Integrating technostress creators and inhibitors in using accounting information system to improve job satisfaction and task performance

Abstract

It has been established that technostress adversely affect the professionals’ job satisfaction and performance. However, the impact of technostress which imposes additional stress on the professionals such as accountants is yet to be reflected. In this study, technostress and Accounting Information System (AIS) literature were reviewed to synthesize the relationship in order to identify information characteristics that exacerbate higher technostress on users of AIS. The researcher evaluates the relationship of AIS information characteristics on technostress creators and its consequences on the outcomes (job satisfaction and task performance) of accountants through the person-environment fit theory. Specifically, the study is conducted (a) to investigate the relationship between AIS information characteristics as antecedents of technostress creators; (b) to ascertain any relationship between technostress creators and inhibitors with the outcomes of accountants using AIS; and (c) to examine the moderating role of the technostress inhibitors in the relationship between technostress creators and outcomes of accountants using AIS. Survey questionnaire was distributed to accountants in listed companies in Nigeria. A three-stage sampling technique (cluster, stratified and random) was applied to collect data from 296 accountants. A structural equation modeling software (SmartPLS-M) was applied to examine the direct and moderating effects of hypotheses. The results from this study failed to support hypothesized relationships between the two AIS information characteristics (scope and timeliness) and technostress creators. Aggregation and integration were confirmed to have a significant positive relationship with technostress creators. Hence they are predictors of AIS stressors. The findings further confirmed significant negative relationship between technostress creators and task performance, while technostress creators were also found to have significant positive relationship with job satisfaction. Significant positive association between technostress inhibitors and outcomes were found as hypothesised. In addition, technostress inhibitors were also found to moderate the relationship between technostress creators and task performance. Based on the findings, the research makes several theoretical contributions and provides further insights on the antecedents and outcomes of technostress research. Managers can identify where and when AIS stress is likely to occur and the buffering role of technostress inhibitors in this regard. Several potential avenues for future research were identified and proposed.