Information Overload and the Message Dynamics of Online Interaction Spaces: A Theoretical Model and Empirical Exploration

Quentin Jones (), Gilad Ravid () and Sheizaf Rafaeli ()
Additional contact information
Quentin Jones: Department of Information Systems, College of Computing Sciences, New Jersey Institute of Technology, University Heights, Newark, New Jersey 07102
Gilad Ravid: Center for the Study of the Information Society, Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Haifa, Mt. Carmel, Haifa 31905, Israel
Sheizaf Rafaeli: Center for the Study of the Information Society, Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Haifa, Mt. Carmel, Haifa 31905, Israel

Information Systems Research, 2004, vol. 15, issue 2, 194-210

Abstract: Online spaces that enable shared public interpersonal communications are of significant social, organizational, and economic importance. In this paper, a theoretical model and associated unobtrusive method are proposed for researching the relationship between online spaces and the behavior they host. The model focuses on the collective impact that individual information-overload coping strategies have on the dynamics of open, interactive public online group discourse. Empirical research was undertaken to assess the validity of both the method and the model, based on the analysis of over 2.65 million postings to 600 Usenet newsgroups over a 6-month period. Our findings support the assertion that individual strategies for coping with “information overload” have an observable impact on large-scale online group discourse. Evidence was found for the hypotheses that: (1) users are more likely to respond to simpler messages in overloaded mass interaction; (2) users are more likely to end active participation as the overloading of mass interaction increases; and (3) users are more likely to generate simpler responses as the overloading of mass interaction grows.The theoretical model outlined offers insight into aspects of computer-mediated communication tool usability, technology design, and provides a road map for future empirical research.

Keywords: human-computer interaction; computer-mediated communication; computer supported cooperative work; virtual community; information overload; interaction coping strategies; message dynamics; online group discourse (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2004
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (67)

Downloads: (external link)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/isre.1040.0023 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:orisre:v:15:y:2004:i:2:p:194-210

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Information Systems Research from INFORMS Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Asher ().