Is mobile email functional or dysfunctional? Two perspectives on mobile email usage
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Is mobile email functional or dysfunctional? Two perspectives on mobile email usage Catherine A. Middleton1 and Wendy Cukier2 1 School of Information Technology Management, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON, Canada; 2Faculty of Business, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON, Canada
Correspondence: Catherine A. Middleton, School of Information Technology Management, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON, Canada M5B 2K3. Tel: þ 1 416 979 5000 ext 7923; E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract This paper offers a study of contradiction in the usage of mobile email. Using qualitative data, the paper identifies mobile email usage patterns that are dangerous, distracting, anti-social and that infringe on work-life boundaries. Mobile email users were forthcoming in describing these dysfunctional usage patterns, but they made a convincing argument that their mobile devices are highly functional and allow them to be efficient, to multitask without disruption to others, and to respond immediately to messages, as well as offering them the freedom to work from anywhere. These dual perspectives on mobile email (dys)functionality are explored through a metaphorical lens, showing how organisational cultures can reinforce the functional perspective while simultaneously suppressing the dysfunctional view. It is argued that it is important to understand and explore the dysfunctional perspective of mobile email adoption. The paper concludes with a series of questions that challenge organisations to reflect critically on their assumptions about mobile email usage. European Journal of Information Systems (2006) 15, 252–260. doi:10.1057/palgrave.ejis.3000614 Keywords: mobility; electronic mail; handheld devices; BlackBerry; psychic prison
Introduction
Received: 11 November 2005 Revised: 1 February 2006 Accepted: 20 February 2006
Email has been used in the workplace for many years (Sproull & Kiesler, 1986; Markus, 1994a; Fallows, 2002). Short message service (SMS) and iMode provide mobile data functionality and have been popular for social communication (Barnes & Huff, 2003; Ling, 2004; Reid & Reid, 2004; Faulkner & Culwin, 2005) but have not been widely adopted by the worldwide business community. Mobile email provides full access to any kind of email account by means of a portable handheld device, moving beyond the restrictions of SMS and iMode to support seamless anytime, anywhere connectivity. In comparison to mobile telephony adoption, corporate uptake of mobile email has been slow. In the past couple of years, however, mobile email subscriptions have grown rapidly (Research in Motion, 2005). Analysts believe that the mobile email market will experience rapid and sustained growth in the next decade (Malykhina, 2005; Eazel, 2006), and new and established software and hardware providers like Good Technology, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia, Palm, Research in Motion, SEVEN, Siemens, and Visto are competing intensely for market share. In the North American context, the market leader in the mobile email sector is RIM’s BlackBerrys. Wit
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