Information Load Revisited: A Theoretical Model

The objective of investigating information load is to predict atid iinprove individual performance, since performance deteriorates when information load exceeds the overload point. Models of inei}tal workload (an alternate term for information load) developed in psychology feature mostly task and subject-related intluences on mental workload. These models, however, have not yet migrated into manageinent research. 'llie current research develops an improved model of the antecedents of information load that explicitly recognizes. in addition to time pressure, the influence ofboth information technologyand information attributes such as uncertainty, turbulence, and coinplexity. Selected propositions are presented. Such a model offers an intellectual framework to which future research can relate.