Fostering the digital mindset to mitigate technostress: an empirical study of empowering individuals for using digital technologies
Abstract
Purpose
Technostress reduces employees' work performance and increases their turnover intentions, such that technostress harms organizations' success. This paper investigates how the digital mindset of employees, reflecting their cognitive filter while using digital technologies, influences reactions to techno-stressors.
Design/methodology/approach
In this quantitative study, the authors conducted a survey among 151 employees who regularly use digital technologies and encounter various techno-stressors in their daily work. To build this research model and evaluate the influence of employees’ digital mindset on technostress, the authors followed arguments from the transactional model of stress. The authors evaluated our research model using the covariance-based structural equation model.
Findings
The study findings reveal that employees’ digital mindset influences technostress. Employees with high levels of digital mindset react with less adverse effects on perceived techno-stressors. Further, the authors find that employees with high levels of digital mindset perform well and are satisfied with their job. The authors contribute to technostress research by revealing that digital mindset buffers the adverse effects of techno-stressors. The authors also contribute to research on digital mindset by showing that it influences psychological and behavioral reactions to techno-stressors.
Originality/value
This study develops and empirically tests an integrated model of technostress to explain how digital mindset mitigates technostress. The study findings outline relevant research avenues for studies investigating employees’ characteristics and technostress.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors extend their sincere appreciation to Associate Editor Christy Cheung for her valuable guidance and support during the review process. Authors’ special thanks to the reviewers for their constructive feedback. This study is based on the authors’ conference paper “Reducing Technostress: The Role of the Digital Mindset” presented at Twenty-eighth Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS), Minneapolis, US, authored by Valta et al. (2022). The authors also express their gratitude to all contributors at AMCIS 2022 for their valuable input.
Citation
Valta, M., Hildebrandt, Y. and Maier, C. (2024), "Fostering the digital mindset to mitigate technostress: an empirical study of empowering individuals for using digital technologies", Internet Research, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/INTR-09-2022-0766
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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