Literature Review on Information Overload in the Period 1970 - 2017
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37886/ruo.2020.017Keywords:
information asymmetry, information overload, information technology, management, shareholdersAbstract
Research Question (RQ): How has the Information overload literature evolved over the past five decades, which are its most important authors, and which organizational, business, and other factors have been highlighted as those that have had the greatest impact on information overload?
Purpose: To inform the professional and general public why and how Information overload is created in companies and how it is understood by the management, owners and other stakeholders in these companies.
Method: Comparative analysis of research on Information overload in the period 1970 - 2017 with emphasis on two conceptual research.
Results: The research on Information overload should be further developed, as indicated by the low number of citations in the management literature. In terms of content, the discussions do not provide a sufficiently comprehensive picture of information overload, at the same time do not use interdisciplinary approaches, which would show the interconnections of different variables.
Organization: The article will contribute to a greater understanding of management`s decision-making in an environment of uncertainty. From a practical point of view it the article is useful especially for private investors for improving their position in the agency relationship of corporate governance.
Society: The article will contribute to a greater understanding of Information overload with the legislator, national regulators and other institutions which will enable owners and other stakeholders in companies a more equal role in corporate governance and thus greater efficiency and effectiveness of companies.
Originality: The novelty is the unification of two different approaches in the analysis of the literature on Information overload - linear and functional, which provides an equivalent analysis of the literature throughout the period 1970 – 2017.
Limitations/Future Research: The article is limited with conceptual research for the analysis of the literature on Information overload in the period 1970 - 2017. The content of the article opens up possibilities to shed light on the problem of Information overload in Slovenia and in general, taking into account need for a greater interdisciplinary approach.
References
Ackoff, R. L. (1967). Management misinformation systems. Management Science, 14: 147-156.
Amit, A., & Sagiv, L. (2013). The role of epistemic motivation in individuals’ response to decision complexity. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 121 (1): 104–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2013.01.003.
Bawden, D. (2001). Information overload. Library & Information Briefings, 92, Online http://litc.sbu.ac.uk/publications/lframe.html.
Birnberg, J. G., Luft, J., & Shields, M.D. (2008). Psychology theory in management accounting research. In Handbook of management accounting research, vol. 1, ed. Christopher S. Chapman, 113–135. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Braun-LaTour, K. A., Puccinelli, N.M., & Mast, F.W. (2007). Mood, information congruency, and overload. Journal of Business Research 60 (11): 1109–1116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2007.04.003.
Chan, Y. M., & Huang, H. 2013. Weight management information overload challenges in 2007 HINTS: Socioeconomic, health status and behaviors correlates. Journal of Consumer Health On the Internet 17 (2): 151–167. https://doi.org/10.1080/15398285.2013.780540.
Chewning, E. C., Jr., & Harrell, A. M. (1990). The effect of information load on decision makers‘ cue utilization levels and decision quality in a financial distress decision task. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 15: 527-542.
Dean, D., & Webb, C. 2011. Recovering from information overload. McKinsey Quarterly 11 (1): 80–88.
Edmunds, A., & Morris, A. (2000). The problem of information overload in business organizations: A review on the literature. International Journal of Information Management 20: 17-28.
Eppler, M.J., & Mengis, J. (2004). The concept of information overload: A review of literature from organization science, accounting, marketing, MIS and related disciplines. The Information Society 20 (5): 325–344.
Galbraith, J. R. (1974). Organization design: An information processing view. Interfaces,3:28-36.
Grise, M., & Gallupe R.B. (1999/2000). Information overload: Addressing the productivity paradox in face-to-face electronic meetings. Journal of Management Information Systems, 16 (3): 157-185.
Hair, J. F., Money, A.H., Samouel, P., & Page, M. (2007). Research methods forbusiness. Chichester: Wiley.
Hallowell, E.M. 2005. Overloaded circuits: Why smart people underperform. Harvard Business Review 83 (1): 54–62.
Holton, A. E,. & Chyi, H.I. (2012). News and the overloaded consumer: Factors influencing information overload among news consumers. Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking 15 (11): 619 -624. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2011.0610.
Hunt, R.E., & Newman, R.G. (1997). Medical knowledge overload: A disturbing trend for physicians. Health Care Management Review, 22: 70-75.
Jackson, T. W., & Farzaneh, P. (2012). Theory-based model of factors affecting information overload. International Journal of Information Management 32 (6): 523-532. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2012.04.006.
Jacoby, J. (1984). Perspectives on information overload. Journal of consumer Research, 10: 432436.
Keller, K. L., & Staelin, R. (1987). Effects of quality and quantity of information on decisioneffectiveness. The Journal of Consumer Research, 14: 200-213.
Klausegger, C., Sinkovics, R.R., & Zou, H. (2007). Information overload: A cross-national investigation of influence factors and effects. Marketing Intelligence and Planning 25 (7): 691–718. https://doi.org/10.1108/02634500710834179.
Koroleva, K. & Bolufe-Röhler, A.J. (2012). Reducing information overload: Design and evaluation of filtering and ranking algorithms for social networking sites. In ECIS Proceedings, 12.
Lankton, N. K., Speier, C., & Wilson, E.V. (2012). Internet-based knowledge acquisition: Task complexity and performance. Decision Support Systems 53 (1): 55–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2011.12.004.
Levitin, D. J. (2014). The organized mind: Thinking straight in the age of information overload. New York: Penguin.
Li, C.-Y. 2016. Why do Online consumers experience information overload? An extension of communication theory. Journal of Information Science 8 (1): 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165551516670096.
Luft, J., & Shields, M. D. (2003). Mapping management accounting: Graphics and guidelines for theory-consistent empirical research. Accounting, Organizations and Society 28 (2–3): 169-249. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0361-3682(02)00026-0.
Lurie, N.H. (2004). Decision making in information-rich environments: The role of information structure. Journal of Consumer Research 30 (4): 473 -486. https://doi.org/10.1086/380283.
Malhotra, N. K., Jain, A. K,. & Lagakos, S. W. (1982). The information overload controversy: An alternative viewpoint. Journal of Marketing, 46: 27-37
Malhotra, N. K. (1984). Reflections on the information overload paradigm in consumer decision making. The Journal of Consumer Research, 10: 436-441.
McCoy, S., Everard, A., Polak,P., & Galletta, D.F. (2007). The effects of online advertising. Communications of the ACM 50 (3): 8 - 88. https://doi.org/10.1145/1226736.1226740.
McKinnon, S.M., & Bruns, W.J. Jr. (1992). The Information Mosaic. Boston: Harvard BusinessSchool Press.
Melinat, P., Kreuzkam, T., & Stamer, D. (2014). Information overload: A systematic literature review. In Perspectives in business informatics research: 13th international conference, BIR 2014, Lund, Sweden, September 22–24, 2014. Proceedings, vol. 194, ed. B. Johansson, B. Andersson & Nicklas Holmberg, 72–86. Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Misra, S. & Stokols, D.( 2012). Psychological and health outcomes of perceived information overload. Environment and Behavior 44 (6): 737-759. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916511404408.
Misuraca, R. & Teuscher, U. 2013. Time flies when you maximize—maximizers and satisficers perceive time differently when making decisions. Acta Psychologica 143 (2): 176–180. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2013.03.004.
Muller, T. E. (1984). Buyer response to variations in product information load. Psychological Review, 63: 81-97.
O’Reilly, C. A. (1980). Individuals and information overload in organizations: Is more necessarily better? Academy of Management Journal, 23: 684-696.
Pennington, R. & Tuttle, B. (2007). The effects of information overload on software project risk assessment. Decision Sciences 38 (3): 489–526.
Reutskaja, E. & Hogarth, R.M. (2009). Satisfaction in choice as a function of the number of alternatives: When “goods satiate”. Psychology and Marketing 26 (3): 197–203. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20268.
Roetzel, P.G. (2019). Information overload in the information age: a review of the literature from business administration, business psychology, and related disciplines with a bibliometric approach and framework development. Bus Res 12, 479–522. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40685-018-0069-z
Russo, J. E. (1974). More Information is better: A Reevaluation of Jacoby, Speller, and Kohn,.Journal of Consumer Research, 1(3): 68-72.
Scheibehenne, B., Greifeneder, R., & Todd, P.M. (2010). Can there ever be too many options? A meta-analytic review of choice overload. Journal of Consumer Research 37 (3): 409–425. https://doi.org/10.1086/651235.
Schick, A. G., Gorden, L. A., & Haka, S. 1990. Information overload: A temporal approach.Accounting Organizations and Society, 15: 199-220.
Schneider, S. C. (1987). Information overload: Causes and consequences. Human Systems Management, 7: 143-153.
Schroder, H. M., Driver, M. J., & Streufert, S. (1967). Human information processing – Individuals and groups functioning in complex social situations. New York: Holt, Rinehart, &Winston.
Shapiro, C., & Varian, H.R. (2013). Information rules: A strategic guide to the network economy. Boston: Harvard Business Press.
Shrivastav, H., & Hiltz, S.R. (2013). Information overload in technology-based education: A meta-analysis. Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS) 1: 1–10.
Simon, H. A., & Newell, A. (1971). Human problem solving: The state of the theory in 1970.American Psychologist, 26: 145-159.
Simpson, C. W., & Prusak, L. (1995). Troubles with information overload – Moving from quantity to quality in information provision. International Journal of Information Management, 15: 413-425.
Sparrow, P. R. 1999. Strategy and cognition: Understanding the role of management knowledge structures, organizational memory and information overload. Creativity and Innovation Management, 8: 140-149.
Sprinkle, G.B., & Williamson, M.G. (2008). Experimental research in managerial accounting. In Handbook of management accounting research, ed. Christopher S. Chapman, 415–444. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Swain, M. R., & Haka, S. F. (2000). Effects of information load on capital budgeting decisions. Behavioral Research in Accounting, 12: 171-199.
Tushman, M. L., & Nadler, D. A. (1978). Information Processing as an Integrating Concept in Organizational Design. Academy of Management Review, 3: 613-625
Vollmann, T. E. (1991). Cutting the Gordian Knot of Misguided Performance Measurement. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 1, 24-26.
Wang, Q., Yang, S., Liu, M., Cao, Z., & Ma, Q. (2014). An eye-tracking study of website complexity from cognitive load perspective. Decision Support Systems 62: 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2014.02.007.
Wu, Ling-Ling, and Jia-Yan Lin. 2006. The quality of consumers’ decision-making in the environment of e-commerce. Psychology and Marketing 23(4): 297- 311. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20112.
Wurman, R.S. (2001). Information Anxiety2, Indiana: Macmillan Publishing.
Zhou, K. Z. & Li, C.B. (2012). How knowledge affects radical innovation: Knowledge base, market knowledge acquisition, and internal knowledge sharing. Strategic Management Journal 33 (9): 1090 -1102. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.1959.
