The Effects of Information Overload on the Outcomes of On-Line Consumption Behavior

Traditionally, it is believed that more information leads to better buying decisions for consumers. However, as the amount of information increases beyond a threshold, consumers' subjective states towards decisions might adversely become worse. An experiment was used to examine these effects in the Internet shopping environment. The results reveal that cognitive involvement and self-efficacy moderate the relationship between information load and subjective state toward decision. However, the direct effects of information load are not significant.