On Value and Strategic Role of Information in Semi-Normalized Decisions

EVPI and its extensions to nonlinear utility were developed under formulations and probability assumptions not ordinarily encountered in general decision-analytic contexts other than classical sampling. This note extends the framework for evaluating a prospective acquisition of information in two ways: first, by showing how information value may depend upon judgments not needed in the natural (but nonclassical) formulation of some decision problems; and second, by examining the impact that a “public” acquisition of information might have upon the decision-maker's prior judgments—and thus upon the value of such information, even to the possible extent of making its value negative.