Measuring the Impact of the E-Mail Conversation Format on E-Mail Overload: A Pilot Test

摘要

It is well known that e-mails are causing information overload. Existing research investigated the amount of e-mails but does not consider the format of a single e-mail and its cognitive impact. Therefore, we investigate e-mail conversations as one of the most promising formats, which is composed of the quoted history of appended e-mails, forwarded to a third person. Cognitive load theory is used to scrutinize the contribution of the e-mail conversation format on intrinsic, extraneous, and germane cognitive load. The resulting hypotheses and our pilot of the experiment investigate the induction of e-mail overload by e-mail conversations. By successfully validating our measurement instruments we gain first indications of construct validity. As a result we present an exploratory factor analysis, a confirmatory factor analysis, and an assessment of the model fit. Subsequently, we reflect on our findings and present the implications for future research.