Adding background music as new stimuli of interest to information systems research

Music is a self-evident crucial part of the human experience across cultures, with artefacts dating as far back as the last Ice Age. Music is, as well, an essential aspect of human communication, profoundly influencing the meaning of communication, perception, and behaviour. Music’s critical role is recognised in many disciplines, including anthropology, sociology, psychology, neuroscience, medicine, and marketing. The objective of this Issues and Opinions paper is to discuss theoretical insights concerning the effects of music stimuli, and to describe how that insight applies to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) contexts. As ICT becomes ever more ubiquitous, and as background music becomes ever more an integral part of ICT interfaces, including music in IS research presents increasing theoretical and practical importance.