How Much Information is Too Much? Effects of Computer Anxiety and Self-Efficacy

Decision makers’ cognitive capabilities cannot keep pace with the ongoing exponential growth in the available amount of data. Seeking to understand the resulting consequences, this paper addresses three research questions: How does information load in teams affect decision quality in the context of an integrated information system? How do the attributes of team members affect decision quality? How do the attributes of team members moderate the effects of information load in teams on decision quality? Building on prior literature, the proposed research model includes a curvilinear relationship between information load and decision quality, moderated by the decision-makers’ computer self-efficacy (CSE) and computer anxiety. The model is tested using empirical data from 95 dyads making decisions within a business simulation. The results generally support the research model. More specifically, information load has a curvilinear relationship with decision quality, which is attenuated and reinforced by CSE and computer anxiety, respectively.