Abstract

Consumerization of IT (CoIT) is a key trend affecting society at large, including organizations of all kinds. A consensus about the defining aspects of CoIT has not yet been reached. Some refer to CoIT as employees bringing their own devices and technologies to work, while others highlight different aspects. While the debate about the nature and consequences of CoIT is still ongoing, many definitions have already been proposed. In this paper, we review these definitions and what is known about CoIT thus far. To guide future empirical research in this emerging area, we also review several established theories that have not yet been applied to CoIT but in our opinion have the potential to shed a deeper understanding on CoIT and its consequences. We discuss which elements of the reviewed theories are particularly relevant for understanding CoIT and thereby provide targeted guidance for future empirical research employing these theories. Overall, our paper may provide a useful starting point for addressing the lack of theorization in the emerging CoIT literature stream and stimulate discussion about theorizing CoIT.

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