Prospect of Future as a Support to Search for Information for Business Decision

Abstract

The use of future studies methodologies to provide information for decision making has been studied in this research. The objectives of the research are to identify the association of methods to different information categories, the importance of future studies, the frequency of use, the time horizon and users perceived satisfaction with the results. The research is implemented through a mixed-methods methodology, with a survey and case studies. Combined results have been analyzed in a complementary approach. Results fromthe sample indicate that there is an association of methods with information categories. Evaluation of the importance of future studies is high and depends on the decision type to be strategic or tactical,it also influences the frequency of use. Time horizon is associated to methods. The most used methods are the ones with high personal interaction, on the other hand, objective methods, e.g. mathematical techniques, are not among the most used. In the case studies results, methods based on judgment and opinion with high personal interaction are the most used. There were concerns about the need for more structure to deal with future studies in the company and also about its practice in accordance with methodological recommendations.