Decisional style, mood and work communication: email diaries

To understand the use of technology to support interpersonal interaction, a theory of decisional style was applied to email use within the workplace. Previous research has used self-report and rating scales to address employee email behaviours, but this falls short of management's capability to monitor the actual behaviour. Thirty-nine employed individuals completed a five-day communication diary recording their actual behaviour upon receiving personal and work-related emails as well as the Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales. It was found that vigilant individuals were more likely to use email in an efficient manner by deleting personal email and being less likely to open email later. Procrastinators, buckpassers and people experiencing high levels of negative affect were all more likely to delay dealing with email, which could be viewed as dealing with email in a less efficient manner. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: This work offers insights as to how people receive and process emails and is thus relevant to the development and implementation of collaborative technologies. Whilst other studies use individual's self-reports, this study uses a more accurate communication diary. Decisional style can predict the monitoring and response to electronic communication.     

The effects of personality traits,self-esteem,loneliness, and narcissism on Facebook use among university students

This study examined the relationship between three of the “Big Five” traits (neuroticism, extraversion, and openness), self-esteem, loneliness and narcissism, and Facebook use. Participants were 393 first year undergraduate psychology students from a medium-sized Australian university who completed an online questionnaire. Negative binomial regression models showed that students with higher openness levels reported spending more time on Facebook and having more friends on Facebook. Interestingly, students with higher levels of loneliness reported having more Facebook friends. Extraversion, neuroticism, self-esteem and narcissism did not have significant associations with Facebook use. It was concluded that students who are high in openness use Facebook to connect with others in order to discuss a wide range of interests, whereas students who are high in loneliness use the site to compensate for their lack of offline relationships.     

Computer-mediated knowledge sharing and individual user differences: an exploratory study

Prior research has shown that individual differences in users' cognitive style and gender can have a significant effect on their usage and perceived usefulness of management information systems. We argue that these differences may also extend to computer-mediated knowledge management systems (KMS), although previous research has not tested this empirically. Where employees are expected to use KMS for acquiring and sharing knowledge, we posit that some will gain more benefit than others, due to their innate personal characteristics, specifically gender and cognitive style. Based on a sample of 212 software developers in one large IS organization, we re-open these dormant debates about the effects of cognitive style and gender on technology usage. The paper contains four main findings. First, we present support for the proposition that cognitive style has an impact on KMS usage, although not for all components of the system. Second, that gender significantly affects KMS usage, with males being more likely to use such systems than females. Third, we find a small interaction effect between cognitive style and gender, but only for the use of data mining. Finally, the data suggest that there is a strong association between KMS usage levels and perceived usefulness. We conclude that if organizations do not recognize the inherent diversity of the workforce, and accommodate gender and cognitive style differences into their knowledge management strategies, they may be likely to propagate an intrinsic disadvantage, to the detriment of females and intuitive thinkers.     

Why do individuals use computer technology? A Finnish case study

Here we discuss the motivators for computer usage in Finland. IS and non-IS researchers have reported that perceived usefulness is a major determinant in a United States workplace. This study focuses on two aspects of motivation: extrinsic and intrinsic. Perceived usefulness is an example of extrinsic motivation, whereas perceived enjoyment is intrinsic. We found that extrinsic motivation plays a greater role in individuals' behavior and that perceived ease of use affects both perceived enjoyment and usefulness, as well as usage. Moreover, they were found to mediate fully the relationship between perceived ease of use and computer usage.     

Young adults’ use of communication technology within their romantic relationships and associations with attachment style

In an online survey with two cohorts (2009 and 2011) of undergraduates in dating relationships, we examined how attachment was related to communication technology use within romantic relationships. Participants reported on their attachment style and frequency of in-person communication as well as phone, text messaging, social network site (SNS), and electronic mail usage with partners. Texting and SNS communication were more frequent in 2011 than 2009. Attachment avoidance was related to less frequent phone use and texting, and greater email usage. Electronic communication channels (phone and texting) were related to positive relationship qualities, however, once accounting for attachment, only moderated effects were found. Interactions indicated texting was linked to more positive relationships for highly avoidant (but not less avoidant) participants. Additionally, email use was linked to more conflict for highly avoidant (but not less avoidant) participants. Finally, greater use of a SNS was positively associated with intimacy/support for those higher (but not lower) on attachment anxiety. This study illustrates how attachment can help to explain why the use of specific technology-based communication channels within romantic relationships may mean different things to different people, and that certain channels may be especially relevant in meeting insecurely attached individuals’ needs.     

Ethical implications of internet monitoring: A comparative study

Organizations have become increasingly concerned about employee use of the Internet for personal reasons while at work. Monitoring Internet usage has become more and more prevalent in the workplace. While there may be legitimate business functions such as employee performance appraisal that are served by monitoring, poorly designed and communicated monitoring practices can have negative effects on employee morale and may be considered an invasion of privacy. Universities are another venue where Internet monitoring occurs. This paper explores whether there was a significant difference in attitude towards Internet usage and monitoring at the university as compared to the workplace. It is the result of a comparative study.     

The influence of self-esteem and locus of control on perceived email-related stress

Electronic mail has become an indispensable tool in business and academia, and personal use is increasing every day. However, there is also evidence that Email, unlike more traditional communication media, can exert a powerful hold over its users and that many computer users experience stress as a direct result of email-related pressure. This paper develops a three-fold typology of orientations to email: ‘relaxed’, ‘driven’ and ‘stressed’. It further investigates whether the personality traits of self-esteem and locus of control are associated with email-related stress. It finds that low self-esteem is associated with the ‘driven’ orientation. It further suggests that the ‘stressed’ orientation may be related to how distractive email is perceived to be, compared with other forms of communication.     

A model of the relationship between psychological characteristics,mobile phone addiction and use of mobile phones by Taiwanese university female students

While many researches have analyzed the psychological antecedents of mobile phone addiction and mobile phone usage behavior, their relationship with psychological characteristics remains mixed. We investigated the relationship between psychological characteristics, mobile phone addiction and use of mobile phones for 269 Taiwanese female university students who were administered Rosenberg’s self-esteem scale, Lai’s personality inventory, and a mobile phone usage questionnaire and mobile phone addiction scale. The result showing that: (1) social extraversion and anxiety have positive effects on mobile phone addiction, and self-esteem has negative effects on mobile phone addiction. (2) Mobile phone addiction has a positive predictive effect on mobile phone usage behavior. The results of this study identify personal psychological characteristics of Taiwanese female university students which can significantly predict mobile phone addiction; female university students with mobile phone addiction will make more phone calls and send more text messages. These results are discussed and suggestions for future research for school and university students are provided.     

Application of TPB to punctuation usage in instant messaging

Instant messaging (IM) is being widely used in the workplace and personal life at an accelerated rate. In this paper, we empirically investigate an extension of TPB (Theory of Planned Behaviour) model to explain why individuals use punctuation in IM. Conceptually, we examine attitude and behavioural belief and their impacts on punctuation usage. Our research model was tested in an empirical study, which confirmed all of our hypotheses. This paper also explains why people prefer to use punctuation in IM and how the usage is moderated by the communication context.     

Office workers' computer use patterns are associated with workplace stressors

This field study examined associations between workplace stressors and office workers' computer use patterns. We collected keyboard and mouse activities of 93 office workers (68F, 25M) for approximately two work weeks. Linear regression analyses examined the associations between self-reported effort, reward, overcommitment, and perceived stress and software-recorded computer use duration, number of short and long computer breaks, and pace of input device usage. Daily duration of computer use was, on average, 30 min longer for workers with high compared to low levels of overcommitment and perceived stress. The number of short computer breaks (30 s–5 min long) was approximately 20% lower for those with high compared to low effort and for those with low compared to high reward. These outcomes support the hypothesis that office workers' computer use patterns vary across individuals with different levels of workplace stressors.     

Personality and self reported mobile phone use

As the mobile phone supports interpersonal interaction, mobile phone use might be a function of personality. This study sought to predict amounts and types of mobile phone use from extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and self-esteem. One hundred and twelve mobile phone owners reported on their use of their mobile phones, and completed the NEO-FFI and the Coopersmith self-esteem inventory. Extraverts reported spending more time calling, and changing ring tone and wallpaper, implying the use of the mobile phone as a means of stimulation. Extraverts and perhaps disagreeable individuals were less likely to value incoming calls. Disagreeable extraverts also reported using the mobile phone more, and spent more time adjusting ringtone/wallpaper. The neurotic, disagreeable, unconscientious and extroverted spent more time messaging using SMS. This study concludes that psychological theory can explain patterns of mobile phone use.     

When more is too much: Operationalizing technology overload and exploring its impact on knowledge worker productivity

Individuals within organizations are beginning to make an important realization: more information technology (IT) usage in the workplace can, at times, lead to productivity losses. We conceptualize this frequently observed, but largely ignored phenomenon as technology overload, when additional technology tools begin to crowd out one’s productivity instead of enhancing it. We found support for three main factors contributing technology-based productivity losses through information overload, communication overload, and system feature overload. Interestingly, these factors are a function of the individuals who use the technology, not the technology itself. In this paper, we present the results from three studies that (1) develop and pre-test a scale measurement for technology overload and its distinct dimensions, (2) validate the instrument, and (3) explore the relationship between technology overload and knowledge worker productivity. Our findings demonstrate the relationship between information technology usage and knowledge worker productivity, and they suggest how tradeoffs can be managed to ameliorate technology overload.     

Procrastination,participation, and performance in online learning environments

The present study focuses on a specific learner characteristic in the management of time – procrastination-, and its role in an online learning environment. More specifically, it was expected that procrastination would influence the successfulness of online learning and that this could be explained by the level of participation of learners in discussion forums. A study was conducted to test this hypothesis among a sample of learners taking a 10-week course on environmental and land use issues. As predicted, a negative relationship was found between procrastination and performance, and this relationship was mediated by the level of the learners’ participation in discussion forums. In other words, it appears that if high procrastinators are less successful online learners than low procrastinators, it is partly due to their lack of participation in discussion forums during the learning process. Additionally, some behavioral differences between high and low procrastinators were found in the times they decided to (re)start working at a distance, felt motivated to work on their course, and felt like dropping out of the course. To conclude, some practical implications for tutoring online activities and for stimulating participation in online learning environments have been proposed.     

The relationships among the Big Five Personality factors,self-esteem,narcissism, and sensation-seeking to Chinese University students’ uses of social networking sites (SNSs)

It has been suggested that personality factors are related to an individuals’ use of social networking sites (SNSs). The present research explores the relationships between the Big Five Personality factors, narcissism, self-esteem, and sensation seeking and individuals’ use of specific features of SNS. Self-reports were collected from 265 SNS users from a university in China. Regression analyses revealed that personality factors play an important role in how SNS are used. Specifically, extraverts are more likely to use the communicative function of SNS including status update, comment, and adding more friends. Neurotic are more likely to use the feature of status update as a way of self-expression. Agreeable individuals tend to make more comments on others’ profiles. Individuals with high self-esteem are more likely to comment on others’ profiles. Users scoring high on openness and sensation seeking are more likely to play online games on SNS. Narcissistic users are more likely to upload their attractive photos on SNS and tend to use update status more frequently for self-presentation. Gender also played an important role in predicting types of SNS use. Males reported more SNS friends and were more likely to play online games than were females, who were more likely to upload self-photos and update their status.     

Coping with information overload in email communication: Evaluation of a training intervention

The present paper introduces three facets of information overload in email communication: A large amount of incoming information, inefficient workflow, and deficient communication quality. In order to cope with these facets of information overload, a training intervention was developed and evaluated. Data were collected from 90 employees on several evaluation levels within a longitudinal evaluation design (one pretest double posttest design). The results reveal that the training contributed to an increase in knowledge and media competencies. We also found evidence for a transfer of training contents to the workplace. Finally, strain diminished on several dimensions. In particular, problems with media usage and work impairment decline significantly, an effect that was stronger for those participants who face a large amount of email at their workplaces.     

Decisional factors leading to the reuse of an on-demand ride service

On-demand ride (ODR) services are expanding and becoming more influential globally because of the rapid growth in the use of mobile devices. ODR services are creating new business models and opportunities and reshaping transportation markets. This study used KakaoTaxi, a popular ODR service in Korea, to examine how customers evaluate an ODR service and determine whether customers are willing to reuse such a service. In the first-stage qualitative study, we explored decisional factors by conducting interviews with customers of the ODR service. In the second-stage quantitative study, we interpreted these previously explored decisional factors and developed a research model by applying the customer value theory. Going beyond previous research, the meta-inferences from the qualitative and quantitative studies explain how customers decide to reuse an ODR service. This study also informs ODR service providers of marketing strategies to leverage these key decisional factors in the reuse of an ODR service.     

Developing a holistic understanding of workplace health: the case of bank workers

Understanding health in the workplace from a holistic perspective requires appropriate research approaches. An exploratory, qualitative study with white-collar employees from a large banking organization in the North West of England is detailed here. The aim was to explore health from the perspective of the employee. Semi-structured interviews (n = 29) elicited detailed responses, allowing the relationship between psychosocial and lifestyle factors to be examined. Psychosocial factors such as job design, ability to make decisions and control over work were all reported to be positive contributors to health in the work setting - and often were reported to be more relevant than individual lifestyle issues. A more holistic approach to developing workplace health programmes in the future is recommended, which allows the workplace setting to be considered as a complex system. Very few comprehensive workplace health programmes exist at present within UK organizations, and there is a tendency for programmes to be designed by the health professional 'expert' rather than developed in conjunction with, and by the workforce. It is argued that qualitative research methods can help to begin the dialogue needed for workplace health programme development.     

Identifying commonalities and differences in personality characteristics of Internet and social media addiction profiles: traits,self-esteem,and self-construal

Excessive use of the Internet and social media has been associated with behavioural addiction, which sparked the researchers’ interest in gaining a better understanding of this global phenomenon. The aim of this study was to fill a gap in knowledge by using just one sample to identify similarities and differences in relationships between technology addictions and personality characteristics, especially traits, self-esteem, and self-construal. The sample consisted of 512 undergraduate students. The results showed that Internet addiction and social media addiction shared many more similarities than differences. Agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness to experiences, emotional stability, self-esteem, the frequency of checking account, and Internet usage were predictors of both Internet addiction and social media addiction. Age, satisfaction with life, and interdependent self-construal did not predict Internet addiction or social media addiction, whereas real self and extraversion predicted Internet addiction only, and gender, posting updates, a number of friends, and independent self-construal predicted social media addiction only. These results provide some basis for an understanding of Internet and social media addiction profiles.