Editorial- Celebrating 50 years of DECISION

Abstract

This year marks DECISION’s 50th anniversary. Numerous authors, reviewers and many editors have contributed immensely towards charting the journey of DECISION. Despite the many challenges they experienced, the Editors chalked out visions, took many an initiative towards moving the journal forward. I thought it would be best to hear it in their own words and have a glimpse of the times, through their own lenses. For this 50th Volume, 1st Issue, editorial, I invited some of the former EiCs to briefly share their experiences, their key initiatives and the challenges they experienced during their tenure as EiC. Their responses are in the section on ‘‘Reflections of Former EiCs of DECISION’’ below. From their accounts, it is evident that, DECISION, as a journal, was ahead of its times. It existed in a context that was yet to recognize the potential and the need for a forum, an outlet for the thought leadership being generated in the many corridors of the elite management research institutions of the day. As we commemorate the 50th Volume of DECISION, we, as management research- ers and practitioners, have a greater responsibility towards generating, articulating, externalizing, ques- tioning and consolidating the knowledge that we create and possess, not only for the benefit of current and future generations of management practitioners and researchers, but also in fulfilling our role as agents of change influencing thought and action in the society at large. In this issue of DECISION, we present eight articles. In a timely research commentary, Nandita Roy and Moutusy Maity examine ChatGPT and its impact on ‘textuality’ focusing on three key concepts and the accompanying dangers—the naturalness in the interaction, the information asymmetry, and the lack of the end-user’s personal control. The popular press is abound with opinions, anecdotal experiences and predictions of where generative AI may head. Roy and Maity carefully abstract these and draw our attention to the implications of the nature of this technology for human-technology interaction as well as some of the ethical challenges it brings forth.