This paper examines an important source of the value of decision support systems (DSS), namely flexibility. It proposes the use of options theory for systematically analyzing, understanding, and possibly quantifying flexibility resulting from the use of DSS for a class of decision scenarios. A review of relevant literature on flexibility and options theory is provided. The flexibility resulting from DSS use is conceptualized as the change in value of a portfolio of options. Insight provided by options theory is compared with anecdotal evidence of DSS value that has been reported in the MIS literature. Examples of DSS valuation using options theory are provided. Managerial and research implications for the evaluation and justification of DSS as well as for the development of DSS are discussed.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version under "Related research" (further below) or search for a different version of it.
Publisher Info
Article provided by Elsevier in its journal Omega.
Volume (Year): 27 (1999) Issue (Month): 3 (June) Pages: 295-304 Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML
(with abstract),
plain text
(with abstract),
BibTeX,
RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite),
ReDIF
Cited by: (explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)