Induced system restrictiveness: an experimental demonstration

Decision support systems (DSSs) built to expand human decision capabilities can simultaneously restrain decision-making. This characteristic is referred to as system restrictiveness. The existing conceptualization of system restrictiveness is reviewed, and the concept of induced restrictiveness as a subtle force that restricts decision-making by inducing decision-makers to take a particular decision process is introduced. The validity of this concept has been demonstrated by a controlled laboratory experiment that employed a protocol analysis technique. The experiment evaluated the decision process induced by Lotus 1-2-3 for a particular type of task. The results indicated that Lotus tended to induce the incremental decision process as opposed to the synoptic decision process favored by the control group. The incremental decision process generates alternatives by making marginal changes to a previous solution, whereas the synoptic decision process is characterized by unbiased search for solutions. These results are discussed in the context of induced restrictiveness