Collective attention overload in a global manufacturing company: a case study

Abstract

The rapid evolution of information technology (IT) platforms has enabled the collection of vast volumes of data for decision support. These technologies have facilitated an increase in information sharing and collaboration, promising to accelerate problem-solving and foster innovation. However, despite the advancements in this sophisticated and evolving technological landscape, scholars have raised concerns that the collective attention of organizations may be compromised primarily due to the overwhelming volume of information that employees are exposed to daily. Given the limited nature of human attention, this excessive information can impair decision-making and restrict an organization’s capacity to achieve performance enhancements. To understand the IT impact on collective attention, we conducted a case study in a multinational organization in the engineering and electronics sector. Our participants described how an IT platform designed to encourage information sharing and collaboration affected collective mindfulness of opportunities for collaboration and innovation. Despite an innovation culture and careful implementation, the IT platform induced a level of information sharing and collaboration that overwhelmed collective attention, leading to employees failing to achieve the anticipated performance improvements. Our findings caution organizations about how emerging technologies may induce attention overload, undermine collective attention, and detract from collective mindfulness of business opportunities. Our research findings confront the prevalent assumption that an abundance of high-quality information invariably leads to enhanced organizational performance. The article concludes by proposing a research agenda aimed at defining guidelines for the adoption of collaborative IT platforms that prevent overloading collective attention.