does information overload influences creativity in...

ISSN 2309-0081 Salamzadeh & Karimi (2016)

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www.irss.academyirmbr.com December 2016

International Review of Social Sciences Vol. 4 Issue.12

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Does Information Overload Influences Creativity in

Organizations? A Study in Iranian Context

YASHAR SALAMZADEH Public Administration PhD, Management Group,

Farabi Institute of Higher Education, Mehrshar, Iran

Email: [email protected]

Phone Number: +98- 9143468062

Fax Number: +98- 21- 55893622

HAMIDEH KARIMI Management Master Student, Farabi Institute of Higher Education, Mehrshar, Iran

Email: [email protected]

Abstract

Due to the development of the existing information and communication technologies and exposure to a

large volume of information and relations, human of today is wasting part of his/her energy and

concentration whether deliberately or accidentally, and thus his/her performance and creativity have

subsided as compared to the potential he/she has. In spite of the important role and positive/constructive

effects of information and its contributions to development of organizations, a side effect called Information

Overload has emerged. Hence, The research question is that “Is there a significant relationship between

Information Overload and it‟s side effects on Creativity of organization employees?” The research

framework places in the field of positivism and inductive researches. The research method is also field

study, using questionnaire technique and case study strategy. This study carried out on senior managers

and experts of Mammut Industrial Holding Group and according to the size of the target population, 108

samples were selected and used. The results confirmed four hypotheses and rejected the rest. In general,

research results revealed that with a decrease in Information Overload, creativity of employees grows. For

example, there is a significant relationship between the Information Overload, creative personality and the

scope of Internet. Finally, taking into consideration of the outputs obtained from this research, some

executable suggestions are provided to manage Information Overload in Organizations and in the real

Environment.

Key Words: Information, Information Overload, Information Overload Effects, Creativity, Employee‟s

Creativity, Mammut Industrial Holding Group.

Introduction

The 21st century human has found unprecedented access to training, information, and experience of other

humans with different areas of knowledge and science both in the real and the virtual worlds due to the

rapid scientific and technological revolutions and today’s information and communication context.

Therefore, human does not need to spend much energy to access what he wants and is living his life easier

than his ancestors in terms of welfare and facilities. However, in spite of all of these facilities and access to

this volume of information, knowledge, and experience, human has still not managed to improve his

personal and social life quality with the aid of these facilities. Therefore, access to information and

knowledge does not lead to creativity and innovation, because the adverse effects of Information Overload

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mailto:[email protected]


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result in bewilderment and reduced concentration of humans and eventually leads to a decrease in human

creativity and efficiency.

In today’s world of business, no quality is more important than creativity. Since skills and technologies

transform into commodities, the only distinction between future organizations will be creativity (Zoltay,

2006). On the other hand, a creative organization is the one whose human capitals, being the employees and

managers, are creative and innovative. In addition, humans’ creativity and creative thinking call for

requirements and special conditions and platforms.

Since Information Overload influences human from the physical and psychological point of view

(Casanova, 2001), and since human is the main cause of organizational creativity, it is necessary to carry

out a study on this topic. To many of us Information Overload is only of the things we have become

accustomed to. We consider it a part of our lives. However, we should fight it to end it. However, the

“should” part refers to our freedom of choice. We can improve its benefits or reduce its negative effects.

This does not solely result in a drastic decrease in efficiency and creativity, because our lives have become

less mobile. In addition, due to the shortage of time imposed on us, our stress levels increase, which not

only reduces our efficiency but also requires more time to be dealt with. Hence, it is clear that what we

have definitely become accustomed to is more dangerous than what everyone expected. More information

call for more work to be processed, and this increased work generates more work. Moreover, there are

constraints on human brain, which needs to spend energy on any single thing being processed. We lose

energy for any change of attention and we make it more difficult for the brain to work with each gear we

change (Akbedniz, 2015).

On the other hand, creativity is known widely as a powerful and enriching element in people’s lives.

Creativity is a phenomenon which is difficult to define and can be found at different degrees in all humans.

Creativity is normally measured based on profitability and uniqueness of an invented product (Imperatore

Blanche, 2011). According to Bilton, creativity is a highly compliant notion to be used to support or

formulate various theories and procedures (Bilton, 2010). In today’s business world no quality is more

important to an organization than creativity. Hence, we seriously need to be creative. Ten years ago,

Edward de Bono stressed the significance of creativity and stated that companies should spend 10% of the

budget they allocate to research in different areas on creativity. However, no organization did so at those

times (Zoltay, 2006). Due to the importance of creativity in organizations as a competitive advantage and

due to the requirements for increasing and improving creativity of organizational members, it is important

to study this issue. Humans need a concentrated free mind to display creativity, but today’s conditions and

environment, in which human is faced with a large volume of information without the potential for

applying it or validating it, reduce human’s energy and capacity and influence his concentration. Hence, it

is necessary to study the effects of Information Overload on creativity of organization employees. The

research question is that “Is there a significant correlation between Information Overload and creativity of

organization employees?” and “How and to what extent does Information Overload influence employees’

creativity?”

Research Literature

To study the effects of Information Overload on an organization’s employees and its effect on the

organization’s creativity, it is first necessary to define and examine Information Overload and its physical

and mental effects on the organization’s employees. It is also necessary to define creativity and its

importance as well as the correlation between Information Overload and creativity.

Information Overload

Information Overload is currently a trend and a new problem. Moreover, due to the expansion of

information and communication technologies and the increase in interpersonal information exchanges


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(Allen & Wilson, 2003), today’s human, as the generator and consumer of information an modern

information and communication technologies, is facing severe challenges to conform and adapt to today’s

growing society (Polyviou, 2007). Today’s modern human lives in a society, which is surrounded by

information deliberately or accidentally is influenced by numerous various sources of information

(Edmunds & Morris, 2000). The large volume of information, especially on the Internet, has made access

of people to more information easier, which may lead to confusion and sometimes even prevent access to

the required information (Polyviou, 2007). Information Overload can be defined from two aspects. It can be

defined from the personal aspect, in which case the information received is so extensive that it cannot be

managed properly. For instance, the increasing number of TV channels, newspapers, radio stations, and

news agencies gives a better understanding of Information Overload (Edmunds & Morris, 2000). From the

organizational point of view, this trend reduces overall efficiency and operational management of the

organization (Allen & Wilson, 2003). However, information is a highly important factor in success and

survival of an organization and it could not be neglected. In addition, professional progress of an

organization and its members depends on their ability to properly use new information (Lewis, 1998).

Rapid access to this information has numerous advantages for organizations and employees. However, due

to the increasing growth of information in organizations as well as recent advancements of information

technologies and related research, it is found that Information Overload results in side effects such as

anxiety, confusion, reduced/eliminated job satisfaction, or physical complication. Therefore, information

may lead to a decrease in control and management power of the person instead of helping the person act

more successful and effective in his profession and job. This consequence may lead to outbreak of stress,

anxiety, and other complications (Edmunds & Morris, 2000).

In practice, this notion is important because a performance which leads to accurate decisions is directly

related to the amount of certain information received by the person. In addition, if the information received

goes beyond a certain level, proper performance and efficiency decline and accurate decisions will no

longer be made (Chewing & Harrell, 1990) and Information Overload occurs (O’Reilly, 1980). This

Information Overload confuses the person and may reduce the person’s ability to prioritize by interfering

with previous information (Eppler & Mengis, 2004). In practice, dissemination of information takes so

rapidly that human lacks the power and capacity to process it at this pace. Human needs to process,

contemplate, and picture information. Human needs to fuse the information to gain a new understanding of

information by combining his previous information with new results (Casanova, 2001).

Effects of Information Overload

The effects of Information Overload can be classified into the psychological and physical categories.

- Psychological signs: When we are dealing with a great deal of information we become confused and

fail to recognize their validity. We give in to doubt and lose the ability to analyze the original

information. As a result, we experience weakness and slowness in making decisions and we also make

mistakes (Casanova, 2001). On the other hand, constant exposure to flow of information leads to

shortage of time and increased stress. In addition, this volume of information requires more processing,

which adds to the workload and time. As a result, the brain operates more intensely and thus more

energy is consumed (Akdeniz, 2015). Information Overload can also lead to “attention deficit trait”

(ADT). Hallon have examined these negative neurological impacts and results of decisions suggest that

ADT is an epidemic among organizations. Some of the side effects of ADT include distraction,

impatience, etc., and sufferers have problems with arranging and prioritizing their tasks (Marulanda-

Carter & W. Jackson, 2012).

- Physical signs: In addition to mental problems caused to humans, signs and problems such as sleep

disorders, sleep shortage, digestive and cardiac problems, hypertension, fatigue, pain, headache, and

eye problems also occur, and continuation of these signs leads to illness and loss of health. Research

results suggest that as the level of information goes beyond a certain level known as the critical level,


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problems such as information anxiety and fever, information chaos, information fatigue syndrome,

cessation of information analysis, etc. occur (Casanova, 2001).

Information Overload in the Internet

In today’s societies, due to the availability of large masses of information on the Internet, it is possible to

easily access information (Polyviou, 2007). Hence, the Internet is considered a precious treasury of

information, most of which is unreliable. In spite of utility of information development in today’s form in

the Internet, the abundance of information is faced with a large challenge, which is caused by the fact that

the level and diversity of information are beyond our cognitive capacity for processing (Memmi, 2012).

The virtual web structure contained within the Internet consists of millions of information documents

related to human history and cultures. The question is that from all of this information about a single topic,

how is it possible to obtain a specific answer? How is it possible to establish links between this information

and manage it? Moreover, humans is unable to manage more than 200 or 300 relations on average (Eppler

& Mengis, 2004), and important and necessary information may remain hidden among all the other

information (Memmi, 2012).

Information Overload in Electronic Mailing

One of the main applications of the Internet is electronic mailing (E-mail), which has become one of the

most important means of professional communication through the Internet or intranet (Bentley, 1998).

Investigations indicated that in spite of the significance of e-mail and its possible role, e-mail overload is a

challenge to managers (Edmunds & Morris, 2000).

Janssen & Poot introduced 75 crises through their interviews on Information Overload in e-mails, the most

important categories of which are as follows.

- Ambiguous e-mails, which are time-consuming.

- E-mail cascades and avalanches: When a message is forwarded to all.

- E-mail workload: For instance, assume a horrifying load of messages after a vacation.

- Poor access to information: It refers to difficulties in accessing the required information and

finding appropriate information.

- Fragmented information: Distribution of information among people and resources

Information Overload results in hidden invisible costs to organizations such as inefficiency of work styles,

reduction of job satisfaction, and elimination of creativity and clear thinking (Janssen & Poot, 2006).

Information Overload in the Cell Phone Realm

Today, use of cell phones is a necessity for all, and according to the latest statistics published in December

2011, 331.6 million mobile subscribers live in the United States (CITA, 2011). Moreover, the latest

advancements in software and hardware products for smart phones have increase application of ICT

(information and communications technology) in everyday life (Gartner, 2012). In spite of popularity and

advantages of mobile phones, use of cell phones may result in addiction and affect employees’ efficiency.

This problem is a concern and cause of damage of many organizations as it has ruined the privacy of their

information and has led to excessive addiction of their employees to cell phones. In addition, based on the

results reported by Salehan and Negahban, social networks also considerably influence employees’

addiction to cell phones and their decreased creativity and efficiency. More interestingly, people enjoying

better public relations use social networks and software products more than others, and therefore they are

more prone to distraction and Information Overload (Salehan & Negahban, 2013).


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In another study by Solingen it was stated that 15 to 20% of the time of employees is spent on pauses,

which distract them from the job they are doing. For instance, phone calls, e-mails, and unplanned and

unexpected personal meetings. Phone calls and personal meetings and emails account for 90% and 10% of

the distractions, respectively. Results also suggest that each person requires 20 minutes to concentrate on a

specific event. Moreover, according to Demarco, each person needs 15 minutes following each phone call

to recover and feel the previous environment (Demarco & Lister, 1987) (Jackson, Dawson, & Wilson,

2003). In addition, in the case of pauses and distractions e-mails cause to employees it could be stated that

the time spent by the person after receiving and handling an email to get back to work lasts 64 seconds on

average (Marulanda-Carter & W. Jackson, 2012).

Creativity

Creativity is known as the element of power and a booster in humans’ lives. Creativity is a vague

phenomenon which occurs at varying degrees in all humans (Imperatore Blanche, 2011). Ripple (1989)

summarizes four principal hypotheses, which form the basis for our understanding of creativity: creativity

is a definable conceptual notion; it is measurable; it has distinctive characteristics and expandable patterns;

and it can be spread through training and training programs. Results of another study by Chambers (1972)

showed that personal encouragement is the best measure for teaching students to develop their students’

creativity (Edwards, 2010). Although there are different forms of creativity, the economic criterion is

focused on a creativity, which leads to innovations that finally result in commercial outcomes and

profitability. Creativity creates an inter-element correlation or combination which either lacked a

correlation previously or had not been combined (Yusuf, 2007).

Significance of Creativity

In today’s competitive world of business, no quality is more important than creativity. Since skills and

technologies are transformed into commodities, the only thing that will make the distinction between

organizations in future will be creativity (Zoltay, 2006). Organizational creativity emphasizes factors which

may or may not lead to creation of ideas about processes, products or any other related phenomena that are

both useful and novel (Litchfield, Gilson & Gilson, 2015). Ten years ago Edward de Bono predicted that

companies should spend 10% of their time on research on creativity, but his recommendation was taken for

granted. In 1995, De Bono conducted a poll on executive managers in Europe and United States. 90% of

participants believed that their organizations had to value creativity “a lot more”. 9% also believed their

organizations had to value creativity “more”, and only 1 percent believed their organizations were valuing

creativity adequately. In addition, 85% believed creativity was part of their jobs. Creativity is an action,

idea or product that changes the existing status or converts it into a new form. Creativity is also the ability

to examine the existing entities and combine it with different methods for attaining new goals (Zoltay,

2006). Creativity is a highly acceptable notion that could be used to confirm and explain different types of

theories and methods (Bilton, 2010). As the world becomes more competitive and gains more internal

consistency, creativity and innovation also gain more importance. Scientists define organizational creativity

as generation of new and useful ideas and innovation for successful realization of creative ideas. New ideas

form the root of successful innovations (Berg, 2016). According to Zoltay, there are at least three reasons

for necessity of creativity, which are as follows: new, different and sophisticated ideas; correlation of ideas

and values; problem solving (Zoltay, 2006). As professions are stepping into the 21st century, they are

facing the challenge to increase their creativity and innovation in workplace (Jagiello, 2000). Creativity at

work is the first and best form of professional efficiency and is considered extremely important by most

researchers. Creativity is usually defined as the ability to create a new useful (or suitable) job in a specific

area. Hence, creativity involves creation and representation of ideas which are almost new, genuine, or

interesting (at least in the context they are created and proposed) as well as applicable and practical.

Organizational creativity refers to creativity in new useful and valuable products, services, ideas, methods

or processes presented by people cooperating in a sophisticated social system assuming that organizational

creativity can occur on different levels (e.g. personal creativity, group creativity, organizational creativity,

and innovative efficiency) (Rietzschel, Zacher & Stroebe, 2016).


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Creative Personality

Creative persons show tendencies for thoughts and actions which are not displayed by most people. For

example, creative persons possess large amounts of physical energy, yet they are silent and calm. It seems

their energy is internal. Creative persons are normally intelligent yet simple. They can employ two

contradictory methods of thinking: convergent and divergent. They also fluctuate between imagination and

the deep notion of reality. They go beyond the realities of others and create new realities. Feist (1993)

provided an example of the role of traits in the creative process. He assessed traits of male scientists,

physicists, chemists, and biologists on different levels of success and introduced (calculated) two objective

criteria for creative productivity: 1) How many works the person has published? And 2) how many times

the person’s works are referenced by others? He also examined the following three characteristics of

scientists: 1) Arrogant work style; 2) internally motivated; 3) Opposition. Simonton (1995, 1999, pp. 90-92)

proposed a model of creativity in which traits directly influence thoughts by going beyond the closed box of

the mind. Highly creative individuals welcome new experience and they establish more connections

between ideas. Creative people also are flexible both behaviorally and cognitively, and thus they manage to

combine new ideas. Finally, highly creative persons are independent, autonomous, and unconventional, and

therefore they impose fewer constraints on themselves (Weisberg, 2010). Research indicated that a positive

feeling increases the odds of expansion of creative and useful ideas, because it activates cognition and

improves cognitive flexibility. In their field research, Amabile, Barsade, Mueller and Staw examined the

daily creative performance of members of a project team in a several-months period and found that there

was a linear correlation between positive feeling and creativity. In addition, Beldow et al. stated that if a

precedent negative phase does not form the basis of new ideas, the positive feeling will have a weaker

correlation with creativity. As a result, negative feeling contributes to improvement of creativity (Beldow,

Rosing, and Frese, 2013). In a study by To, Fisher, and Ashkanasy, negative circumstances were examined

as a factor influencing improved creativity of employees and it was concluded that an employee

experiencing fear and anxiety demonstrates more creativity than ordinary people, and it seems that the

negative circumstances drive the person toward creative actions (To, Fisher, and Ashkanasy, 2015).

Thurlings et al. also studied teachers and realized that curiosity is a trait influencing innovative behavior

and creative teaching methods (Thurlings, T. Evers & Vermeulen, 2014). Ford also classified employees in

terms of two contradictory traits, namely creativity and routine behavior, based on three factors influencing

this approach which include feeling-invoking processes, motivation and understanding, and skills. He

believes that a person’s creative behavior is the result of these factors, while lack of any of these factors

will inhibit creative performance. Motivation for showing creative or normal performance is determined by

goals and beliefs about their acceptance and rewards. The belief in ability refers to the person’s awareness

of his/her creativity. In addition, emotions such as interest and anger also contribute to creativity

(Anderson, Potočnik & Zhou, 2014).

Creative Thinking

Creative thinking creates new entities. Our modern world has deliberately or accidentally formed of

achievements of creative thinkers such as artists, musicians, poets, politicians, inventors, and scientists.

Considering the importance of creative thinking it should be noted that psychologists never fully valued

creativity, which could be perhaps attributed to the belief that creativity originates from a supernatural

power and innate genius. It is normally assumed that creative thinking depends on detachment from habits,

which is based on the idea of “thinking beyond the box of mind” (Weisberg, 2010).

One of the models of creative thinking is the a posteriori creativity cycle, which is a fused creative thinking

model formed of notions constituting models proposed over 80 years ago. This model holds that creative

thinking starts with a careful observation of the world and creates a collection of concepts in our minds,

which could be used to create new ideas to meet some certain needs by investigating the correlations

between these concepts actively. There are several methods for establishing these correlations. For

examples, analogy, classification of a specific notion, use of random words, classic brainstorming, etc. are

some of these methods. However, possession of creative thoughts is not enough, because ideas are


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valueless until they are actualized. Every new idea that is actualized changes the world we live in by

restarting the cycle of observation and analysis.

This model consists of four stages namely the preparation, imagination, advancement, and action phases.

Similar to other traditions, this model also advocates the balance between imagination and analysis (Plesk,

1996). To achieve creativity, the thinker should examine the deficits in some dimensions of the world.

Consequently, a creative person should be sensitive to his/her problems. After problems are identified, the

person should think about overcoming them. A creative thinker should also be flexible enough to let go of

normal methods of thinking and use new methods (and go beyond a closed box in thinking). He/she should

be able to present genuine ideas that were not previously proposed by others. The divergent method of

thinking goes beyond the closed box of mind. This method is contradictory to the convergent method of

thinking, which utilizes the existing information to converge on solutions and solve a problem (Weisberg,

2010). Creative thinking usually leads to novel innovative outcomes through small (and not very large)

steps. For creative advancement, the person must take steps and examine the steps. In addition, it is stated

that creative thinking is self-aware, but this view is opposed by some theorists (Weisberg, 2010).

Creative Environments

As put by Carl Rogers, creativity flourishes with mental security and in an environment that is flexible and

welcoming and contains models that accept new experience. This environment should also show a tendency

for approving demands, needs, and internal habits as well as dealing with ideas and new facilities. Ekvall

stresses dimensional identification, which leads to flourishing of creative organizational environments. He

believes that the following factors will bring about an environment suiting the growth of creativity: having

the freedom to be independent and innovative; having the joy that creates a sense of excitement for work

and activity; admitting failures and successes; having the time for actualizing ideas; and creating

circumstances for manifestation of happiness and sense of humor (Jagiello, 2000). Concerning the role of

society as the environment determining growth of creativity, Arieti’s (1976) investigations revealed that

societies and cultures can reinforce or eliminate creativity. He believed that the following nine positive

social factors are involved in creation of a creative society: access to cultural instruments, admission of

cultural motivations, emphasizing becoming not being, free and non-discriminated access of all citizens to

cultural media, freedom, prevention of discrimination, provision of different or even contradictory cultural

stimuli, tolerance for different viewpoints, interaction with important figures, and improvement of

motivations and rewards (Edwards, 2010). In fact, as knowledge grows deeper, human capital can become

more creative if knowledge is shared through global and local teams, cooperatives, associations, and

academic communities and if various talents with different perspectives and cognitive viewpoints are

created (Yusuf, 2007).

Information Overload and Creativity

Following investigations into Information Overload by Dean and Webb, although we might think receiving

new information can improve our creativity, it is not so. They stated that Teresa Amabile and her

colleagues in Harvard School of Business assessed the working patterns of over 9000 persons working on

projects that required creativity and innovation. They realized that the chance and possibility of creative

thinking are higher when people concentrate on one activity in a specific part of a day or when they

cooperate with another person. On the other hand, when people’s days are divided into several parts with

numerous activities, meetings, and group discussions, their creativity decreases considerably. Our brain is

designed to focus on one job at one time, and when we are distracted by other jobs from our tasks

(especially our complicated tasks) our efficiency also declines. In their investigations, participants who

accomplished their tasks in parallel, they consumed 30% more time and displayed errors double the other

group, which was focusing on one task. The delay is caused by the fact that our brain is unable to

accomplish two tasks at the same time and when the task is changed our brain has to let go of the cognitive

rules of the previous task and switch to new rules. This is a time-consuming process for the brain and

reduces productivity of people who accomplish several difficult tasks (Dean & Webb, 2011).


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Research Method

To determine the research method, the Research Onion, which was proposed in 2003 by Saunders, Lewis

and Thornhill in the field of methodology and is currently approved by prominent scientists of the world, is

used (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2009). Based on this theoretical framework, the present research is a

positivist study because it is an attempt to prove the effect of Information Overload on employees’

creativity. This research also ranks with a posteriori studies considering its approach and its examination of

a large number of employees for identifying common qualities. The research strategy is based on a case

study (Mammut Industrial Holding). The time horizon of the research also represents it as a cross-sectional

study because the questionnaires could be distributed and collected once at a specific time.

The research objective is to “examine the effects of Information Overload on creativity”. First, the

dimensions of Information Overload and its effects (which consist of physical and mental/psychological

effects) are examined, and then the correlation of these effects with employees’ creativity in the following

three areas is studied: creative personality, creative thinking, and creative environment. Finally, the effect

of Information Overload on creativity is investigated.

The research is conducted using the quantitative research method and the simple random sampling or

unlimited random sampling method is used to collect the samples. In the unlimited random sampling

method, which is generally known as the simple sampling method, each member of the population has an

equal and specific chance of becoming selected as a participant (subject), and thus selection of no member

influences selection of the other. In other words, each participant has the chance of being selected

independent of others. One of the advantages of this method is that it provides the highest generalizability

potential.

The statistical population for this research included the intermediary and senior managers of Mammut

Teleca Company, which is a subsidiary of Mammut Industrial Holding. Considering the research statistical

population (which is formed of experts and intermediary managers of Mammut Teleca Company), a total of

150 were selected, and the sample size obtained by Cochran’s formula is 108.08. To increase reliability, the

statistical population size is assumed to be 108.

Textbooks, articles, internet websites, and questionnaire-based preliminary quantitative surveys were

among the means of information collection. The research objective is to examine the effects of Information

Overload and its effect on creativity. In this research, electronic questionnaires were used to collect data.

All of the questions in the questionnaire were designed based on the five-point Likert scale, ranked from 1

to 5 or “completely agreed” to “completely disagreed) (1: Completely disagreed, 2: disagreed, 3: so-so, 4:

agreed, 5: completely agreed). It should be mentioned that the questionnaire used in this research is a

researcher-made questionnaire, and the validity and reliability of the questionnaire were assessed and

approved separately by the researcher.

The primary and secondary hypotheses of this research were developed as follows to examine the effects of

Information Overload and its dimensions on a general level and the effects of Information Overload on

creativity and its dimensions.

Primary Hypothesis:

- There is a significant correlation between creativity and Information Overload.

- There is a significant correlation between physical effects of Information Overload and creativity.

- There is a significant correlation between mental effects of Information Overload and creativity.


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Secondary Hypotheses:

- There is a significant correlation between Information Overload in the Internet and creativity.

- There is a significant correlation between Information Overload in e-mail and creativity.

- There is a significant correlation between Information Overload in cell phone communication and

creativity.

- There is a significant correlation between physical effects of Information Overload and creative

personality.

- There is a significant correlation between mental effects of Information Overload and creative

personality.

- There is a significant correlation between physical effects of Information Overload and a creative

platform/environment.

- There is a significant correlation between mental effects of Information Overload and a creative


- There is a significant correlation between physical effects of Information Overload and creative

thinking.

- There is a significant correlation between mental effects of Information Overload and creative

thinking.

Operational Definition of Variables

Independent variable: Creativity in the fields of creative personality, creative environment, and creative

thinking.

Dependent variable: Information Overload and its physical and mental effects.

Creativity: Creativity is known as the element of power and booster of people’s lives (Imperator Blanche,

2011).

Information Overload: Information Overload can be defined from two viewpoints. One viewpoint is the

personal dimension in which the volume of information received is so high that it cannot be properly

managed. For instance, the increasing number of TV channels, newspapers, radio stations, and new

agencies, which are broadcast on a daily basis, give a better understanding of Information Overload

(Edmunds & Morris, 2000). From the organizational point of view, Information Overload reduces the

overall efficiency and management of organization’s operations (Allen & Wilson, 2003).

Research Conceptual Model

Fig: 1 Study Model


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Results

SPSS22 is used to analyze the data. Since the questionnaire is a sequential variable questionnaire on the

nominal level, the GAMA test is used for analysis. In addition, since the statistical data is derived from 108

questionnaires and most of the hypotheses were rejected, the regression analysis is useless.

1. There is a significant correlation between Information Overload and creativity.

** According to the above table, creativity of respondents declines with an increase in Information

Overload.

Results of the GAMA correlation test, which are presented in the following table, indicate reflect a

significance level of p=0.809. Since the resulting significance level is larger than 0.05, it could be

concluded that the first primary hypothesis is reject and the null hypothesis is approved. In other words,

there is NOT a significant correlation between Information Overload and creativity.

2. There is a significant correlation between physical effects of Information Overload and creativity.


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** According to the above table, there is no correlation between physical effects of Information Overload

and creativity.

Results of the GAMA correlation test in the following table indicate that the resulting significance level is

p=0.808. Since the significance level is larger than 0.05, it could be concluded that hypothesis is rejected

and the null hypothesis is approved. In other words, there is NOT a significant correlation between physical

effects of Information Overload and creativity.

3. There is a significant correlation between mental effects of Information Overload and creativity.

** According to the above table, there is no correlation between mental effects of Information Overload

and creativity.

Results of the GAMA correlation test shown in the following table indicate that the resulting significance

level is p=0.932. Since this significance level is larger than 0.05, it could be stated that the first primary

hypothesis is rejected and the null hypothesis is accepted. In other words, there is NOT a significant

correlation between mental effects of Information Overload and creativity.

4. There is a significant correlation between Information Overload in the Internet and creativity.


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**According to the above table, with an increase in Information Overload in the Internet, creativity of

respondents decreases. In addition, creativity increases with a decrease in Information Overload in the

Internet.


p=0.05. Since the resulting significance level is smaller than 0.05, it could be stated that the first primary

hypothesis is approved and its null hypothesis is rejected. In other words, there is a significant correlation

between Information Overload in the Internet and creativity. The correlation (-0.334) is moderate and

inverse.

5. There is a significant correlation between Information Overload in e-mail and creativity.

** According to the above table, creativity of respondents declines with an increase in Information

Overload in e-mail.


p=0.263. Since the resulting significance level is larger than 0.05, the first primary hypothesis is rejected

and its null hypothesis is approved. In other words, there is NOT a significant correlation between

Information Overload in e-mail and creativity.

6. There is a significant correlation between Information Overload in cell phone communications and

creativity.


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** According to the above table, with an increase in Information Overload in cell phone communications

creativity of respondents decreases.

Results of the GAMA correlation test in the following table show that the resulting significance level is

p=0.951. Since this significance level is larger than 0.05, it is concluded that the first primary hypothesis is

rejected and the null hypothesis is approved. In other words, there is no significant correlation between

Information Overload in cell phone communications and creativity.

7. There is a significant correlation between physical effects of Information Overload and creative

personality.

**According to the above table, there is an inverse correlation between physical effects of Information

Overload and creative personality. Therefore, with an increase in physical effects of Information Overload,

creative personality subsides.


p=0.370. Since the resulting significance level is larger than 0.05, it could be stated that the first primary

hypothesis is rejected and the null hypothesis is approved. In other words, there is NOT a significant

correlation between physical effects of Information Overload and creative personality.




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** According to the above table, there is not a correlation between physical effects of Information Overload

and creative environment/platform.

Results of the GAMA correlation test in the following table indicate that the significance level is p=0.968.

Since the resulting significance level is larger than 0.05, it is concluded that the first primary hypothesis is

rejected and the null hypothesis is approved. In other words, there is NOT a significant correlation between

physical effects of Information Overload and creative environment/platform.


thinking.

** According to the above table, there is an inverse correlation between physical effects of Information

Overload and creative thinking, and with an increase in physical effects of Information Overload creative

thinking decreases.

Results of the GAMA correlation test in the following table indicate a significance level of p=0.269. Since

the resulting significance level is larger than 0.05, it is concluded that the first primary hypothesis is


physical effects of Information Overload and creative thinking.

10. There is a significant correlation between mental effects of Information Overload and creative

personality.


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** According to the above table, there is an inverse correlation between mental effects of Information

Overload and creative personality. Therefore, creative personality decreases with an increase in mental

effects of Information Overload.

Results of the GAMA correlation test in the following table reflect a significance level of p=0.121. Since

the resulting significance level is larger than 0.05, it could be stated that the first primary hypothesis is


mental effects of Information Overload and creative personality.

11. There is a significant correlation between Information Overload and creative platform/environment.


Overload and creative platform/environment. Therefore, with an increase in mental effects of Information

Overload the creative platform/environment declines.

Results of the GAMA correlation test in the following table suggest a significance level of p=0.553. Since

the resulting significance level is larger than 0.05, it is concluded that the first primary hypothesis is


mental effects of Information Overload and creative platform/environment.

12. There is a significant correlation between mental effects of Information Overload and creative

thinking.


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Overload and creative thinking. Hence, creative thinking subsides with an increase in mental effects of

Information Overload.

Results of the GAMA correlation test shown in the following table reflect a significance level of p=0.248.

Since the resulting significance level is larger than 0.05, it is concluded that the first primary hypothesis is


mental effects of Information Overload and creative thinking.

Supplementary Hypotheses

13. There is a significant correlation between Information Overload in the Internet and creative

personality.

** According to the above table, the creative personality of respondents weakens with an increase in

Information Overload in the Internet. In addition, with a decrease in Information Overload in the Internet

the creative personality of respondents grows.

Results of the GAMA correlation test in the following table suggest that the significant level is p=0.000.

Since the significance level is smaller than 0.05, the first primary hypothesis is accepted and the null

hypothesis is rejected. In other words, there is a significant correlation between Information Overload in the

Internet and creative personality. The degree of the correlation (-0.713) is high and the correlation is

inverse.

14. There is a significant correlation between Information Overload in the Internet and creative thinking.


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** According to the above table, the creative thinking of respondents declines with an increase in

Information Overload in the Internet. In addition, creative thinking grows with a reduction in Information

Overload in the Internet.

Results of the GAMA correlation test in the following table reflect a significance level of p=0.001. Since

the resulting significance level is smaller than 0.05, it is concluded that the first primary hypothesis is

approved and the null hypothesis is rejected. In other words, there is a significant correlation between

Information Overload in the Internet and creative thinking. The degree of the correlation (-0.543) is

moderate-high and the correlation is inverse.

15. There is a significant correlation between Information Overload and creative personality.

** According to the above table, creative personality weakens with an increase in Information Overload.

On the other hand, creative personality improves with a decrease in Information Overload.

Results of the GAMA correlation test shown in the following table suggest a significance level of p=0.033.

Since the resulting significance level is smaller than 0.05, it is concluded that the first primary hypothesis is

rejected and the null hypothesis is accepted. In other words, there is a significant correlation between

Information Overload and creative personality. The degree of the correlation (-0.383) is moderate-low and

the correlation is inverse.

Discussion and Conclusion

In general, on account of research results and investigations into Information Overload by Dean and Webb

(2011), they suggest that Teresa Amabile and her colleagues in Harvard Business School studied the daily

working patterns of more than 9000 persons working on projects that required creativity and innovation and

found that there is a correlation between Information Overload and creativity. In other words, the odds of

creative thinking is higher when people are concentrated on one task and are not exposed to Information

Overload. However, as the number of tasks and activities increase, people are exposed to lots of various

information and their creative thinking declines considerably (Dean & Webb, 2011).

In response to the research question which is that “Is there a significant relationship between Information

Overload and it’s side effects on Creativity of organization employees?” we found that, In this research,

there was also an inverse correlation between Information Overload and creativity. That is to say, with an

increase in Information Overload creativity declined, vice versa. The results confirmed four hypotheses

and rejected the rest. In general, research results revealed that with a decrease in Information Overload,

creativity of employees grows. There is a significant relationship between:


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The Information Overload in Internet and Creativity

The Information Overload in the Internet and creative thinking

The Information Overload in the Internet and creative personality

The Information Overload and creative personality

In general, for further investigations into this topic specially on Rejected hypotheses, it is recommended to

researchers to change the random sampling method to the non-random sampling method in future studies

on the effect of Information Overload on creativity. In addition, since the topic (Information Overload) is

new to Iranian organizations, it is better to use the interview method instead of the questionnaire method as

the research tool.

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