Description
The use of consumer IT at work, known as "IT Consumerization", is changing the dynamic between employees and IT departments. Employees are empowered and now have greater freedom but also responsibility as to what technologies to use at work and how. At the same time, organizational factors such as rules on technology use still exert considerable influence on employees' actions. Drawing on Structuration Theory, we frame this interaction between organization and employee as one of structure and agency. In the process, we pursue an explorative approach and rely on qualitative data from interviews with public-sector employees. We identify four organizational structures that influence people's behavior with respect to IT Consumerization: policies, equipment, tasks and authority. By spotlighting the mutual influence of these organizational structures and Consumerization-related behavior, we show Giddens's duality of structure in action and demonstrate its relevance to the study of IT Consumerization.
Recommended Citation
Klesel, Michael; Mokosch, Gunnar; and Niehaves, Björn, "Putting flesh on the Duality of Structure: the case of IT Consumerization" (2015). AMCIS 2015 Proceedings. 19.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2015/EndUser/GeneralPresentations/19
Putting flesh on the Duality of Structure: the case of IT Consumerization
The use of consumer IT at work, known as "IT Consumerization", is changing the dynamic between employees and IT departments. Employees are empowered and now have greater freedom but also responsibility as to what technologies to use at work and how. At the same time, organizational factors such as rules on technology use still exert considerable influence on employees' actions. Drawing on Structuration Theory, we frame this interaction between organization and employee as one of structure and agency. In the process, we pursue an explorative approach and rely on qualitative data from interviews with public-sector employees. We identify four organizational structures that influence people's behavior with respect to IT Consumerization: policies, equipment, tasks and authority. By spotlighting the mutual influence of these organizational structures and Consumerization-related behavior, we show Giddens's duality of structure in action and demonstrate its relevance to the study of IT Consumerization.