Forgetting confidently: Determinants and consequences of trustful usage of information systems in organizations

现代组织中不断增加和变化的数据量需要新的信息处理策略。有效的知识管理需要灵活选择基本信息，例如，在不确定情况下或在动态的经济市场中的决策过程。在这方面，信息系统可以减轻决策者的认知负担、情绪压力和压力。然而，为了产生这些积极的影响，人们需要信任地使用信息系统，以便“自信地”忘记。本研究项目的目标是对信任使用信息系统的心理过程进行模型化和经验性检验，从而实现有意遗忘。在认知心理学(例如，Bjork，1970)的基本有意遗忘效应的基础上，本研究项目第一阶段的结果表明，记忆内容的定向遗忘(故意遗忘的一种变体)也可以在具有复杂决策任务的模拟商业背景下被发现。在这项研究中，遗忘不是由一个显性的指令(忘记)触发的，而是由管理信息系统(MIS)的可用性而隐含的。与我们的预期一致，参与者对信息管理系统的信任是定向遗忘效应发生的重要前提。在这个研究项目的拟议第二阶段中，我们希望将这些有希望的发现复制、扩展并转移到现有组织中。为此，将在合作公司中实施新的管理信息系统的不同版本。我们希望通过现场实验来验证现有社会技术系统中的管理信息系统，包括几个测量点(即岗位前设计)、两个不同版本的管理信息系统(重复测量)以及技术和心理评估标准(认知表现、感知压力等)。此外，我们希望通过调查管理信息系统中的信任作为定向遗忘的先决条件来检验我们在研究项目第一阶段开发的理论模型，使用来自不同组织的工作参与者进行的两项大型研究。第一项研究“就地”捕捉特定的用户事件。考虑到未来的发展，研究二考察了自我学习成分对管理信息系统中信任和定向遗忘的影响。总而言之，本研究项目遵循全周期的方法，其中理论构建和实验测试与实地研究相辅相成。

Continuously increasing and changing amounts of data in modern organizations demand new information handling strategies. Effective knowledge management requires a flexible selection of essential information, for example, for decision processes under uncertainty or in dynamic economic markets. In this regard, information systems can reduce decision maker’s cognitive load, emotional strain, and stress. However, for those positive effects to occur, persons need to use the information systems trustfully in order to forget “confidently”. The goal of the present research project is to model and empirically examine the psychological processes underlying trustful use of information systems, enabling intentional forgetting. Building on the basic intentional forgetting effect from cognitive psychology (e.g., Bjork, 1970), results of the first phase of this research project demonstrated that directed forgetting (a variation of intentional forgetting) of memory content can be found also in a simulated business context with complex decision making tasks. In this study, forgetting was not triggered by an explicit instruction (to forget) but rather implicitly by the availability of a management information system (MIS). In line with our expectations, participants’ trust in the MIS was an important precondition for the effects of directed forgetting to occur. In the proposed second phase of this research project, we want to replicate, extent, and transfer those promising findings into existing organizations. To this end, different versions of a new MIS will be implemented in collaborating companies. We want to validate the MIS in existing socio-technical systems using a field experiment with several measurement points in time (i.e., pre-post design), two different versions of the MIS (repeated measurement), and technical as well as psychological evaluation criteria (cognitive performance, perceived stress, etc.). Additionally, we want to examine our theoretical model developed in the first phase of this research project by investigating trust in the MIS as a precondition for directed forgetting using two large studies with working participants from different organizations. The first study captures specific user events “in situ”. Considering for future developments, the second study examines the influence of self-learning components on trust in the MIS and directed forgetting. Together, this research project follows a Full-Cycle approach, in which theory building and experimental testing is complemented by field studies.