1 Draft of the paper published in: System Dynamics Review. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Chichester. 2003, vol. 19, Number 3 (Fall), pages: 243-263. ŠKRABA, Andrej, KLJAJIĆ, Miroljub, LESKOVAR, Robert. Group exploration of system dynamics models - is there a place for a feedback loop in the decision process?. ISSN: 0883-7066. DOI: 10.1002/sdr.274 http://www3.wileyinterscience.com/cgi-bin/abstract/105556942/ABSTRACT Group Exploration of SD Models – Is there a Place for a Feedback Loop in the Decision Process? (Short title: Feedback Loop in the Decision Process) Andrej Škraba, Miroljub Kljajić, Robert Leskovar University of Maribor, Faculty of Organizational Sciences Kidričeva cesta 55a, SI-4000 Kranj, Slovenia Tel: +386 (0) 4 2374 200, Fax: +386 (0) 4 2374 299 E-mail: {andrej.skraba, miroljub.kljajic, robert.leskovar}@fov.uni-mb.si Correspondence Address: Andrej Škraba University of Maribor Faculty of Organizational Sciences Kidričeva cesta 55a, SI-4000 Kranj, Slovenia Tel: +386 (0) 4 2374 248 Fax: +386 (0) 4 2374 299 E-mail: andrej.skraba@fov.uni-mb.si This research project was supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia (Programme No. P0-0586-0501). Abstract The present paper addresses the influence of feedback information on the group decision process supported by the application of system dynamics models. An experimental system enabling the active cooperation of decision subjects was developed, which is user friendly with regard to the visualization and transparency of the simulation results. A model of the business system was applied to the experiment with decision groups. The experiment considered the task of strategy determination with an explicitly defined multicriteria function. The criteria function was defined in order to increase the level of experimental control. The experiment was conducted under two experimental conditions: a 1 ) determination of the strategy with the application of a system dynamics model without group interaction, and a 2 ) determination of the strategy with the application of a formal model with subject interaction supported by group feedback information. 95 subjects, senior university students, participated in the experiment. The hypothesis that the model application and group feedback information positively influence convergence of the decision process and contribute to higher criteria function values was confirmed. Key words: decision process, system dynamics, multicriteria group decision-making, decision support system, modeling, simulation methodology, feedback