Andrea Seaton Kelton

The Effects of Information Presentation Format on Judgment and Decision Making: A Review of the Information Systems Research

ABSTRACT: This paper reviews the information systems and accounting information systems research on the effects of information presentation format on judgment and decision making. We limit our review to static (noninteractive) formats only, where the user cannot manipulate or change the characteristics of the task, including information presentation format. We provide a conceptual framework, describing the role of information presentation in individual decision making. Additionally, we develop an integrated model of information presentation research based upon the theory of cognitive fit, and use the model to summarize the prior literature and provide suggestions for future research.

The Effects of Qualitative Overload on Technology Acceptance

Accounting professionals often feel stress from qualitative overload in their jobs. Research in the area of technology acceptance has not considered the potential negative effects of qualitative overload on user intentions. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of this stressor on intention to use technology. A study was conducted with graduate accounting students using Audit Command Language (ACL) just prior to graduation, proxies for new staff accountants. Results indicate that qualitative overload mediates the relationship between perceived ease of use and intention to use ACL. As the perception of difficulty in using ACL increased, so did the perceived qualitative overload stress which in turn led to a negative relationship with intention to use ACL.

How much is enough? An investigation of nonprofessional investors information search and stopping rule use

Regulators are concerned that the information overload in the current Internet-based disclosure environment may cause investors to overlook important information. To gain a better understanding of the information set gathered by investors, this study incorporates theories from information systems research to examine the cognitive stopping rules used by investors to terminate information search. We survey nonprofessional investors to gain insight into what information they gather and when they determine they have enough information to stop searching and make an investment decision. Demographic analysis shows that investor characteristics are associated with the particular stopping rule used. In addition, results show that the stopping rule used affects the amount and type of information gathered. We find that, in general, investors include very little financial information in their search, and the amount gathered depends on the stopping rule employed. Our results call into question the decision usefulness of accounting information for nonprofessional investors and should be of interest to accounting information systems researchers, regulators, and accounting practitioners.

An assessment of accounting journal quality based on departmental lists

Inevitably, the career success of academicians is partially dependent on the journals in which their manuscripts are published. Accordingly, knowledge of which journals are considered prestigious or of dubious quality is critical to an academician. Fortunately, several rankings of accounting journals have been published, providing insights to manuscript authors, and this study includes a discussion of several prior studies that have, by various methods, attempted to accurately compare the quality of accounting journals. Critically, however, this study also describes a survey of accredited business schools that submitted their departmental journal lists which were employed by those institutions in the assessment of faculty publications. Those departmental journal lists with multiple quality tiers were used to construct a journal ranking based on the evaluative, departmental reality faced by academicians rather than citation counts or expressed perceptions of journals. While the journal ranking of this study reveals consistency with many previous studies regarding the top five accounting journals, the study also indicates that departmental journal lists, which are reflective of the priorities of the schools that created them, often ascribe value to the diversity of journals that focus on specializations but not journals that are predominantly oriented toward accounting practitioners.