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The Impact of Information Overload on Decision

Quality in the Web 2.0 Environment: A Cognitive-
Emotional Dichotomy Perspective
Jihun Park
Korea University - Korea, jihunprk@korea.ac.kr

Jae-Nam Lee
Korea University - Korea, isjnlee@korea.ac.kr

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Park, Jihun and Lee, Jae-Nam, "The Impact of Information Overload on Decision Quality in the Web 2.0 Environment: A Cognitive-
Emotional Dichotomy Perspective" (2011). CONF-IRM 2011 Proceedings. 22.
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The Impact of Information Overload on Decision Quality in
the Web 2.0 Environment: A Cognitive-Emotional
Dichotomy Perspective
Jihun Park, Jae-Nam Lee
Korea University
jihunprk@korea.ac.kr, isjnlee@korea.ac.kr

Abstract
Most information overload research has been done in cognitive load contexts and predominantly
focused on normative decision-making process. This study suggests the need to divide
information load into two dimensions: cognitive load that is found in prior research, and
emotional load as a new dimension. The emotional dimension can affect the information
overload that results from the prevalence of the Internet. The present study aims to find a new
factor or dimension of information overload and its impact will be examined.

Keywords
Information overload, Web 2.0, Cognitive and Emotional load, Decision quality

1. Introduction
The abundant information has been aggravated by the rise of the Internet in the 1990s, and later
by the advent of the social networking tools of Web 2.0 technology. These technical advances
have led to a more complex information environment (Bawden and Robinson 2009). However,
the abundant information plays a critical role not only in improving consumer buying decisions
by reducing buyer search costs (Bakos 1991), but also in increasing information load beyond a
certain level; thus, consumers might need to exert more effort in processing information,
subsequently making lower quality decisions (Chen et al. 2009).
This study suggests the need to divide information load into two dimensions: cognitive load,
which prior research has highlighted; and emotional load as a new dimension. People’s emotions
can be affected by the information overload that results from the prevalence of the Internet.
Recent developments in social psychology suggest that emotion may play a more central role in
the decision making process than previously recognized.
This research-in-progress study aims to find a new factor or dimension of information overload
(e.g., emotional load, information channel). Furthermore, the effects of both traditional and new
information overload factors on consumer’s decision quality will be investigated. Thus, two
primary research questions are: 1) What causes information overload in the current Internet
environment?; and 2) How do these levels of information overload affect consumer decision
quality?

2. Impact of the Web 2.0 environment on consumers

Digital life transition due to Web 2.0 technology, specifically social networking services, has a
large impact on both buyers and sellers in market research. Traditional electronic markets mainly
use company Internet sites, Internet retailers, or Internet portals for marketing their products and
services. However, these channels are already considered “old Internet” (Eccleston et al. 2008).
Web 2.0 technology and social networking services affect commercial influencing behavior,
which includes collecting information, and discussing and recommending products and services
interactively (See Figure 1).

Figure 1: Changing Information Context

3. Research model and hypotheses
Most information overload research has been done in cognitive load contexts and predominantly
focused on normative decision-making process (Malhotra 1982; Keller and Staelin 1987;
Helgeson and Urisic 1993; Lee and Lee 2004). Hence, there is a distinct challenge to develop a
research model that integrates prior constructs that are appropriate for the emotional contexts and
role of information channels.
However, most of constructs identified by prior studies apply to cognitive levels that are quite
different from that being studied here. For example, Pham (1998) states that people may evaluate
targets by holding the target’s representation in their minds and asking themselves, “How do I
feel about it?” Positive feelings would lead to a favorable evaluation of the episode, whereas
negative feelings would lead to an unfavorable evaluation. Bawden and Robinson (2009) also
identify the channel effect, such that technical advances have led to a richer and more complex
information environment, with a greater amount of information available, in a greater variety of
formats and types of information resource, and accessible through a greater variety of media and
communication channels.
Therefore, the present research proposes an integrated model (Figure 2), in which information
overload and decision quality are influenced by three sets of factors: cognitive load, emotional
load, and information channels.

3.1 Information overload

Abundant information plays a critical role in improving the quality of consumers’ decisions
(Bakos 1991). One of the advantages of Internet marketers is the capacity to convey large
amounts of information at a very low cost, widen the range of product choices, and improve
consumers’ welfare.
According to the theory of information overload, however, information load increases beyond a
threshold; hence, consumers might need to exert more effort to process the information,
subsequently making poorer decisions (Chen et al. 2009). The information-rich nature of the
online environment can easily become a trap for information overload to occur, as more and
more consumers become part of the Internet population.
 Information Channel Load

Cognitive Load
H3
Information Quantity
Perceived
Decision
Information
Information Quality H1 H4 Quality
Overload

Information Structure H2

Emotional Load

Information Feeling

Figure 2: Research Model

3.2 Cognitive load factors

Prior research on information overload in cognitive perspective has identified the following three
load factors.

3.2.1 Information quantity

Information quantity pertains to the amount of product information via the number of
alternatives in the choice set and the number of attributes, as well as the effect of information
load on decision-making performance. Jacoby et al. (1974) present convincing results
ascertaining the influence of the amount of information on consumers’ ability to make correct
decisions among many different products. The traditional approaches that investigate the effect
of information load on choice quality usually involve measuring the amount of information by
counting the number of alternatives and attributes presented to consumers (Lee and Lee 2004).

3.2.2 Information quality

Information quality have considered important factor of information overloads. Prior studies
suggest that information quality should be considered together with information quantity. For
example, Keller and Staelin (1987) argue that “when information quality was held constant,
increases in information negatively affected decision accuracy,” and “when information quantity
was held constant, increasing information quality increased decision accuracy to some point.”
Helgeson and Ursic (1993) also demonstrate that the number of attributes and alternative
similarity negatively affect choice accuracy, with alternative similarity having the most impact
on choice accuracy.
3.2.3 Information structure
Recent considerations on information structure are unlike earlier approaches that define the
amount of information as the multiplication of the number of alternatives and attributes and their
similarity and variability. To remedy the shortcomings of the information quantity and quality
approaches, other researchers have suggested that the amount of information should be the sum
of the number and probability of outcomes developed in the formal information theory (Lurie
2004), which assumes that the amount of information in a given set is determined not only by the
number of alternatives and attributes but also by the distribution of attribute levels across
alternatives. It indicates that attribute level distribution with the traditional measure of
information amount can provide a clearer understanding of the information overload
phenomenon (Lee and Lee 2004).

H1: The higher the level of cognitive load (information quantity, information quality, and
information structure), the higher the degree of perceived information overload.

3.3 Emotional load factor: Information feelings

The second factor is called the emotional factor. Prior research (Ochsner and Gross 2005; Olsson
and Ochsner 2008; Izard 2009) suggests that positive feelings would lead to a favorable
evaluation of the episode, whereas negative feelings would lead to an unfavorable evaluation.
Consumers will sometimes avoid making a trade-off among conflicting attributes through
feelings (e.g., negative), which leads to the use of simplifying heuristics and biased decision
outcomes (Pham 1998).

Emotional Range

Happiness (Positive)

Current Personal Events Cognitive Responses

Sadness (Negative)
Consumption Behaviors

Figure 3: Relationship between cognitive and emotion (Hirschman and Stern 1999)

Hirschman and Stern (1999) suggest that current personal events would have transient effects on
consumer’s emotional states and the direct influence of emotion on a variety of cognitive
responses. In other words, consumers may cope with the potential negative emotion associated
with such choices by practicing certain avoidant behaviors (See Figure 3). In explaining
emotional load, consumers often face emotion-laden choices involving conflicting goals of
personal importance.
H2: Emotional load will moderate the relationship between cognitive load and perceived
information overload.

3.4 Information channel load factors

Traditional electronic markets use company Internet sites, Internet retailers, or Internet portals
for marketing their products and services. However, these channels are already considered “old
Internet,” which consists of low-engagement and traditional online activities, such as simple web
surfing and sending/receiving email (Eccleston et al. 2008).
Recent research on the impact of Web 2.0 technology (e.g., YouTube, Wikipedia) on consumer
purchase decisions shows that the average broadband user spends 27 percent of his/her time
online on communication activities, and approximately one-third rate or review products online
(Riegner 2007). In this trend, electronic commerce and market research are often concerned
about failing to provide the insights sought by customers in an increasingly complex society.
They believe that a Web 2.0 platform and a social network approach provide marketing research
with new tools for meeting the challenges of the future.
However, this trend may cause consumers’ information channel load to levels that they cannot
control, because of the numerous forms of social networking services that allow people to
participate actively in the marketing and selling of products and services in online
marketplaces(Stephen and Toubia 2010).

H3: Information channel load will moderate the relationship between cognitive load and
perceived information overload.

3.5 Decision quality: The dependent variable

Decision quality simply means a consumer’s best choice (Jacoby et al. 1974). Chen et al. (2009)
point out that decision theories care about two things: outside information and decision quality.
They also describe consumer’s decision as perfect information, and recognize complete
rationality as the way to obtain an optimal decision. However, the complexity and limitation of
individuals’ information processing capacity and the difficulty to gather perfect information limit
a consumer’s best decision. In reality, individuals usually adapt well enough to “satisfied” but
not “optimized” decisions due to these limitations (Simon 1956). Although outside information
is necessary for decision making, the individual factors in relation to processing information
seem more important. While making decisions, consumers also use a variety of information
processing strategies, a type of “mental information filtering mechanism,” to trim down those
complex tasks of assessing alternatives and predicting the value of outcomes into some simpler
judgments (McGuire 1976). The frequency heuristic, for example, indicates that frequency
knowledge plays an important role in consumers’ decision making. Frequency knowledge refers
to the mere number of positive or negative attributes of a product which is accumulated while
information load inhibits the comprehension of alternatives’ semantic details. However, the
frequency heuristic often leads to erroneous decisions (Alba and Marmorstein 1987).

H4: The higher the level of perceived information overload, the lower the degree of decision
quality.
4. Research methodology
This study will employ a two (the level of cognitive load; high or low) by two (the level of
emotional load; high or low) by two (the level of information channel load; high or low)
between-subjects design. To validate the hypotheses, an online-based experimental survey will
be developed, in which respondents will be shown a product with high or low levels of cognitive,
emotional, and information channel load, and asked their perceived level of information overload
and their best choice. In measuring the effects of information overload on decision quality, this
study will employ the statistical procedures of prior studies (Malhotra 1982b).

5. Expected contribution and implications

This study expects to extend previous work on information overload by finding additional load
factors in the Internet environment. Many prior studies focus on consumers’ cognitive load
factors, but scant attention has been given to examining the emotional factors like consumers’
feelings about a product. In the situation that many individuals have discovered the power of
blogs, wikis, and social networks, emotional load factors may have a stronger effect on
consumers’ decision quality than previous cognitive factors. Furthermore, the current Internet
environment makes people use various channels interactively. Therefore, the level of information
channels can be another key factor in considering information overload.
This study has two practical implications. First, by integrating views about the cognitive-
emotional and information channel load factors, this study can provide meaningful guidelines for
firms on the commercial use of Internet technologies. Second, information overload can affect
consumers’ best choice in unexpected ways. This study can provide consumers with a new
mindset that overcomes information overload problems by categorizing the loading factors.

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