Information Overload and the Use of Data Analytics and Visualization Tools in Organizations

Introduction

The remarkable amount of digital information created worldwide and exchanged on a daily basis in organizations of all types, and society in general, has been redefining the idea of information usefulness, knowledge value, and perception (McKeown and Philip, 2003). Numerous sources of data in a digital information era often prompt confusion when considering the fast spread of ideas and knowledge that are not necessarily trustworthy or reliable. The 21^st century has been marked by the phenomenon of excessive information and disinformation parallelly, characterized by a notable misuse of information for political, economic, and personal gains that in many cases are catastrophic. The notion that information is becoming so fragile now that it is “free” for all in a web-based format could not have been conceived by the first guardians of information behind church and library walls. From the Guttenberg Bible (c. 1450) to the worldwide web, the invention of Tim Berners-Lee (1989), the relationship between humans and knowledge has been transformative in many significant and troubling ways.

Through a process of turning data into information and knowledge, society has been reshaping its organizational system, and knowledge is an asset that must be used to increase productivity and the well-being of knowledge workers (Mohanta, Kannan and Thooyamani, 2006). The approach to information consumption as a powerful organizational strategy is strictly related to the organizations’ commitment to allow decision makers to act on the most up-to-date information about business processes, procedures, and products. Proper data processing and data analysis must be succinctly presented with effective data visualization methods and techniques, so that information is easily processed and consumed, translating in quick operations and decision making by individuals in all levels of the organization. This is especially true of most modern boardrooms, where organizations are encouraged to have independent directors that may not have the same industry or organizational expertise as non-independent directors (Roy, et. al., 2017). Problems such as the aforementioned information overload (too much information with excessive data that overburdens and prohibits the ability to assimilate because of cognitive limitations & time constraints) and information asymmetry (difference between information available to management and what is presented to the board (especially with independent directors) hamper the decision-making process and subject the organization to legal liability and operational viability (Roy, et. al., 2017), ultimately affecting profitability and competitiveness.

The use of visual data analytics tools can reduce the problem of information overload and the amount of information that employees need to process on daily basis (Dillon, Vossen and Rastrick, 2013). Areas that have been investigated in the literature and the study discussed here have covered information overload and the use of information systems in organizations. The studies also highlighted the human aspect of data management and production that decisively impacts profitability, creativity, and competitiveness in organizations. The main questions that have been addressed in these studies focused on two general ideas. The first one is the impact of information overload on productivity in the work environment, and the second is the extent that organizations use data analytics tools to deal with information overload (IO). The principal benefits of addressing these questions are the ability for organizations to recognize that information overload is a serious problem and help devise certain mechanisms that will contribute to business processes improvement and business performance and pipeline success management.