Role of software in developing managerial decision strategies

Model management systems (MMS) empower decision makers throughout the problem‐solving phases by providing operations research and management science (OR/MS) models as well as the knowledge to build or use such models. Managerial problem solving typically involves a wide range of modeling activities, i.e., definition, retrieval, modification, execution, modification, and integration of decision models. This research stems from the basic premise that, given the problem, decision aiding software such as MMS can reach its highest level of performance when the necessary modeling activities are adequately supported, subsequently enhancing the quality of the decisions made by the users. Reported in this paper are the results from an experiment involving two versions of MMS used by naive modelers in two decision‐making settings. Through this study, we learn that the decision‐making behavior of software users, especially the way they develop their decision strategies, is considerably influenced by the capability of the software.