Foreward

I am pleased to present the Proceedings of the Forty Second Annual Meeting of the Western Decision Sciences Institute. This CD-ROM contains the papers that were submitted in camera-ready version for the Proceedings.

It gives me great pleasure to present the program of Western Decision Sciences Institute’s (WDSI) Forty-Second Annual Meeting, held at Renaissance Long Beach Hotel, Long Beach, California March 26-29, 2013.

This year, we have 16 tracks, 46 sessions, and two distinguished panels totaling 150 total papers.. Submissions came from authors from many countries in Asia, Euorope, Australia/New Zealand, as well as many colleagues from different states in USA. All the submissions were blind- reviewed by at least two anonymous reviewers under the supervision of the track chairs and program chair. Finally, there are 150 submissions accepted for presentation and inclusion into the proceedings.

Organizing a conference of this magnitude requires the unyielding efforts of countless volunteers. The 2013 WDSI Annual Meeting was supported by a Program Planning Committee consisting of Track Chairs and Country Contacts. I would like to thank each member of the Committee for his/her efforts in managing the review process, organizing sessions, and assisting in the planning of the conference. Thanks to all who submitted papers for consideration. Thanks to all who served as reviewers, for the good review process cannot go forward without your efforts.

Several individuals provided valuable assistance and support to the organization of this conference. In particular, the current WDSI Board members gave me assistance that made completing my responsibilities joyful and possible. I thank each and every one of them, especially Richard Jenson, Krishna S. Dhir, Keong Leong, Mahyar Amouzegar, Nafisseh Heiat, John Davies, and Sheldon Smith, David Yen, Debbie Gilliard, and John E. Bell. I am also deeply indebted to Cecily Raiborn and Abbas Heiat for the assistance with conference registration and web update & download. It is truly a team effort to organize a successful meeting. Of course any errors or omission are mine.

I am also grateful for the support of our sponsors: California State University, Long Beach, Miami University (OH) and Utah Valley University, Cal Poly, Pomona. Special thanks also extend to Bootleg Enterprise for their help with physical arrangements and the production of the printed program and the CD Proceedings.

On behalf of WDSI President, Sheldon Smith; the president-elect, David C. Yen; the Board of WDSI, and the 2013 Program Planning Committee, I extend a warm welcome to the participants of this Forty -Second Annual Meeting. We trust you will enjoy the meeting and that you will find the venue exciting. Again, welcome to Long Beach, welcome to California, and welcome to Renaissance Hotel.

Sheldon Smith, President

Utah Valley Universirty

Hamdi Bilici - Vice-President for Programs and Program Chair

College of Business Administration - California State University, Long Beach