In-app controls for small business accounting information system: a study of domain understanding

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the context of cognitive load and the role of in-app controls that serve as visual aids to promote business process understanding and the use of accounting information system (AIS) for small business users. Design/methodology/approach In total, 164 participants from small- and medium-sized enterprises were invited to participate in an experiment with between-subjects 2×2 factorial design. Researchers provided two sets of manipulations in the form of in-app control aids, namely Navigation and Guidance. Groups of individuals either received both navigation and guidance, only navigation or only guidance, or no treatment at all. These four different groups were then tested by a range of tasks to measure user understanding on small business domain knowledge and accounting business process provided by the system. Findings The findings indicate that although several early indications were visually observed wherein Navigation and Guidance may help reduce individual cognitive load and hence provide potential value for a better understanding of business process, the statistical analysis has not yet been able to substantiate the differences. Despite visually supporting the hypotheses, neither Navigation nor Guidance proved significant on accuracy (scores), efficiency (time) and individual cognitive difficulties. It appears that a systematic training on the accounting process is arguably imperative in order to reduce the extraneous cognitive load due to a relative gap of accounting logic and users’ knowledge of their business process. Ultimately, it would promote the germane knowledge where the integration of user’s own business process and accounting process can manifest effectively. Research limitations/implications Aligned with the findings of the research and its correlation with learning, apparently the learning process is not merely determined not only by the application control features being embedded, but also by the domain knowledge of individuals who interact with the system. Training related to the discussion of the accounting process should be conducted more intensively to minimize the gap between the knowledge upon the problems on individual business process and the mechanism of the accounting process. Originality/value This research takes a new approach in examining user acceptance toward an AIS by comparing task performance with and without the assistive devices, to assess how these visual aids may overcome the cognitive load of the individual.