The Impact of Information Distortions on Decision-Making: A Case Study in Land–Sea Transport Chain Planning

Abstract

Management based on reliable, complete, and up-to-date information is key to increasing a transport chain’s effectiveness and sustainability. The instability of the business environment and the increase in competition have contributed to the growth of challenges faced by managers of transport and logistics companies who make decisions using low-value information exposed to significant distortions. This article aims to investigate the impact of information distortions on decision-making quality and to determine the probability of making trustworthy decisions in freight land–sea transport chain planning. The research was carried out in several stages, which included the formulation of rules for detecting information distortions, as well as distortion clustering and evaluation of their impact on decision quality. A methodology to assess the probability of making trustworthy decisions was developed. It was shown that information value directly impacts the quality of decisions related to transport chain planning for both traditional and unique/occasional freight. In the case of significant information distortion, the manager’s ability to assess available information considerably increases, especially in crises, when the lack of time to verify information threatens the accuracy of decisions. This study’s results may be useful for transport and logistics companies’ managers, who make decisions using information obtained from various sources.