User appropriation of mobile technologies: Motives, conditions and design properties

Mobile technology in mobile work: contradictions and congruencies in activity systems

“…Donner (2007) used adaptive structuration theory to explore the use of mobile phones and meanings behind certain uses. The use of activity theory to frame studies surrounding the patterns of use of mobile technology (Wiredu, 2007;Wiredu & Sørensen, 2006) remains emergent rather than established.…”

“…Engeström (1987) expanded the activity system to include other elements such as community, the division of labour and rules/norms (see Figure 1). This follows that an activity is constantly developing and influenced by the activity community and problematised by their divergent motives (Wiredu, 2007); governed by cultural-historical rules/norms which influence the activity direction, the selection of tools and meaningful action; and, executed by a division of labour which takes place between the subject and community (and object, if applicable).…”

“…A particular theme relates to the dual function of mobile technology as both serving organisation-sanctioned and personal motives (Wiredu, 2007), with each context leading to different perceptions of user satisfaction (Scheepers et al, 2006). There is also better understanding of how users perceive their mobile devices and the utilitarian and social values patterning the decision to adopt amongst individual users (Kim & Han, 2009).…”

How Should Technology-Mediated Organizational Change Be Explained? A Comparison of the Contributions of Critical Realism and Activity Theory

“…Recently, there has also been a growing interest in the use of activity theory within the field of IS, with work focusing on mobile IS change and the public sector (Allen and Wilson 2004;Karanasios et al 2009;Pica et al 2004;Sørensen and Pica 2005;Wiredu 2007;Wiredu and Sørensen 2006). Several approaches to the use of activity theory in IS exist: Kaptelinin et al's (1999) activity checklist has been utilized for human-computer interaction design and evaluation (Fuentes et al 2004); Quek and Shah's (2004) activity theoretical evaluation method attempts to develop the abstract concepts of activity theory as a practical tool for IS practitioners engaged in evaluation.…”

Mobility at work

“…As illustrated in the vignettes, these spaces spanned functional, hierarchical, and even organizational boundaries through mobile talk, instant messages, email, etc. MCOP activities were supported by creatively appropriating technologies (Wiredu, 2007) through installing software to support community participation (Case I), repeated, short interactions (Case II) or hiding the use of the technology (Case III). But although all cases revealed discrepancies between the intended and actual use of mobile technology, the impact of the different MCOP arrangements on the firms varied significantly.…”