Foreward

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

This year, we have 16 tracks, 53 sessions, and about 225 submissions with authors from China, Croatia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Kuwait, S. Korea, and Canada, as well as many colleagues from states across the USA. All full paper submissions were blind-reviewed by at least two anonymous reviewers under the supervision of the track chairs and program chair. Finally, there are 194 quality papers accepted for presentation and inclusion into the proceedings.

Organizing a conference of this magnitude requires the unyielding efforts of countless volunteers. The 2014 WDSI Annual Meeting was supported by the 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 of them: David Yen, Hamdi Bilici, John Bell, Natasa Christodoulidou, Sheldon Smith, and Abbas Heiat. It is truly a team effort to organize a successful meeting.

The Program Planning Committee members worked hard to bring some unique events to the conference such as guest speakers and pre- and post- conference workshops. A special thank you to Will Price, Natasa Christodoulidou, and Albert Huang for their help in organizing these special events.

I am also grateful for the support of our sponsors: : Metropolitan State University of Denver – School of Business; School of Economics & Business SUNY – ONEONTA; University of Tennessee; California State University Dominguez Hills -- Hospitality Technology Research Institute & Institute for Public Policy; California State University - Long Beach; and California State Polytechnic University – College of Engineering.

On behalf of WDSI President, David Yen; the president-elect, Hamdi Bilici; the Board of WDSI; the Track and Country Chairs; and the 2014 Program Planning Committee, I extend a warm welcome to the participants of this Forty-Third Annual Meeting. We trust you will enjoy the meeting and that you will find the venue exciting. Again, welcome to Napa, California, and the Embassy Suites Hotel.

Debbie Gilliard

Vice-President for Programs and Program Chair
School of Business- Metropolitan State University - Denver