Unpacking the organizational impacts of enterprise mobility using the repertory grid technique

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the organizational impacts of enterprise mobility and the configurations of mobile information technology (IT) impacts in companies with various value creation logics. Design/methodology/approach An exploratory approach combining semi-structured interview and repertory grid method was used to evaluate managers’ perspectives on the effects of mobile technologies. Findings The qualitative findings unearth managers’ perspectives about the organizational impacts of enterprise mobility, which are categorized into six intermediary dimensions and two fundamental impacts. A further analysis of material collected from interviews also shows the differential context-related configurations of mobile IT impacts in companies. Research limitations/implications This study contributes to literature on the business value of IT in general and mobile IT in particular by examining managers’ cognitive constructions of the organizational impacts of enterprise mobility and highlighting the complexity and context-related variety of mobile IT impacts. Practical implications This study provides valuable insights for managers and decision makers that enterprise mobility shows promise in enhancing a firm’s operational and marketing performance. Originality/value Different from prior literature, this study is an exploratory attempt to investigate complex enterprise-mobility-performance relationship and preliminarily uncovers that the mechanisms with which mobile IT influences firm performance vary in different organizational contexts.