A conceptual group decision support system for current times: Dispersed group decision-making

Abstract

We are living a change of paradigm regarding decision-making. On the one hand, there is a growing need to make decisions in group at both professional and personal levels, on the other hand, it is increasingly difficult for decision-makers to meet at the same place and at the same time. The Web-based Group Decision Support Systems intend to overcome this limitation, allowing decision-makers to contribute to the decision process anytime and anywhere. However, they have been defined inadequately which has been compromising its success. In this work, we propose a conceptual definition of a Web-based Group Decision Support System that intends to overcome the existing limitations and help them to affirm as a reliable and useful tool. In addition, we address some crucial topics, such as communication and perception, that are essential and sometimes forgotten in the support of dispersed decision-makers. We concluded that there are still some limitations, mostly in terms of models and applications, that prevent the design of higher quality systems.