Good question.
They can indeed. I remember reading a blue post off someone, gc or zarhym I don't know can't remember.
He was surprised that what most gamers focus on its efficiency. I thought about it for a while and it's true.
Even in the earlier days you would do all you could to maximise efficiency when levelling. Picking up all quests before entering a dungeon? Grabbing all quests in a hub to avoid going back twice?
It's true. We gamers like efficiency. We like hearing the ding.
So where does blizzard fit in this? They did a big mistake. Huge mistake. They gave in to the request of more efficiency. And here you go you get aoe fest heroics, dumbed down content, lfd...
They are the ones that were supposed to keep the balance between fun, challenge, and efficiency, and they did not. They decided to make the game MUCH more efficient; way more than needed.
This, to me, is how blizzard "influenced" our choices.