Innate Principles and the Digital Object: Insights from Core Knowledge Theory

Psychology research reveals that humans possess innate principles that govern how we make sense of objects and object-directed actions. These principles are embedded in interrelated systems of core knowledge that shape behavior. This paper theorizes how the innate principles embedded in two core knowledge systems—the system of object representation and the agent system—play a crucial role in shaping how a technology user conceives of and carries out an object-directed action through a digital object and its embedded features. The theorization is instantiated in the context of IS research through a framework we call the user-object action scene, which comprises four interrelated elements: the user, the goal-object/goal-agent, the object-approach, and the goal environment. We conclude by encouraging IS researchers to revisit established IS theories through the lens of innate principles, and provide guidance on how to use innate principles to reexamine two IS theories: technology acceptance and technostress

Sharpening the Ethnographer’s Toolkit: Introducing the Freelist Method to Information Systems Research

Ethnography has been presented as a promising research method for information systems researchers. However, IS research using ethnographic techniques still remains scant. We believe this has occurred for four primary reasons: (1) the techniques needed to conduct effective ethnographic research are often discussed in vague detail; (2) data collection in ethnographic studies is perceived as unfocused and unsystematic; (3) ethnographic studies are perceived as highly time consuming and thus impractical; and (4) IS researchers may not be well-versed in understanding how to make sense of the findings of an ethnographic analysis. In this paper, we address these constraints by introducing a well-established ethnographic method called freelisting to ethnographic research in IS. Specifically, we discuss the essence of freelisting, how it fits into ethnography, and provide an example of how to conduct and analyze a freelist in IS. The benefits of freelisting for IS researchers are also explained

On Technostress and Emotion: A Narrative Approach

Emotion in the context of technostress has been treated by IS researchers as highly general and vague. Little is therefore known about how individuals experience specific emotions when undergoing technostress. This paper is a first step towards understanding how to uncover the relationship between technostress (more specifically techno-stressors) and emotion through a narrative approach. Drawing on The Holistic Technostress Model as a theoretical foundation, and guided by research on psychological stress and emotion, the paper advocates for using emotion narratives to create stories about how emotions are experienced during stressful situations involving technology. The paper illustrates how six hypothetical emotion narratives related to technostress: anger, envy, relief, hope, happiness-joy, and pride. The paper also discusses how IS researchers can use emotion narratives in a variety of empirical studies, such as in survey and qualitative research designs and mixed-methods approaches

Do Distractions and Interruptions Mitigate Online Impulse Purchasing?: An Empirical Investigation

Impulse purchases represent an important source of short-term business revenue. However, impulse purchases can lead to an increase in product returns and can contribute to feelings of buyers’ remorse. In this paper, we examine strategies to mitigate online impulse purchasing behavior. Specifically, we apply distraction-conflict theory to a model of impulse buying to investigate a moderating relationship between perceived enjoyment and the urge to buy impulsively. The moderation effect is tested through online distractions and/or interruptions. A controlled laboratory experiment with three interfaces (control, distraction, interruption) was used to test the impact of the moderators. Results indicate that neither a distraction nor an interruption has a significant effect on mitigating the urge to purchase impulsively. Future research opportunities and suggestions for human-computer interfaces are discussed

Understanding Energy Informatics: A Gestalt-Fit Perspective

World energy consumption is on the rise. Consequently, there is increasing focus on research on energy informatics (EI). Given the nascent state of research in EI, it is important for researchers to understand what has been accomplished within the EI literature and to be provided with a roadmap of what should be examined in future studies. Our study attempts to contribute towards this by providing a comprehensive review of the EI literature. Our analysis reveals that EI studies can be grouped into four different categories, and that there is an overfocus on viewing EI as only an energy-saving mechanism Such a focus ignores EI’s potential to serve non-environmental goals. Our manuscript provides a holistic understanding of EI success by drawing on the gestalt-fit perspective, and highlighting the multi-dimensionality of EI. The model should also help future researchers in understanding the salient topics of investigation with respect to EI

Revisiting Technology and Flow: A Call for an Alternative Perspective and Directions for the Future

Employee engagement is critical to individual well-being and organizational performance. The concept of flow has been explored as a marker for such engagement. Yet, an understanding of the role technology plays in employees experiencing flow is not well understood. In this paper, we theorize an alternative viewpoint of flow and technology, which we coin “technoflow.” We do so by critically examining the assumptions within existing IS/flow literature, and propose a research agenda that adopts a relational ontology so that IS researchers can identify several sociomaterial conditions and practices related to how employees experience flow. We explain how researchers can draw on technoflow through four central themes: (1) control; (2) attention; (3) curiosity; and (4) intrinsic interest. We provide guidance about how to incorporate technoflow into two contemporary IS theories: media synchronicity theory and technostress. This intervention offers promising theoretical development and knowledge applications for IS researchers and practitioners alike

The Conceptualization and Uses of Technological Metaworlds in Travel

Mobile technology is increasingly interwoven into everyday life practices during travel. This study offers a theoretical extension of previous work on metaworlds by using an interpretive methodology to investigate how individuals conceptualize and mobile devices as technological metaworlds in travel. The findings suggest that while physical and technological metaworlds may initially seem to share some core use characteristics, a deeper dive into the data indicates an important difference regarding the uses and impacts of technological metaworlds. Specifically, concepts emerged which consistently pointed towards some adverse psychological impacts regarding the cognitive dissonance of technological metaworlds in travel. How and why this occurs is discussed through the delineation of a core conceptual category and three associated sub-categories. Finally, implications for theoretical and practical work on the technology – self nexus in travel are presented

Gender Differences in IS: A literature Review

Gender focused research has been published in IS journals since the mid-1990s. Gender focused research has been published in IS journals since the mid-1990s. In this paper, we conduct a literature review of this research stream by analyzing the academic, crossover, and practitioner IS literature that focuses on gender issues. Our search revealed 44 total gender focused IS journal articles, all of which are concerned with identifying and attempting to explain gender differences. These articles were analyzed and systematically grouped them into four main categories: IT workforce, behavioral, prescriptive/guidance, and education. These main categories were then split into subcategory clusters. We examined publication trends over time in regards to journal outlets, main categories, and the subcategories. As a result of this effort gaps in the gender literature are identified. Recommendations to guide future research efforts of both academicians and practitioners are provided

Social Media Induced Technostress and its Impact on Internet Addiction: A Distraction-conflict Theory Perspective

Using social media is the most common activity on the Internet, and much research has examined the phenomenon. While the current literature focuses on the positives of using social media, there is a comparative lack of research on its negative effects, especially in the context of the workplace. Research has identified one critical negative impact of contemporary technology as technostress, which refers to stress induced by information and communication technologies. In this paper, we apply distraction-conflict theory (DCT) to the literature on social media, technostress, and addiction to theorize that one can view social media in the workplace as a distraction conflict, which, in turn, can induce technostress and, subsequently, Internet addiction. To test this theoretical model, we conducted a survey on 1731 participants recruited from Mechanical Turk. The survey examined the similarities and differences between two popular social media platforms: Facebook and YouTube. Overall, the results provide support for positive associations between the distraction felt from social media and social media-induced technostress and between social media- induced technostress and Internet addiction. While Facebook and YouTube have similarities, we found notable differences as well. This study contributes to the IS field by using DCT as a novel and valuable lens through which researchers and practitioners can think about the negative effects of using social media at work. The paper also offers insight into implications for research, practice, and future research areas