The influence of the information stimulus on the human information behavior

Abstract

The use of multiple digital technologies to perform tasks or solve problems become a regular practice in the corporate environment while the amount of information available to people grows at an impressive pace. However, scant studies dedicated to understanding the influence of the actual use of multiple digital technologies and the influence of information stimulus on human information behavior. Recent literature on the information system positions the study of human information behavior as a critical research area for its power to predict and explain the human behavior. For this reason, this research focus on the influence of information stimulus on human information behavior during the use of multiple digital technologies, precisely the individual behavior in the organizational setting. This study developed three articles, comprehending a literature review, qualitative research, and quantitative research to validate the conceptualized the information stimuli and the proposed cognitive model. The central objective is to understand the influence of the use of multiple digital technologies on human behavior. The findings showed that the information load and information diversity represent the information stimulus that influences the capacity of the information workers to determine their information need, their ability to seek for specific information, and the use of information while performing a task. The recognition of the negative influence of the use multiple technologies was expressed in behaviors such as the need to focus, the strategies to prioritize tasks, the development of self-control, and the uncertainty. The quantitative research with 565 information workers presented support on the hypotheses between information diversity, information load, information need, information seeking, and information use. The results are important once they represent the measurement of the perception about the influence of the information stimulus on the human behavior. Finally, this research makes significant contributions conceptualizing human information behavior in the information system literature and providing a new approach to evaluate human information behavior in the context of high information stimuli.