International Journal of Information Technology & Decision Making © World Scientific Publishing Company 1 INFORMATION VISUALIZATION TO SUPPORT MANAGEMENT DECISIONS Jasser Al-Kassab (ja454@cam.ac.uk) University of Cambridge, Institute for Manufacturing, CB3 0FT, Cambridge, UK University of St. Gallen, Institute of Technology Management, 9000 St. Gallen, Switzerland Zied M. Ouertani 1 (mohamed-zied.ouertani@de.abb.com) ABB Forschungszentrum. Wallstadter Str. 59, Ladenburg, 68526, Germany University of Cambridge, Institute for Manufacturing, CB3 0FT, Cambridge, UK Giovanni Schiuma (giovanni.schiuma@unibas.it) University of Basilicata, Viale dell'Ateneo Lucano 10, 85100 Potenza, Italy University of Cambridge, Institute for Manufacturing, CB3 0FT, Cambridge, UK Andy Neely (adn1000@cam.ac.uk) University of Cambridge, Institute for Manufacturing, CB3 0FT, Cambridge, UK Information visualization can accelerate perception, provide insight and control, and harness this flood of valuable data to gain a competitive advantage in making business decisions. Although such a statement seems to be obvious, there is a lack in the literature of practical evidence of the benefit of information visualization. The main contribution of this paper is to illustrate how, for a major European apparel retailer, the visualization of performance information plays a critical role in improving business decisions and in extracting insights from RFID-based performance measures. In this paper, we identify – based on a literature review – three fundamental managerial functions of information visualization, namely as: a communication medium, a knowledge management means, and a decision-support instrument. Then, we provide – based on real industrial case evidence – how information visualization supports business decision-making. Several examples are provided to evidence the benefit of information visualization through its three identified managerial functions. We find that – depending on the way performance information is shaped, communicated, and made interactive – it not only helps decision-making, but also offers a means of knowledge creation, as well as an appropriate communication channel. Keywords: information visualization; management decisions; RFID; performance measurement; retail industry 1 Corresponding author. Tel: +49-6203-716041, Fax: +49-6203-716253