Using decision support systems in Chinese enterprises: a study of managerial information behaviour

Decision making is a fundamental activity for managers; however, satisfying the information needs of Chinese managers for decision making remains a challenge. In recent years, academic research on the development and application of Decision Support Systems (DSS) in China has grown quickly, but relatively little is known about the adoption and use of DSS in Chinese enterprises. In this paper, we explore the information behaviour with respect to decision making, drawing on data obtained from qualitative interviews with 18 Chinese managers and a large scale survey of 296 managers. We find that DSS is not extensively used in Chinese enterprises. Most managers show little interest in or need for using formal DSS tools in their management decision making, instead choosing either to rely on existing Information Systems (IS) applications with similar functionality considered to be adequate for decision support or to eschew formal IS tools altogether, simply relying on their own mental faculties. We discuss the reasons for this non-extensive-use of DSS in the Chinese context and then make recommendations for how DSS could be effectively used by managers who are familiar with both principles of information management and the decision context so as to contribute to a firm’s long term success.