Clients' opinions on group model-building: An exploratory study

Abstract

Group model-building is increasingly used to support strategic decision-making in organizations. However, little is known about its effectiveness, apart from anecdotal evidence and statements by consultants that it works. This article reports on an assessment study of six group model-building projects. Since few tested theories are available, case studies and a qualitative research approach were used to shed more light on the effectiveness of group model-building projects in real organizations working on real strategic problems. The results show that a number of hypotheses known from experience or textbook theory were 'confirmed', while others were only partially confirmed or should be rejected on the basis of the six cases investigated. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.