurturing, supporting environment conducive to enhancing the growth and success of women in IS field.

Daniel J. Power is a Professor of Management and Information Systems at the College of Business Administration at the University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa and the Editor of DSSResources.COM, the Web-based knowledge repository about computerized systems that support decision making, the editor of PlanningSkills.COM, and the editor of DSS News, a bi-weekly e-newsletter. Dan writes a regular column in Decision Support News. Also, Dan is a blogger on the Business Intelligence Network.

Since 1982, Daniel Power has published more than 50 articles, book chapters and proceedings papers. His articles have appeared in leading journals including Decision Sciences, Decision Support Systems, Journal of Decision Systems, MIS Quarterly, Academy of Management Review, Communications of the Association for Information Systems and Information and Management. He is also co-author of a book titled Strategic Management Skills and he has authored four books on computerized decision support. His DSS Concepts book (2002) titled Decision Support Systems: Concepts and Resources for Managers is a broad ranging scholarly handbook on the fundamentals of building decision support systems. His expanded DSS Framework has received widespread interest. His latest book from Business Expert Press is titled Decision Support, Analytics, and Business Intelligence.

Professor Power is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the Midwest Association for Information Systems (JMWAIS), a member of two academic journal editorial boards, and was the founding section editor of the ISWorld pages on Decision Support Systems Research and was founding Chair of the Association for Information Systems Special Interest Group on Decision Support and Analytics (SIG DSA). Also, Professor Power was the founding President of the Midwest United States Chapter of the Association for Information Systems (MWAIS) and served as the at-large member of the Board of Directors.

In 1982, Professor Power received a Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He was on the faculty at the University of Maryland-College Park from 1982 to 1989. Dr. Power has been a visiting lecturer at universities in China, Denmark, Ireland, Israel, and Russia. Power has consulted with a number of organizations and in Summer 2003 he was a Visiting Faculty Research Fellow with the U. S. Air Force Research Lab Information Directorate (AFRL/IF).

Dr. Power is a pioneer developer of computerized decision aiding and support systems. During 1975-77, he developed a computerized system called DECAID, Decision AID. In 1981-83, he reprogrammed and expanded the system for the Apple II PC.