Title: Are Smartphones helpful? An empirical investigation of the role of Smartphones in users' role performance

Authors: Kyung Young Lee; Minwoo Lee; Kimin Kim

Addresses: Williams School of Business, Dalhousie University, 2600 College Street, Lenoxville, QC, J1M 1Z7, Canada ' Isenberg School of Management, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 012 Flint Lab, Amherst, MA 01003, USA ' School of Business, Ajou University, 206 World cup-ro, Youngtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of three key Smartphone computing functions (SCF) on three dimensions of organisational role performance. Using survey data collected from 185 organisational workers across industries, we found that (1) workers tend to use SCF more frequently when they are often relocated and when they perceive organisational support for Smartphone use; (2) the use of informational functions tends to enhance all three dimensions of organisational role performance; (3) the use of social networking functions tends to improve interpersonal role performance; (4) the use of resource management functions tends to enhance interpersonal role performance; and (5) workers perceive their decisional and interpersonal role performance as instrumental in improving their overall job performance. The current study adds to the growing body of the literature examining the role of mobile applications (Apps) in Smartphones and their managerial implications.

Keywords: managerial roles; mobile computing; wireless computing; mobility; smartphone functions; social networks; organisational support; user performance; organisational roles; resource management; mobile applications; mobile apps; smartphones.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMC.2017.082534

International Journal of Mobile Communications, 2017 Vol.15 No.2, pp.119 - 143

Accepted: 06 May 2016
Published online: 28 Feb 2017 *

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