Drowning in information : the effects of information overload on managerial decision-making quality

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Drowning in Information

The Effects of Information Overload on Managerial Decision-Making

Quality

Name: Tom van den IJssel Student number: 10452303

Course: MSc. In Business Administration Track: Digital Business

Supervisor: Prof. em. dr. ir. H.J. Oppelland Date: 22nd_{of June 2018}

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Statement of originality

This document is written by Tom van den IJssel, student of the Amsterdam Business School, University of Amsterdam (UvA), who declares to take full responsibility for the contents of this document.

I declare that the text and the work presented in this document is original and that no sources other than those mentioned in the text and its references have been used in creating it.

The Faculty of Economics and Business is responsible solely for the supervision of completion of the work, not for the contents.

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List of figures

Figure 1: Interrelationship between Data, Information, Knowledge and Wisdom (Cooper, 2017, p. 56) ... 6

Figure 2: Information overload U-curve (Eppler and Mengis, 2004, p. 326) ... 10

Figure 3: Framework information overload (Eppler and Mengis, 2004, p. 330) ... 15

Figure 4: Conceptual research model (source: author) ... 16

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List of tables

Table 1: Overview of interviews ... 21

Table 2: Summary interviewees ... 26

Table 3: IT - information overload and decision-making ... 35

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Abstract

This research investigates the phenomenon of information overload and its impact on managerial decision-making quality within a single organization. Within today’s information

society, the problem of information overload is widely recognized as the amount of

information grows exponentially. The goal of this research is to determine the extent of information overload currently being experienced - and its impact on managerial decision-making quality - among business organizations. Both information overload and managerial decision-making appear to be two fundamental concepts within this research. Furthermore, the aim is to find possible strategies or coping mechanisms that can be used to deal with – or even avoid the problem of information overload. Within this exploratory single case study, qualitative data is gathered via semi structured in-depth interviews from eight EU Airlines managers, from different departments. EU Airlines is one of the biggest European airlines, anonymous because of privacy reasons. A conceptual research model is built after a brief review of existing literature on information overload. The analysis of the interviews led to significant evidence for the existence of information overload caused by organizational – and personal characteristics, and information technologies. Moreover, results showed that information overload is negatively correlated with managerial decision-making quality.

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1. Introduction

‘’Information is no longer scarce; instead, it is overwhelming’’ (Pijpers, 2010, p. xi)

1.1 Research problem

Today, the amount of data and information available is huge and continues to increase every day (Hashem et al., 2015). In addition, McAfee et al. (2012), stated that businesses in general are becoming more and more data-driven, since data-driven decision making has the potential to increase firm performance compared with decision making based on managers’

gut-feeling or intuition. Despite the abundance of available information, the most

fundamental challenge for managers is to effectively obtain the relevant and useful

information (Wu et al., 2014). Dealing with the continuously increasing amount of available information in today’s information society is a major challenge in managerial decision-making (Falschlunger et al., 2016).

Nevertheless, ‘’data is not a religion’’, according to Kirkland (2017).It is about the business insights gained from analyzing the data which provide the benefits (Thirathon et al., 2017). Though, as the volume of data increases, the complexity of managing and analyzing the data increases as well (Batini et al., 2009). Compared with traditional data, big data includes unstructured data, which is random and difficult to analyze, so additional

real-time-analysis is necessary (Chen et al., 2014). As several studies stated, high quality data is crucial

to business success, and nowadays organizations are progressively trying to develop or acquire analytic capabilities in order to solve complicated problems using data and/or information (Intezari et al., 2016).

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Furthermore, according to LaValle et al. (2011), managers wonder whether they are obtaining the complete value from the huge amounts of available information they already have within their businesses. As mentioned by Pijpers (2010, p.19): ‘’these managers in

today’s businesses are drowning in information and complaining about the fact that they are unable to handle those huge amounts of available information effectively’’. Or in other

words, individuals’ information processing requirements exceeds their information

processing capacity (Eppler and Mengis, 2004). Searching for the right information is highly time-consuming which implies that managers are often unable to make accurate decisions based on the collected information (Pijpers, 2010, p. 19). Due to overall contradictory research results, the main question regarding information overload is whether and how this phenomenon affects decision accuracy, decision time and general performance (Eppler and Mengis 2004).

1.2 Research objective

The ability of managers to satisfactorily determine the quality of their information and the impact of this information quality on their decision-making is not sufficiently studied thus far. Therefore, the objective of this research is to determine the extent of information overload currently being experienced among business organizations and its impact on managerial decision-making quality. Furthermore, the aim is to find possible strategies or coping mechanisms that can be used to deal with – or even avoid the problem of

information overload. Information overload arises from the huge amount of information managers in organizations are exposed to while they are unable to process all of the available information effectively. Or in other words, when information received becomes a hindrance instead of a help (Bawden and Robinson, 2009).

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Reducing this problem is relevant as it might improve the quality of managerial decisions. Since information is growing at an exponential rate (Lewis, 1996), and information is a key success factor for organizations, managers cannot ignore the irresistible amount of

information they face in the workplace (Edmunds and Morris, 2000). Besides, Lewis (1996) stated that information overload might contribute to stress, tension with colleagues and loss of job satisfaction.

1.3 Research method

A qualitative research is conducted since the objective of this research is not only to determine whether managers actually experience information overload within their

organization, but even develop strategies to enable these managers to cope with this problem. A qualitative approach is justifiable since it generates rich information about the underlying nature of the phenomenon in question, information overload in this case, including an in-depth exploration (Creswell, 2002, p. 465). Furthermore, Eppler and Mengis (2004, p. 330) emphasized the need for research that ‘’provides deep context, since most of

the research on information overload is experimental, survey based, or purely conceptual’’.

Hence, the aim of this research is to capture more of the contextual side of the information overload problem compared with experiments.

An exploratory single case study will be executed by conducting semi-structured interviews at EU Airlines. Doing research on the complex phenomenon of information overload and its effects on managerial decision-making, focused on a relatively small group of managers, may provide more valuable outcomes compared with doing a more general research on a large group of managers without diving deeper into the concept.

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The managers to be interviewed are selected based on their daily involvement in making decisions. The main goal of the interviews, which is in line with the research’ objective, is to explore whether these managers actually experience information overload and to what extent it affects their decision-making capabilities.

1.4 Structure of the thesis

The thesis is organized as follows. First of all, a brief overview of existing literature on information overload is presented in chapter 2. At the end of this chapter, this research’ conceptual model is depicted based on propositions following existing literature. Chapter 3 describes the research design, including a description of the case study, data collection – and analysis methods, and finally certain quality criteria. The results of this case study research are presented in chapter 4. Finally, chapter 5 presents the conclusion and discussion, including limitations and recommendations for future research.

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2. Literature review

This chapter provides an overview of the key research findings on information overload including related subjects to define the current ‘’state of the art’’. Despite the fact that the problem of information overload is long-lasting, the subject has been recognized and more widely experienced as information grows exponentially since the continuous growth of the Internet (Edmunds and Morris, 2000). First of all, an essential distinction between Data, Information and Knowledge will be made. Second, a clearly defined definition of the term big data will be given because of the high variety of different definitions found in earlier research and the necessity of one general definition for the remainder of this thesis. Thereafter, previous research on information overload will be elaborated briefly together with some definitions of the concept. Finally, the developed conceptual research model will be given.

2.1 Exploring distinction between Data, Information and Knowledge

The distinction between data, information and knowledge has to be made in order to visualize the linear interrelationship between these different concepts (Figure 1). Data and information are often used interchangeably in literature, while data is a series of symbols, facts or observations which by itself has no meaning (Cooper, 2017). Data differs from information as information actually has a meaning because it is data placed in a context, which implies the ability of processing and analyzing the data (Cooper, 2017). Furthermore, data is neutral since certain data can be essential in a specific case and completely

inessential in another case. Pijpers (2010, p.3) stated that when data changes a person’s level of knowledge, it is called information.

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When information is structured and organized due to cognitive processing and validation it is called knowledge (Cooper, 2017).

The transformation of information into knowledge is accomplished when elements as experience, value, understanding, opinion and reasoning are added (Pijpers, 2010, p.4). Finally, according to Aven (2013, p. 31), wisdom is defined as ‘’the capacity to put into action

the most appropriate behavior, taking into account what is known (knowledge) and what does the most good (ethical and social considerations)’’. Or in other words, the process that

includes knowledge in an ethical and moral framework (Cooper, 2017). Aven (2013)

described the transition from data to wisdom by the following metaphor: from data (‘’know-nothing’’), to information (‘’know-what’’), to knowledge (‘’know-how’’) and finally to

wisdom (‘’know-why’’).

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7 2.2 Big data and big data analytics

‘’Better data creates opportunities to make better decisions. New technologies have vastly

increased the scale and scope of data available to managers’’ (Brynjolfsson and McElheran,

2016, p. 138).

Big data has become a popular term in the last decade, which simply indicates that data generated and available nowadays is ‘big’ in terms of volume, variety and velocity (Thirathon et al., 2017). As stated by Hashem et al. (2015), the volume and variety of data being generated is enormous and continues to increase every single day. Furthermore, the velocity of data generation and growth is increasing as well due to the proliferation of devices connected to the Internet (Hashem et al., 2015). In addition, these data can be used to gain real-time business insights. However, there is no uniform definition of big data due to the diversity of interest by researchers on issues such as the objectives, the artefacts

produced, the quality criteria used, and the usages and applications (Akoka et al., 2017). As the emergence of big data actually allowed for the development of data-driven

decision making as a management innovation for making decisions within businesses, a clear

and widely supported definition of the term big data is necessary. As stated by Gantz and Reintsel (2011, p. 6), ‘‘big data technologies describe a new generation of technologies and

architectures, designed to economically extract value from very large volumes of a wide variety of data, by enabling high-velocity capture, discovery, and/or analysis’’. This clear

definition will be used throughout the thesis because of its structured formulation and since it is well applicable to this specific research.

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According to Wu et al (2014), a system must be designed to enable linking unstructured data through complex relationships to form useful patterns. These patterns might be useful to predict trends and the future.

2.3 Theory of information overload

‘’Living in an information society, we are bombarded with information whether or not we actively seek it’’ (Edmunds and Morris, 2000, p.18).

In general, an established definition of information overload does not exist. The term is mostly used to describe the state of an individual where his or her efficiency in using

information is hindered by the available amount of relevant and useful available information to him or her (Bawden and Robinson, 2009). In addition, Feather (1998, p. 118) described information overload as a specific situation where there is simply too much information to be used effectively. Pijpers (2010, p. 22) explained that information overload is the gap between the amount of information and available tools to assimilate the information into useful knowledge.

The classic definition of the concept of information overload is based on an individual’s information processing capacity and its information processing requirements (O’Reilly, 1980). In other words, when the amount of information the individual has to integrate in order to complete a task exceeds the amount of information the individual is able to

integrate into the decision-making process within a given time-period, information overload is the result (Eppler and Mengis, 2004). The higher the information processing capacity of an individual, the lower the probability of information overload to exist since the individual is able to cope with ‘more’ information.

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This underlines the subjective nature of the information overload problem, as each individual’s ability to process information differs (Schroder et al., 1967, p. 16).

The inverted U-curve is a depiction of the relationship between information load and an individual’s decision accuracy. Schroder et al. (1967, p. 55) found that decision making quality improved by an increase in available information up to a certain point. Eppler and Mengis (2004) translated these findings from Schroder et al. (1967, p.55) into a graph depicting information load and decision accuracy (Figure 2). Additionally, according to Eppler and Mengis (2004), the quality of managerial decisions correlates positively with the amount of information a manager receives, till a certain point. From this point, additional information negatively affects the decision-making quality as the amount of information exceeds the individual’s information processing capacity (O’Reilly, 1980).

O’Reilly (1980) evaluated the negative effect of information overload on individual decision-making performance within organizational settings. An imbalance between an individual’s processing capabilities and their experienced information load might lead to information over – or underload (O’Reilly, 1980). According to O’Reilly (1980), an interesting paradox exists as preceding some optimal point extra information could lead to a decrease in individual decision-making performance, although these individuals experienced a higher level of confidence and job satisfaction. In addition, underloaded individuals expressed lower job satisfaction but higher performance (O’Reilly, 1980).

These findings seem conflicting. However, underloaded individuals will perform better in the short-run, while in the long-run, their performance decreases over time since the

underload of information negatively affects their degree of job satisfaction (Iastrebova, 2006, p. 40).

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The performance of overloaded individuals will be lower in the short-run, although their long-run performance increases as their job satisfaction is high (Iastrebova, 2006, p. 40).

Figure 2: Information overload U-curve (Eppler and Mengis, 2004, p. 326)

2.4 Framework information overload

Eppler and Mengis (2004) developed a structured framework based on previous research conducted on information overload as shown in Figure 3. The framework includes the

following three components: the main causes of information overload, symptoms of the problem and countermeasures for reducing the problem. The framework assumes a system of circular and interdependent relationships between the variables (Eppler and Mengis, 2004).

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11 2.4.1 Causes

Previous research identified five main causes of the information overload problem. The problem of information overload typically does not occur because one of these causes, but it is the result of a combination of all five. These causes affect the two dependent variables of information overload as explained in the previous paragraph: information processing capacity (IPC) and information processing requirements (IPR) (Eppler and Mengis, 2004).

First of all, one of the causes of information overload is the personal characteristics of the individual processing, receiving or communicating the information. Iastrebova (2006, p. 72) proposed that information-intensive individuals are less vulnerable to information overload, as their information processing capacity is relatively higher. Furthermore, factors as experience, job title, personal skills and an individual’s motivation directly affect the individual’s information processing capacity (Eppler and Mengis, 2004). Concluding, the information processing capacity differs per individual depending on factors as experience, age and knowledge which results in varying information overload levels (O’Reilly, 1980).

Secondly, specific information characteristics can also influence the level of

information overload, as the quantity of information is not the only reason for the existence of the problem. Characteristics as uncertainty, diversity, ambiguity, accuracy, frequency, complexity or intensity of information can also be seen as determinants for the problem of information overload (Eppler and Mengis, 2004).

Quality of information is another important aspect, since higher quality information might increase the individual’s information processing capacity (Sparrow, 1999). This implies a reduction in information overload experienced.

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Furthermore, an increased diversity of information, in terms of nature and format, might lead to information overload as well (Bawden and Robinson, 2009).

Another cause of information load is the tasks and processes that need to be completed by an individual. Iastrebova (2006, p. 74) stated that the risk of information overload increases when task complexity goes up or time pressure exists. Falschlunger et al. (2016) defined cognitive fit theory as ‘’how information needs optimally should be presented

in order to lower information overload which implies better decision-making quality’’. A low

task complexity implies a high probability of high-quality decision making since the

probability of realizing cognitive fit is correspondingly high. Furthermore, Falschlunger et al. (2016) showed that information overload mediates the relationship between task

complexity and decision-making outcome. Concluding, complex tasks or processes increases the information processing requirements (Eppler and Mengis, 2004).

The organizational design of a company is another important factor influencing experienced information overload. First of all, when the organizational design changes, more intensive communication and coordination might be needed, which results in higher

information processing requirements. In addition, Iastrebova (2006, p. 79) defined information overload as a function of different organizational variables as organizational culture, organizational structure, communication within the organization and technologies used.

Finally, Information Technology (IT) is a major cause for the existence of information overload. According to Borgman (1994, p. 3), ‘’the advent of information technology (IT)

turned information, once seen as a scarce resource, into information overload, that must actively be managed by decision makers’’.

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In addition, Bawden and Robinson (2009) stated that all new technologies since the 1990s, particularly e-mail and the Internet, contributed significantly to the problem of information overload. Especially, since ‘’the techniques and ‘coping strategies’ from the past were no

longer effective’’ (Bawden and Robinson, 2009, p. 184). However, Pijpers (2010, p. 146)

explained that information technology also contains capabilities that can support an individual in obtaining the useful and relevant information.

2.4.2 Symptoms

After the identified major causes of information overload, the author discussed frequently described symptoms of the phenomenon. A general feeling of information

overload, as described by Bawden and Robinson (2009), is usually associated with feelings of being overwhelmed combined with a loss of control over a specific situation. When a

person’s information processing requirements exceeds his or her information processing capacity, information overload is the case. More information reduces the person’s reasoning and his or her decision-making capabilities, and it leads to less knowledge (Eppler and Mengis, 2009). Schick et al. (1990) stated that a general lack of perspective, cognitive strain and stress were typical symptoms describing the feeling of information overload.

According to Sparrow (1999), managers felt like they were ‘drowning’ in a sea of information when experiencing information overload. ‘’At a personal level, information

overload is associated with feelings of inability to cope and inadequacy of knowledge and has been identified as a source of stress’’ (Sparrow, 1999, p. 144). Stanley and Clipsham (1997)

described the phenomenon of information overload as the inability to use information in order to make a decision – so called ‘’paralysis by analysis’’.

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14 2.4.3 Countermeasures

To reduce the impact of these several negative effects, particular countermeasures for each of the five causes are developed. Some examples from Edmunds and Morris (2000): improve personal information management (PIM), improve screening skills for information, focus on creating value-added information, visualization (use of tables and graphs),

customization of information or decision support systems (DSS). Other possible mechanisms to cope with information overload are pull – and push technologies, or information quality filters (Edmunds and Morris, 2000). Pull technologies basically filter data in an effective way to reduce information overload, and push technologies deliver the information according to pre-determined filters (Edmunds and Morris, 2000). The focus of these filtering mechanisms is obtaining only the most useful or relevant information. Furthermore, Eppler and Mengis (2004) stated that improving information characteristics increases an individual’s capacity to process information, which can be seen as a countermeasure to reduce information

overload.

Iastrebova (2006, p. 93) mentioned three different mechanisms to cope with information overload. First of all, human-enabled coping is aimed at increasing an

individual’s information processing capacity by knowledgeable reasoning, selection and a more efficient use of limited cognitive resources (Iastrebova, 2006, p. 93).

Second, organization-enabled coping is aimed at filtering information by organizational restructuring, adjusting information management activities, and executing clear cultural – and behavioral standards within the organization (Iastrebova, 2006, p. 93).

Finally, technology-enabled coping is aimed at filtering information by the use of new technologies or tools (e.g. decision support tools) (Iastrebova, 2006, p. 93). To cope with information overload, a mix of these three mechanisms is crucial for success.

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Nevertheless, the impact of these countermeasures and coping mechanisms remains

restricted since human information processing capacity is limited (Eppler and Mengis, 2004).

Figure 3: Framework information overload (Eppler and Mengis, 2004, p. 330)

2.5 Conceptual research model

Based on the research objective and an in-depth review of existing literature, a conceptual research model is developed. The model aims to provide a well-thought

understanding of the factors influencing the concept of information overload and its impact on managerial decision-making performance.

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The model is based on the framework of Eppler and Mengis (2004), combined with the work of Iastrebova (2006) and Borgman (1994). The five variables (dependent, independent and moderating) of interest follow from the findings from previous sub paragraphs.

As shown in figure 3, personal characteristics, organizational characteristics and information technologies (IT) are the independent variables. These variables are based on the findings from the previous paragraph. Because of this research’ method, these three independent variables would be most appropriate to measure. An individual’s perceived information overload is defined as moderating or intermediary variable in this model. And lastly, managerial decision-making quality is defined as the dependent variable.

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Based on the theories from paragraph 2.4, the following propositions were built to measure the model’s depicted relationships within this research’ single EU Airlines case:

Proposition 1:

The more experienced the individual decision-maker, the higher its information processing capacity (IPC). Experience makes the individual less sensitive to information overload.

Proposition 2:

The organizational structure – and culture determines its sensitivity towards perceived information overload.

Proposition 3:

Information technologies expected to increase the individuals perceived information overload.

Proposition 4:

The higher the perceived information overload, the lower the expected individuals’ decision-making quality.

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3. Research design

3.1 Description of case study

In order to identify success and failure factors for managers towards handling of their information as well as how competitiveness is affected, a single case study approach will be conducted. This will be done via analyses of semi-structured interviews at firm level from EU Airlines’ managers of different departments. EU Airlines is one of the biggest European Airlines, anonymous because of privacy reasons. Based on this research’ objective, a deductive approach is most appropriate. A brief literature review resulted in a conceptual research model based on theories and ideas, which should be tested by using data (Saunders and Lewis, 2009, p. 61)

A case study approach is chosen since it allows for a detailed research of a small group of managers. These managers or individual firm’s decision-makers are defined as the focal unit of analysis. The main reason for this qualitative approach is to gain an in-depth understanding of the complex topic of information overload and its causal relationship with managerial decision-making. Avison and Myers (1995) recommended a qualitative approach for research within the pluralistic field of information management and science. Qualitative research has the ability to expose complexity according to Miles, Huberman and Saldana (2003). On this basis, a qualitative approach is most appropriate for this research.

This case is expected to be appropriate to answer the research question since EU Airlines’ managers apparently faced several difficulties in managerial decision-making related to information overload. This was based on the two pre-tests done before the actual data was collected. These pre-tests were done to determine whether interview questions needed to be changed or if additional questions should be added.

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While the company is working on the development of different Decision Support Systems (DSS) and the implementation of integrated Information Systems (IS), it would be interesting to analyze whether and how information overload experienced by managers currently affects their managerial decision-making quality.

According to Yin (2003), performing a case study is a proper way to conduct explanatory qualitative research. Furthermore, Yin (2009) stated that case studies are the favored method when ‘how’ or ‘why’ questions are being posed and when the investigator has little or no control over the events. In this case, a case study will be done to better understand the complex issue of information overload present in a real-life situation,

providing a hopefully rich picture of what is happening at the moment in the Airline industry.

3.2 Data collection

The qualitative data was collected via semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted in April and May 2018. Semi-structured interviews are often used within the field of qualitative research since a more exhaustive understanding will be achieved due to the possibility of asking additional questions (Saunders, 2011, p. 391). In addition, the researcher is allowed to work flexibly with the interview guide and respondents have the opportunity to provide more information about certain topic (Bryman, 2012, p. 470).

In total, eight people have been interviewed within EU Airlines with an average interview duration of 30 to 60 minutes. A total of 14 managers were invited, which implies a response rate equal to 57%. All of the interviewees held managerial positions at different

departments (cross-referencing) within the company and are frequently involved in making high-value decisions on a daily basis.

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An overview of the interviews is presented in table 1, including each interviewee’s function and department within the organization. The interviewee’s identities were anonymized (A through G now) because of privacy and confidentiality purposes. Interviewees were selected by purposeful sampling, as they are particularly selected in a way to what extent these managers are daily involved in decision making while at the same time dealing with large amounts of information.

The main theme or goal of the interviews is to investigate whether the interviewees actually experience or have experienced information overload and to what extent this affects or has affected their decision-making capabilities. The questions were based on the conceptual framework (see Figure 4), of which the depicted (independent) variables are the result from an in-depth study of earlier literature. The interview script can be found in Appendix I. During all interviews, field notes were made since Eisenhardt (1989, p. 538) defines field notes as ‘’a running commentary to oneself and/or research team’’. After each conducted interview, the interview was directly transcribed in order to be able to analyze the obtained data. All interviews were recorded (with permission of all interviewees) to ensure this research’ reliability and transparency.

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Table 1: Overview of interviews

Department within EU Airlines Function interviewees Interview date Operations Control Center (OCC) (A) Duty Manager Operations (DMO) April 29, 2018 Cargo (B) Director Business Development &

Program Management

May 1, 2018

Cargo (C) Director Cargo Control Center May 3, 2018

Operations Control Center (OCC) (D) Duty Manager Operations (DMO) May 4, 2018 Operations Control Center (OCC) (E) Duty Manager Operations (DMO) May 8, 2018 Hub Control Center (HCC) (F) Duty Area Manager May 14, 2018 Operations Control Center (OCC) (G) Duty Manager Operations (DMO) May 17, 2018 Passenger Services (H) Unit Manager Preparation & Boarding

EUR

May 18, 2018

3.3 Data analysis

First of all, data collection and analysis are interrelated processes within this study (Corbin and Strauss, 1990). According to them (1990), collecting and analyzing data systematically and sequentially enables the researcher to capture all important aspects for this research’ objective.

After transcribing the interviews, the data collected was organized by coding of transcripts and writing summaries, which also implies a significant reduction of the amount of data. Thereafter, the search for patterns in data began. To analyze the provided interview data, the computer software package NVivo 12 was used.

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NVivo is able to record and link ideas in multiple ways, and it provides an exploration of emerging data patterns and common themes (Richards, 1999, p. 4). In this specific case this appears to be a helpful software program for analyzing unstructured data.

First of all, a word cloud (see Figure 5) is created to provide an overview of the most frequently used words, which leads to a better specification of categories. Note: the word cloud is a combination of Dutch and English words since the interviewees preferred answering the questions in Dutch. Before coding with words and phrases in NVivo, some pre-codes were made by highlighting and circling particular quotes worthy of attention (Saldana, 2015, p. 20).

Finally, initial or open coding was applied, with selected main codes structured into categories based on the five different variables from the conceptual framework (Saldana, 2015, p.115). For an overview of the codes used to categorize the data, see Appendix II. A within-case analysis was conducted which provides insights in unique patterns of each specific case (Eisenhardt, 1989).

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23 3.4 Criteria for interpreting findings

According to Yin (2003, p. 18), four criteria must be met in order to maximize the quality of the research design and ensure the credibility of the research findings. These criteria are: construct validity, internal validity, external validity and reliability (Yin, 2003, p. 18).

Construct validity refers to identifying the correct operational measures for the

concepts being studied. A variety of managers, from different departments, with various years of managerial experience within the company will be interviewed. Since this provides multiple perspectives about the same subject, the construct validity of this research will be strengthened due to data triangulation (Thurmond, 2001).

Internal validity refers to testing the causal relationship between variables and results,

or the correctness of measurement. This is applied within this research since propositions are formed based on theory from earlier literature and finally the results will be compared. When predicted and observed patterns are similar, the results might strengthen the internal validity of the case study (Yin, 2013, p. 143). Furthermore, the interview questions cover all variables from the conceptual research model which increases the internal validity.

External validity refers to the generalizability of measured results to different domains

or settings. ‘’One of the most often cited critiques of case study research methodology claims

that research results cannot be generalized’’ (Iastrebova, 2006, p. 122). Since the research

scope is limited within our single case study, obtaining generalizability to all business organizations is infeasible. However, transferability can offer an alternative support regarding the findings of this research. According to Guba and Lincoln (1989, p. 241-242), the creation of thick description is most relevant when providing external validity within qualitative research. Thoroughly describing context, time and place will increase the external validity, that is, transferability.

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And finally, reliability refers to the repeatability of this study, or the stability and precision of measurements. Transparency is ensured in this research since all interview transcripts are available at the author and can be requested anytime (Appendix III).

Furthermore, reliability is ensured since all interviewees reviewed their transcripts in order to provide verifications of all the answers. Overall, as research procedures are transparent the processes of this research can be repeated.

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4. Results

Following the description of the research design above, this section presents the main research results. For clarity reasons, only the main findings from the single case study will be presented including some relevant and supportive quotes from the respondents.

All of the eight interviewees held managerial positions at EU Airlines. Of these eight managers, four of them are working in the Operations Control Centre (OCC), where their main responsibility is executing the daily timetable of worldwide flights as accurately as possible. Two of the eight managers are operating in the Cargo department, which is basically responsible for transporting a broad variety of goods worldwide. One manager from the Hub Control Center (HCC) was interviewed, who is responsible for the departure of all airplanes (from the home-based airport) as punctual as possible. Finally, the last

respondent was manager at EU Airlines Passenger Services, who is responsible for all passenger-related processes at the gates (e.g. boarding, check in) within Europe. Table 2 shows the interviewees years of managerial experience. In terms of gender, seven of the respondents (A to G) were males, and one of the respondents (H) was a female.

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Table 2: Summary interviewees

Interviewee Gender Years of managerial experience

Function

A Male 3 years Duty Manager Operations (DMO)

B Male 30 years Director Business Development & Program Management

C Male 7 years Director Cargo Control Center

D Male 20 years Duty Manager Operations (DMO)

E Male 10 years Duty Manager Operations (DMO)

F Male 34 years Duty Area Manager

G Male 20 years Duty Manager Operations (DMO)

H Female 7 years Unit Manager Preparation & Boarding EUR

4.1 Decision maker’s personal characteristics

To measure the effect of personal characteristics on a perceived information overload for each individual, this research mainly focuses on the factors experience and job title. Personal skills of the individual are difficult to measure when conducting interviews and the chance of biased results would be higher.

Experience was generally found as the most important personal characteristic that influences a person’s perceived information overload. Findings showed that the most experienced managers ought to be least vulnerable to information overload. Through the years, as a manager you learn how to distinguish main – and side issues (in original: ‘’door de

jaren heen leer je hoofd – en bijzaken van elkaar te onderscheiden’’) (Respondent G, 2018).

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According to respondent G, DMO within the Operations and Control Centre, all four DMOs were selected based on their ability of appropriately coping with huge amounts of information they are exposed to. They have been tested during a mailbox training, which is a primary element in their assessment (Respondent G, 2018). These tests basically examine ones’ information processing capacity, which differs per individual. The OCC explicitly selects their managers based on the individual’s degree of vulnerability to information overload, to find the most information-intensive individuals. Respondent A from the OCC for instance mentioned that he learned to cope with information overload at the KMA (Royal Military Academy). ‘’To prevent a feeling of indecision, it is important to just choose a direction (or

make a decision)’’ (Respondent A, 2018). These findings support the idea that an individual’s

function partially explains to what extent the individual is likely to experience information overload.

Another important result after analysis of the interviews is a person’s attitude towards new technologies. A generally accepted conclusion found is that as a manager, involvement in new IT processes and developments is strongly recommended to cope with information overload.The majority of respondents stated that they all were in a way

involved with IT which is in their favor of coping with large amounts of information. Some of the respondents already have an IT background, for example respondent G, who worked as manager in EU Airlines’ data center. Another illustrative example, as stated by respondent F (2018): ‘’Despite my age, I think I am one of the most technologically progressive people

within the HCC department.’’ Concluding, managers open to new technologies are generally

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Overall, these results are in line with the theory of Eppler and Mengis (2004), who mentioned experience as one of the reasons for information overload to occur.

The findings state that managerial experience indeed positively affects an individual’s information processing capacity, or its perceived information overload (which lowers as experience increases). Managerial experience positively affects the decision-making capacity, from experience including the ability to process information.

4.2 Organizational characteristics

To measure the effect of EU Airlines’ organizational structure – and culture on perceived managerial information overload, explicit questions were asked about organizational factors influencing manager’s perceived information overload. The main reason mentioned by the majority of respondents in which the organizational culture impacts their perceived

information overload is because EU Airlines is a bureaucratic company. Most of the

respondents used frequently terms like hierarchical, outdated, log, formal rules, division of tasks and control, all underlining the bureaucratic caliber of EU Airlines. Basically, managers at every management level want to contribute to justify their position within the

organization. As Respondent E (2018) explained, ‘’all managers have to say something about

a possible choice, everyone must give his opinion’’ (in original: ‘’iedere manager moet zijn plasje doen over een mogelijke keuze, iedereen moet een mening vormen’’). Moreover,

Respondent D mentioned the fact that within EU Airlines there are several ongoing developments, which first must be approved by everyone, before they can actually be implemented. This increases manager’s perceived information overload, and it hinders the speed – and sometimes even quality of managerial decision-making (Respondent E, 2018).

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In terms of organization-enabled coping, the company implemented ‘’moving your world’’, a strategy that basically shifted responsibility for making decisions to lower management levels (Respondent D, 2018). ‘’Let more employees make independent decisions and let them

solve their problems themselves’’ (Respondent D, 2018).

Additionally, two of the interviewees compared EU Airlines with a Ministry of Aviation because of the company’s old-fashioned communication flows and outdated information systems, which has a negative impact on managerial decision-making (Respondent C, 2018). The biggest challenge today, organization wise, is to convince the relatively aged employees to respond to time, because of the urgent necessity to modernize communication flows within the company and integration of information systems (Respondent D, 2018). This underlines the importance of the organization-enabled coping strategy, ‘’moving your

world’’, which aims to change the bureaucratic nature of EU Airlines.

Besides, since EU Airlines is active in an operational environment, some of the respondents mentioned the fact that the organization’s ‘’24/7 business’’ contributes significantly to the information overload these managers experience. Respondent H explained that she receives a lot of operational e-mail during the weekends as well. This generates activities which need to be done in the weekend, as every Monday at the Passenger Services department starts with a performance meeting, Respondent H stated that it is unavoidable to ‘work’ during weekends. Respondent H also mentioned EU Airlines’ intranet and news app, which increases perceived information overload. Both contain useful information for her as a manager, nevertheless she wants the relevant information to present itself instead of her actively searching for it (Respondent H, 2018).

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Furthermore, the company’s merger problems were a common topic during most of the interviews. Since the company merged more than 14 years ago with another large European airline, AB Airlines in this case, both companies still work with 2 separated operational systems while there is one single booking – and pricing system. As stated by respondent B (2018), ‘’it is a sort of a semi-merger with two different business policies’’. Concluding, while the two companies have been merged for years now, both companies’ IT systems still have not been integrated yet which definitely contributes to perceived

information overload by managers. Respondent C explained that this high diversity of information from different systems makes the decision-making process more complicated. In addition, he mentioned that the size of the organization significantly contributes to the problem of information overload managers experience (Respondent C, 2018). He underlined the need for one integrated information system which would make the decision-making process faster and easier (Respondent C, 2018).

Across different departments of EU Airlines, consistent results were observed with regard to the effect of the organizations culture – and/or structure, on perceived managerial information overload. Bureaucracy, the operational environment and merger problems were stated by the majority of respondents as organizational characteristics that increase their perceived information overload.

4.3 Information Technology (IT)

All eight managers stated that technology both helped – and hindered them in their decision-making capabilities during their careers as manager. Moreover, according to the majority of respondents, information technology is a cause of higher perceived information overload, as well as a countermeasure to reduce perceived information overload.

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Especially the managers with more than 20 years of experience, mentioned that the problem of information overload worsened in recent years due to technology. For example, 20 or 30 years ago, people did not always expect immediate answers as they do now when they send an e-mail.

Furthermore, the majority of interviewees indicated that a lot of people do not use e-mail in a correct way. For example, using e-e-mail to ‘’reply all’’ while only one person needs the message. Or expecting answers from people involved by email in ‘’CC’’. Respondent H (2018) simply mentioned that ‘’they should put her in the ‘to’ instead of ‘CC’ in order to get a

response’’. A possible organization-enabled coping mechanism for this e-mail problems

might be a change in the organization’s culture in terms of e-mail behavior. Formulate clear standards and rules regarding e-mail policy within the organization to prevent managerial information overload from e-mails.

Within the Passenger Services department, they recently adopted a new intern information system, called Trello. According to respondent H, the new system has

aggravated the problem of information overload. The interviewee described Trello as a kind of Facebook, which contains a lot of information, and anyone can add his or her information to it. Before this system was used, the information was sent as records via e-mail. Now employees have to obtain the information themselves from Trello instead of the relevant information ‘presents’ itself (via e-mail). ‘’IT wise, I do not think it is an improvement’’ (Respondent H, 2018).

The most helpful technology according to most of the respondents are the

dashboards that visualize their data (e.g. performance information). However, some of the interviewees mentioned that dashboards could be better adapted to their wishes.

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For example, two of the respondents mentioned that they only wanted the most important information visualized on one screen, not hidden in multiple tabs. According to respondent H (2018), ‘’Dashboards must be end-user friendly’’.

Respondent E explained about technology that, it helps him in his daily life to make calculations about factors as the weather, airport capacity or cancellations. ‘’Calculations

that I cannot simply make on the back of a beermat’’ (in original: ‘’berekeningen die ik niet zomaar even op de achterkant van een bierviltje kan maken’’) (Respondent E, 2018).

Respondent A argued that technology helped him during his career as a manager since choices over the years could be more and more fine-tuned due to the improvements of information systems. Nowadays, any individual decision-maker has more knowledge at their disposal, and choices can be made more quickly. Back in the days, one had to wait for a phone call to obtain the information, while today the information is visible in everyone’s dashboard.

Within EU Airlines, there is a lot of resistance from employees against the

introduction of new information systems. This occasionally leads to clashes in the workplace according to the interviewees. In most of the cases, the resistance comes from relatively older employees, as they believe they can carry out their work exactly the same as they did 20 years ago, with just a pen, some paper and a telephone line. However, as respondent G stated, these employees do not realize that the company now has twice as many airplanes, while operating with the same number of employees as then.

Moreover, the use of advanced communication tools or devices is not widely supported yet at EU Airlines. The majority of respondents mentioned Skype for Business as advanced technology/tool, but they are actually disappointed that it is hardly used yet.

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According to Respondent G, this has to do with the ‘bureaucratic’ and ‘old’ company’s culture again. Old in terms of the company and age of employees. The organizational culture is lacking a drive to learn, change and innovate.

In view of technology-enabled coping mechanisms, across all departments within EU Airlines, decision support tools are being developed. This, in order to prevent managers from being overloaded with information and support them in their decision-making. These tools serve as support for the human brain by filtering information, all to avoid or reduce

information overload. As highlighted by respondent G (2018) from the OCC: ‘’our operation

is so complex, with so many factors and players, that is almost impossible to make proper multidimensional decisions based on just gut feeling’’. Such decision support tools support

these managers in making a choice, by presenting several decision options. Moreover, since these tools increase the effectiveness of processes, managers have more time for their other managerial tasks.

Respondent G (2018) gave a relatively simplified example of such a tradeoff situation, where a decision support tool might have helped him in making a decision, that he faced the day before the interview. An EU Airlines airplane consumed more fuel than usual due to a technical problem. This implied that the plane from Kuala Lumpur could not arrive in Amsterdam without a stop. Then the Duty Manager Operations (DMO) has to make a decision to either make a stop or transfer the passengers to other airlines. In this case, the decision made was a stop since a lot of passengers could not be transferred to other airlines in Kuala Lumpur. As mentioned, this was a relatively simple decision because it was about one single flight.

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Nevertheless, the complexity of operations can simply be too high for individuals, with 150 planes, a crew consisting of 10.000 people, 120 different gates at the airport and finally all different flight paths and destinations. The decision support tools serve as optimizers for the decisions managers make.

Despite the perceived added value of the decision support tools, a manager cannot blindly trust a tool based on just data. As explained by respondents D and E (2018), common sense is still essential in the process of decision-making. ‘’A computer will never have

empathy’’ (in original: ‘’empathie gaat een computer nooit krijgen’’) (Respondent A, 2018).

In the end, the work could be automated, but for now the human factor remains necessary to make the final decision (Respondent E, 2018).

Concluding, findings across different departments indicate that information technology indeed increases an individual’s perceived information overload. However, information technologies (e.g. decision support tools or dashboards) can also be used as technology-enabled coping mechanisms to reduce perceived information overload. For instance, these technologies can provide assistance in filtering of information and access to the relevant information. Table 3 summarizes each respondent’s main IT cause of

information overload, as well as each main information technology, tool or system used to make decisions.

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Table 3: IT - information overload and decision-making

Interviewee Main IT which causes information overload

Main IT used to make decisions

A E-mail and WhatsApp Internal – and external (e.g. weather) systems B Internal reports (load factor reports) New variants Excel Pivot

C E-mail E-mail and internal Information Systems

D Office 365 (mainly Outlook) Internal tools

E Different Information Systems Internal tool (that advices number of cancellations) F Walkie Talkie and telephone HCC view (department specific tool)

G Internal reports Internal Information Systems (called MSK)

H E-mail and telephone Dashboards and e-mail

4.4 Perceived information overload

The majority of the respondents were familiar with the term information overload. The managers who were not familiar with the term before, understood the meaning of

information overload after a brief explanation by the researcher. All of the interviewees stated they have experienced information overload during their careers as a manager. Table 4 shows some relevant quotes to get an idea of each particular respondent’s attitude

towards information overload.

Some of the managers mentioned internal reports as main cause to become overloaded with information that actually negatively affects their decision-making. These reports contain too much irrelevant information according to the managers.

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For example, within the Cargo department, Respondent B mentioned different load factor reports as main cause for him to experience information overload. Load factor reports provide information about the capacity of the cargo planes. ‘’Different reports in different

systems, all with the same goal. However, all of the reports tell you something else. It makes me crazy’’ (Respondent B, 2018).

Others acknowledged that the amount of daily e-mails they receive is the main source of perceived information overload. Managing these daily e-mails (read and/or reply)

sometimes leads to stress argued by the majority of interviewees. Information overload could lead to stress since you lose the overview as a manager. Or as mentioned by almost all of the respondents: ‘’you cannot see the forest through the trees anymore’’ (in original: ‘’je kunt door de bomen het bos niet meer zien’’). As a manager, you try to answer all of the questions you get and handle everything, but the amount of information experienced is too much. Especially in situations as the beginning of a new function, or as respondent H

recently experienced, reorganizations within a department.

Next to the decision support tools, the most common mechanism used by the respondents to cope with the information overload, was filtering of their e-mails and reports. This can be seen as human-enabled coping mechanisms. The majority of the respondents filters their e-mail manually, most of them on urgency or based on the sender. Regarding reports, the majority of respondents explained they have learned through

experience which reports they can ignore. Another often-mentioned human-enabled coping mechanism is blocking of time in the agenda of individuals.

The majority of respondents stated that they either ‘’lock their doors’’ or work at home sometimes, mainly to update their email to avoid or reduce the experienced information overload, or to be able to perform their daily managerial activities.

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In the workplace, they are disturbed too often by others. As respondent H explained,

working one day at the office equals half a day working at home in terms of amount of work.

By contrast, respondent F from the Hub Control Center (HCC) explicitly stated for him in person e-mail never has a been a cause of being overloaded with information. He mentioned that ‘’e-mail is something you simply do not have to open, you can ignore it’’ (Respondent F, 2018). According to him, his telephone and walkie-talkie were the main cause of information overload. Especially the walkie-talkie is very intrusive, and the people, commonly at the gates, expect immediate answers or information from you. This can be stressful as you cannot turn the device off. He gave an example of a situation where several airplanes leave at the same time, while multiple problems pop up at various aircrafts. ‘’Too many flights

with problems at the same time negatively affects my state of mind. Overwhelmed by information’’ (Respondent F, 2018).

On the contrary, all four DMOs mentioned that stress within their function is usually the cause of information underload, or a shortage of information. Respondent G explained that once an airplane had disappeared from the radar, yet he had no idea what happened with the plane. This is an illustration of a shortage of available information, which led to

managerial stress due to ignorance. Another DMO, respondent A, mentioned that

information overload does not occur to him that often anymore. He admits that the OCC has so many information systems, that ‘’if you do not know which system to look at, are lost as

there are just too many separate systems without the full overview’’ (Respondent A, 2018).

Though, after working for a while in a certain function, individuals will train themselves a pattern in which systems to look. An individual learns how to manage the available information and know what information can be left behind.

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‘’You become wise through damage and shame’’ (in original: ‘’door schade en schande word je wijs’’) (Respondent A, 2018).

Another manager from the OCC mentioned the need for one integrated information system which provides information as well as advice on decisions. Now they use a lot of different systems and tools to get the relevant information. A lot of these systems are

outdated from the 60s and 70s. Bundling of the available relevant information from different sources into one tool is highly recommended by the majority of respondents.

Finally, the rise of WhatsApp contributed significantly to the information overload problem faced by managers. As one of the managers said, ‘’WhatsApp is a helpful tool since

it allows us to communicate quicker compared with e-mail. However, you end up with different work-related WhatsApp groups which increases the experienced information overload’’ (Respondent H, 2018).

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Table 4: Quotes information overload

Interviewee Examples and feelings of information overload A - ‘’It does not happen to me that often.’’

- ‘’You cannot see the forest through the trees anymore because of all different

available information systems.’’

- ‘’After a while, you teach yourself a pattern of which Information Systems to obtain

your information from.’’

B - ‘’Different reports in different Information Systems with the same goal but all tell you

something else.’’

- ‘’8 different load-factor reports. None of them were correct. However, each report

had some facts I needed to know. It makes me crazy!’’

C - ‘’I always want to keep my mailbox under control. That is a lot of work. Sometimes

impossible. It makes me naïve.’’

- ‘’Allergic to those red warning dots in Outlook.’’ - Makes me feel grumpy and/or restless.

D - ‘’Just sit on your hands for a while. Don’t immediately take all the information. A lot

of information doesn’t even come in.’’

E - ‘’When I have to make a decision, I rarely experience information overload. I will not

let that happen.’

F - ‘’Problem with flights A, B and C. All with same departure times. I cannot see the

forest through the trees anymore. Does it ever stop?’

- ‘’Sometimes it is just too much, too complex.’’

G - ‘’I am capable of ignoring the irrelevant information.’’

- ‘’I can tell the difference between main- and side issues. You learn that during your

career as a manager.’’

H - ‘’Sometimes I do not know where to start. 100 outstanding e-mails. Probably only

10% is important to me. Yet I have to open them all.’’

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Finally, the impact the information overload on managerial decision-making

performance is evaluated. The overall conclusion about managerial decision-making as stated by the majority of the respondents was the following quote: ‘’No decision is a bad

decision.’’ Managers assume that any decision they make, is the right one based on the

information these managers have available at a specific moment in time. Important within an operational environment where EU Airlines is active, since the company is subject to rapid changes. As a result of information overload, several respondents admitted that they have delayed decisions, but none of the respondents reported hurried decisions as a consequence of information overload.

The question whether information overload ever led to delayed decisions was

answered in the affirmative by most of the respondents. Respondent E gave an example of a delayed decision he made the week prior to the interview. The national weather service forecasted stormy weather for the next morning, which was communicated last-minute. The Duty Manager Operations (DMO) within the Operations and Control Centre, must respond by cancelling flights for the next day. However, Respondent E received different information, from various sources, about the wind and its expected effect on the airport’s runway

capacity. Respondent E (2018) explained: ‘’Normally, we have 68 landings per hour. Because

of the wind, person A stated only 40 landings per hour were possible, person B said 50 landings per hour, and person C said 45 landings per hour. It was tough for me to make a choice because of the various sources, each with a different opinion. This has led to a late decision.’’ The result of this specific example of a delayed decision was that flights were

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Overall, this has a negative impact on the passenger experience. Respondent E stated that looking back, he should have made his decision earlier by basically listening to just one of the individuals providing the information.

Decisions on number of flights to be cancelled remains challenging for managers since every cancelled flight costs the company between 80.000 and 90.00 euros

(Respondent D, 2018). This means that decisions must be well-considered, which is a possible explanation for the delaying factor. However, as Respondent D honestly admitted, often you already know from the beginning of such situations that delaying a decision is not necessary as you will never obtain the complete picture in order to make the optimal decision. Uncertainty factors (e.g. weather) play a role.

Respondent C mentioned that he once delayed a decision at EU Airlines’ Cargo department, because he was influenced by too many other people (information overload) about a particular vacancy, while his opinion was already established. In the end, the manager changed his mind and subsequently made the wrong decision. Another manager within EU Airlines Cargo department, respondent B, explained that delaying a decision is never right. He explicitly stated that he ‘’consciously considers when not making a decision is

more expensive or worse than making an eventually better decision’’ (Respondent B, 2018).

Furthermore, some of the interviewees mentioned all those different reports that negatively affected their decision-making, since the information overload hindered the speed of

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When asked whether information overload led to hurried decisions, the answer was a ‘’no’’ from all the interviewees. The majority of respondents answered that hurried decisions are often made, however mainly due to time pressure. The respondents

mentioned that these hurried decisions were not made to prevent or reduce information overload, but because they had to make a decision on a certain moment. According to respondent C, it is a consideration of timing and urgency. ‘’What is the added value of

waiting? Would it change your decision?’’ (Respondent C, 2018).

However as mentioned by respondent D, these hurried decisions were not always necessary. ‘’Afterwards you think, I could have waited with making the decision’’ (in original:

‘’ik had even op mijn handen kunnen gaan zitten’’) (Respondent D, 2018). Overall, each

individual considers his or her decisions as the right one based on the available information. Regarding the impact of information overload on managerial decision-making quality, support is found that information overload might lead to delayed decisions, which in turns hinders the speed of the decision-making process. Eventually, this negatively impacts decision-making quality.

Drowning in information : the effects of information overload on managerial decision-making quality