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Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application (JITTA)

Abstract

Even though evidence shows that emotions influence individuals’ information processing and decision making, emotions have been merely an afterthought in IS. Indeed, few studies have investigated their influence on behavior, and those that have considered only a handful of different emotions (e.g., anxiety, enjoyment, satisfaction, or pleasure). Until recently, researchers have investigated only simple and uniformly positive (e.g., pleasure) or negative emotions (e.g., anxiety). More complex emotions such as nostalgia can be valuable additions to our understanding of technology choice because they offer a window into short-term decisions, which are subject to change in one way or another. In particular, the coping function of nostalgia can help one to understand behavior in the context of IT because some users perceive changes to their familiar environment and routine as a threat and as a stressful event. As such, we investigate the impact of nostalgia on users’ choices between two different technologies to accomplish one particular goal or task. Our study is the first to provide evidence of nostalgia’s influence on technology usage and suggests that nostalgia can provide reassurance to some users when faced with overcoming big challenges.

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