Tarafdar and colleagues (2024) defined the constructs of techno-eustress and techno-eustress creators. In this post, I present the definitions of both constructs.
Techno-eustress is positive stress that individuals experience from using IS (p. 2100). Techno-eustress creators are factors that create techno-eustress (p. 2098). Techno-eustress creators comprise techno-mastery, techno-autonomy, techno-relatedness and techno-enrichment (pp. 2101-2103).
First, techno-mastery is the “cognition of challenge and motivation that the IS user experiences from IS use” that relates to mastery (p. 2101). If an individual experiences techno-mastery, then he or she experiences the challenge and motivation “to achieve competence, efficiency and proficiency at work” (p. 2102), and the experience arises “from IS use” (p. 2101). Individuals who experience techno-mastery tend to agree that the IT applications and devices that they use for work challenge them in a positive way and motivate them to (p. 2114):
- Make their work methods more innovative;
- Make their work methods more effective;
- Improve their work methods; and
- Improve work-related information processing.
Second, techno-autonomy is the “cognition of challenge and motivation that the IS user experiences from IS use” that relates to autonomy (p. 2101). If an individual experiences techno-autonomy, then he or she experiences the challenge and motivation “to act with a sense of agency and choice, to prioritise important tasks, and execute them as they want” (p. 2102), and the experience arises “from IS use” (p. 2101). Individuals who experience techno-autonomy tend to agree that the IT applications and devices that they use for work challenge them in a positive way and motivate them to (p. 2114):
- Prioritise their work (e.g., with the help of to-do list applications);
- Focus on work that is important;
- Change the prioritisation of their work if necessary; and
- Spend more time on important tasks (e.g., with the help of to-do list applications).
Third, techno-relatedness is the “cognition of challenge and motivation that the IS user experiences from IS use” that relates to relatedness (p. 2101). If an individual experiences techno-relatedness, then he or she experiences the challenge and motivation “to leverage their connectivity with colleagues to exchange feedback and social support” (p. 2102), and the experience arises “from IS use” (p. 2101). Individuals who experience techno-relatedness tend to agree that the IT applications and devices that they use for work challenge them in a positive way and motivate them to (p. 2114):
- Stay connected with their colleagues through IT;
- Get feedback on their work from many colleagues;
- Give social support to their colleagues; and
- Exchange with many colleagues on work matters.
Last, techno-enrichment is the “cognition of challenge and motivation that the IS user experiences from IS use” that relates to enrichment (p. 2101). If an individual experiences techno-enrichment, then he or she experiences the challenge the motivation to “to make their work more interesting, and oriented toward adding value and solving problems” (p. 2103), and the experience arises “from IS use” (p. 2101). Individuals who experience techno-enrichment tend to agree that the IT applications and devices that they use for work challenge them in a positive way and motivate them to (p. 2114):
- Do work that is more interesting (e.g., by having access to new information);
- Do work that is more value-added (e.g., work that involves less routine tasks);
- Do work that is more problem-solving oriented (e.g., through Excel spreadsheets, analytical tools and research tools); and
- Do work that is more intellectually stimulating (e.g., by having access to different kinds of information from many sources).
Tarafdar, M., Stich, J. F., Maier, C., & Laumer, S. (2024). Techno‐eustress creators: Conceptualization and empirical validation. Information Systems Journal, 34(6), 2097-2131.