The link between computer modelling, shared understanding and commitment in decision conferencing - an interpretive study

Abstract

Decision Conferencing is a form of Group Decision Support System (GDSS) that utilises computer modeling to support group decision making and rests on the premise that the process provides two crucial benefits to groups trying to solve problems: a) participants develop a shared understanding of the issue and b) the process fosters the generation of a commitment to act on the decision made. In evaluating the above claims made in the extant Decision Conferencing literature, extensive in-depth interviews were conducted with people from 6 public sector organizations in the UK where Decision Conferencing had been used, primarily to facilitate resource allocation decisions. This paper focuses on one of the organisations from the overall study. The results indicate that rather than there being direct links between computer modeling, shared understanding and the development of commitment as identified in the literature there are a number of mediating factors that need to be taken into account.