How context impacts on media choice

TL;DR

This study explores how different contexts, such as traveling, influence mobile knowledge workers' choice of communication channels, highlighting the role of smartphones in enabling context-specific communication.

Contribution

It provides empirical insights into how context impacts communication channel selection among mobile workers, emphasizing the influence of smartphones on communication behavior.

Findings

Context affects communication channel usage

Smartphones enable specific communication channels in certain contexts

Traveling influences communication choices

Abstract

The relevance of mobile working is steadily increasing. Based on new mobile devices (e.g. smartphones) and their innovative functionalities, an increasing amount of data is being made available ubiquitously. As a result, the growing diffusion of smartphones offers new potential for enterprises. Current mobile devices and related mobile networks have reached a high level of maturity. Thus, the organizational aspects of mobile work have become a focal point of interest for enterprises as well as for academics. This research article addresses the question: How does context influence the choice of communication channels of mobile knowledge workers? An explorative research approach is used to collect and analyse 418 communication incidents, which were initiated by mobile knowledge workers. The results indicate that (1) the context (e.g. travelling on trains) influences the usage of communication channels and (2) smartphones enable the usage of communication channels (e.g. email) in certain contexts.