Enhancing Evidence-based Managerial Decisions through Customized Decision Support: A Neuro-Information Systems' Approach

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Effective evidenced-based managerial decision-making, whether made individually or in groups, is a critical success factor for organizations; it is a complex task involving the searching, processing, integration, and contextualization of information from a wide variety of sources. This complexity has been further exacerbated as decision makers face an overabundance of data and an ever-increasing dimensionality to managerial problems. Furthermore, organizational decisions are increasingly made in group settings where decisions can become polarized. Finally, the advancement of information and communication technologies and global networks, as well as COVID-19 related restrictions, have increased the prevalence of group decisions made in virtual teams. This research program will enhance and support evidence-based managerial decision making in organizations. The literature shows that evidence-based decision making can be viewed as dynamic processes through which decision makers (individuals or groups), supported by information technology (i.e., decision aids), obtain, interpret, and use evidence as a basis for decision making within their organizational context. Accordingly, this research will combine traditional human-computer interaction research methods (e.g., surveys, interviews) and expertise in decision sciences with cutting edge neurophysiological measures (e.g., EEG, pupillometry, and skin conductance, as well as behavioural measures such as eye movements) to achieve the following objectives: 1) understand the real-time cognitive and brain mechanisms of evidence gathering and decision making in realistic individual/group evidence-based managerial decision making situations, including those involving various cognitive biases (e.g., framing, representativeness); 2) develop customizable decision aids to best support evidence-based managerial decision making in individual and group (both co-located and virtual) settings. This program of research will leverage the relatively unique NeuroIS infrastructure at the McMaster Digital Transformation Research Centre (founded by the Applicant) secured through multiple recent CFI infrastructure grants. The fusion of psychological, behavioural, and neurophysiological approaches affords a unique opportunity to gain a comprehensive understanding of how subjects interpret and use evidence in decision making in a variety of settings. The proposed program of research will significantly advance our understanding of evidence-based managerial decision making in organizations and result in guidelines and tools to reduce decision makers' cognitive burden and improve decision making outcomes. It will provide ample training opportunities for both graduate and undergraduate students. Through this program, students will have opportunities to develop skills in state-of-the-art human-computer interaction, NeuroIS techniques and the design of decision aids using interdisciplinary research methodologies.