The contributions of organizational science to the development of decision support systems research subspecialties

This study is conducted to infer the intellectual structure of the decision support systems (DSS) field by means of an empirical assessment of the DSS literature over the period 1971 through 1990. Three multivariate data analysis tools (factor analysis, multidimensional scaling, and cluster analysis) are applied to an author cocitation frequency matrix derived from a large database file of comprehensive DSS literature over the same period. We conclude that decision support systems are grounded in several contributing disciplines, such as organizational science, multiple criteria decision making, group decision making, and strategic planning. We further conclude that the DSS area is in the process of building its own articulated theories in the subareas of foundations, group decision support systems, model management, user interface/individual differences, and decision support systems implementation, and that organizational scientists have made important contributions to the development of DSS research subspecialties. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.