Using Aggregated Data Under Time Pressure: A Mechanism for Coping with Information Overload

Decision makers have become accustomed to making decisions using summarized or aggregate data through the use of financial and accounting reports. The use of aggregate data minimizes the effects of information overload on a decision maker; however it may not provide a decision maker all the details he or she would like to have. The effects of aggregated versus detailed information presentation on decision making has been previously examined. However, these earlier studies have ignored the impact of limited time availability on the decision maker. A laboratory experiment using a 2x2x2 factorial design was conducted to investigate the influence of limited time availability, data aggregation, and decision task on decision making. Results from the experiment indicate a main effect for each of the three factors and an interaction effect between the level of data aggregation and