Longitudinal Study of Mobile Technology Adoption: Evolution at Work

Elaine Lawence1 Michael Er2 1 Department of Computer Systems, Faculty of Information Technology 2 School of the Built Environment, Faculty of Design Architecture and Building University of Technology Sydney Abstract
Workplaces are changing as new technologies are introduced in an effort to improve efficiency and increase business turnover. Although there has been an explosion of mobile technologies and devices in recent time, very few in situ studies of the adoption of these technologies have been undertaken. This paper reports on the results of a longitudinal case study of a business over a six year period as a knowledge worker shifted from Australia to the USA and then to England. It outlines how the company moved from paper based systems to an online system and finally to a mobile commerce system. The authors have used Mobile Informatics to analyze the use of mobile devices in particular settings and low end disruption theory to assist in the interpretation of the data. Key-words disruption mobile, informatics, paper based, issues related to this knowledge workers experience of the mobilization of information technology [1]. This paper includes the outcomes of personal and telephone interviews as well as email and AIM and Skype conference calls and online chats undertaken over the past six years. The methodology is outlined in part two. Part three presents a background of the company identified as Fixing and Assembly Accessories (FAA) in this paper for reasons of confidentiality and provides demographic information and product descriptions to contextualise the implementations. Part four analyses the implementation of the enterprise solutions in Australia, the USA and the UK. In part five the authors discuss the findings and part six contains the conclusion and points the way to further research. Low end disruption theory [2] is employed to assist interpretation of data in the discussion section. 2. Methodology Gaining insights into the operations of the sales consultant requires a qualitative research approach. Myers [3] points out that Qualitative research methods are designed to help researchers understand people and the social and cultural contexts within which they live. The work being performed by the subject cannot be reproduced with any real accuracy within the confines of a laboratory. Well acknowledged theories dealing with technology adoption (such as Diffusion of Innovation) have similar notions regarding the adoption process. Part of the adoption of technology process requires users to trial the innovation. After trialing the tool and deciding to adopt it, a new system of operation will emerge in which the technology is incorporated and customized by the user into their work. In order to make these observations a longitudinal study was employed. This study observed a sales consultants work practices over a period of time during which various improvements to an originally paper based system was gradually upgraded to one which is digital and mobile. We note that the evolution of the office is a result of the work

1.

Introduction:

Mobile Commerce promises to deliver services directly into the consumers hands anytime, anywhere using wireless technologies. Applying mobile access to computing creates both tremendous commercial opportunities and complexity, which will make computing globally pervasive and ubiquitous. This paper describes the results of a longitudinal study of the development of the use of mobile devices in a multinational enterprise from an almost completely paper based operation to a mobile and digital system. The subject studied has worked for the same company in three continents over a period of six years. Using Mobile Informatics [1] (the analysis of the use of mobile devices in a particular setting) the authors have observed the working environment of the subject in the three countries and present here the results of this ongoing study. It provides a rich description of the complexity of the personal, social and organisational

Proceedings of the First International Conference on the Digital Society (ICDS'07) 2007

practices that humans have developed over time. [4] The case study presented in Section 4 is followed by the authors interpretations of the data collected from observation as well as interviews.

3. Background
This global enterprise whose core business is the sale of fixing and assembly materials comprises three hundred companies in 80 countries: Some of the typical divisions include An Automotive Division which sells to dealerships, independent auto repair workshops, motorcycle repair shops, smash repair shops, auto

electricians, and any specialized workshop dealing in the automotive after market. A cargo division which sells to commercial vehicle workshops, bus companies, agricultural and forestry operations, earth moving businesses and any specialist company dealing with any kind of transport. A Metal Division which supplies companies involved in Engineering Maintenance, Electrical, Metal Fabrication, and the Marine Industry

Table 1 provides some company information for the three countries as well as some global statistics .

Table 1: Company Statistics by Country and Globally No. of salesmen Number of customers Number of products Divisions Australia 200 30000 8000 Automotive Cargo Transport Metal All states USA 450 40000 Not reported Automotive, Commercial vehicles, Metal, Agricultural, Marine Not all states UK 300 Not reported 6500 lines Automotive Cargo All areas Globally 26000 2.65 million 100,000 Automotive, Woodworking, Metalworking, Construction, Industry 300 companies In 80 countries

Coverage

4. Case study findings

The longitudinal study included in-depth, onsite observation and interviews over a six year period covering the career of one person who has worked as a sales consultant and district trainer for the company firstly in Australia, then in the USA and now in England. Yin [5] believes that a major strength of case study data collection is the opportunity to use a variety of evidentiary sources. Direct observation and field visits provided the opportunity to examine the work practices in real time[6]. The following section outlines the company operations firstly in Australia, then in Louisiana, USA and lastly in London, England. 4.1 The Australia System From 2000 to 2003 the regular observations and interviews took place in Sydney, Australia where the subject began as a Trainee salesman looking after an area in the suburbs of Sydney with a customer base of 140. Over the next three years the subject became a fully trained sales consultant and increased his client base to 200. Salesmen have been identified as Knowledge workers according to [7] as they are

professionals who cannot be easily replaced and whose contribution is critical for the enterprises success. In the case of FAA, all selling is carried out by sales consultants who are given a geographical region to service and also are charged with expanding the number of clients in that area. Generally a salesperson will visit between 8 to 10 clients per day. It is significant that these knowledge workers must be willing to be deployed on a variable basis as their area may change with circumstances; 2. have a capacity of self management as they work most of the time alone 3. have little time for micromanagement [7] Figure 1 illustrates categories of knowledge workers. 1.

Proceedings of the First International Conference on the Digital Society (ICDS'07) 2007

Figure 1. Categories of knowledge workers [7] The Consultants main office was his company car and the selling system was an almost totally paper based system where the subject was given a paper catalogue which he would use to show products to the existing and potential clients. New product pages would be mailed or faxed to him for inclusion in the catalogue. His information system consisted of a set of paper based client cards stored in an expanding alphabetical box file. The sales consultant would record the items that a customer bought on an order page from a sales ordering booklet. The consultant would then update the customer card by hand adding any new products which had been ordered, what moneys were owed by the client or any special needs of the client The electronic part of the system required the sales consultant to fax the order to head office in another state promptly each night once he returned from his client visits as it was the aim of the company to ship out the products the next day. The company supplied the fax machine and the mobile phone which he used to make his appointments. (See Table 2 in Section 4.6 for details on the mobile office and devices) ) 4.2 Issues with the Australian system. The promise of a paperless office has been with us for decades yet despite this many companies still are reliant on paper based systems. Manual paper based processes are inefficient for on-demand services [8] The consultant reported the following issues with the paper based systems. If the customer card was not updated immediately after the sale, there was always the danger that incomplete customer cards were being stored in his expanding file. For example, a client might buy a storage rack for spare parts and it would be the aim of the salesman to ensure that each month the parts would be replenished automatically. If the salesman forgot to record that fact on the customer card

he would probably also forget to set-up the re-order mechanism. This confirms the statement by [8] that processes relying on paper are expensive, error prone and inefficient It was very easy to misfile the cards in the expanding alphabetical filing box. The sales consultant would waste time redoing the card and later locate the original in another filing pocket thereby wasting a lot of time. There was no backup of the customer card if the salesman lost it, the client history was lost so the consultant would then have to get in touch with head office for records to redo the customer card. The consultant did not have particularly legible handwriting so confusion often occurred when looking back over the client card. One advantage that the sales consultant had in the Sydney operation was that he could decide on what discounts to give to loyal customers without reference to the head office. He received a standard salary and then once he surpassed his monthly sales target he received a sales bonus. He would therefore know what discounts would be appealing to the client whilst ensuring that he did not cut his bonus out of contention. 4.3 The Computer Transformation Six months before the sales consultant left for the United States, all the Australian salesmen were issued with a Hewlett Packard laptop and dialup Internet connectivity. Fortunately the consultant was computer and internet literate. FAA had developed their own, new software ordering system for these laptops. Our sales consultant was originally excited about this prospect until he was told that the consultants were to keep their laptops at home. The company was afraid that the laptops would be stolen from the cars or would be damaged in the car repair shops and garages. Thus orders were still written up by hand and had to be sent via fax. However the laptop meant that the sales consultant no longer needed to update the customer card. He could print out the clients order history before he visited the clients. The laptop also meant that email became increasingly important as a means of communication among the sales consultant, his immediate supervisor and the head office. 4.4 USA In July 2003, the consultant took up a position with FAA in Louisiana as a Sales Consultant and District Trainer. As described in [7] Knowledge workers resemble nomadic tribes. They move across projects, teams and companies to where new challenges and opportunities may be found, and where their shifting preferences and life style expectations can be accommodated. Our onsite observations took place in September 2003 and January 2004. Follow up phone interviews and

Proceedings of the First International Conference on the Digital Society (ICDS'07) 2007

emails continued until he left the USA company in May 2006 to work with the company in London, UK. The sales area was huge (about 150 miles square) extending from Franklyn in the south, to New Roads in the north, La Place in the east and Sorrento in the west. The number of his client base increased from 150 to 210 over the 3 year period. Orders were shipped from the head offices in Texas or Florida. 4.4 The US System and issues As in Sydney, the car served as the office for the Consultant however he had to purchase his own mobile phone and computer in order to do the work. The company paid part of the telecommunications bills each month. The consultant was given a company email address and made use of email extensively for communication with his immediate superior in Miami and with the head office in Orlando. He complained about the constant stream of emails in the USA from the Head Offices, the regional managers, the district managers and the internal staff. He noted that he could not afford to ignore his email which would build up quickly to an unmanageable state. He complained that if he did not reply immediately one of his immediate superiors would re-forward the email, further clogging his inbox. These reactions confirm a 2005 study [9] carried out by psychologists at Kings College London which found that workers cannot think as well when they are worrying about emails and voicemails The sales consultant often felt chained to his desktop computer as he always had to go home and do his ordering before he could go out at night. He reported that he wished he had bought a laptop as that way he could have done his orders immediately. He stated he rejected the laptop as a result of his experience in Sydney where he was told he could not carry the laptop to sales sites. Again the paper catalogue was used as was the system of having a customer card. One major issue here was the lack of client history which would be sent by fax or mail to the consultant. This would then be stapled to the client card making the card system bulky and awkward. Each year some of the buying history of the client was wiped off the system for example if a customer did not buy a particular item for 12 months this item was dropped off. The consultant was mystified by this but nobody could explain why his rolling 12 month business rule was in place. He stated that the paper trail was unbelievable he felt he was being overwhelmed by faxes and paper records via US post. The client orders were entered by hand on the order books and had to be keyed in at night on the computer system for submission. This web system is essentially an online shop but is only accessible by salesmen as can be seen from the notice that appears if a client accesses the online shop. Identification of the

company has been purposes.

removed

for

confidentiality

This site is only available for our sales force. If you are a customer and are interested in our products please contact our customer service under (1-800-999-9999). Each night on returning from visiting clients, the consultant logged into the web based system and keyed in the product number sometimes this could amount to up to 50 line items so it took a lot of time. The consultant reported a great deal of frustration with this system as his keyboard skills were not particularly good so the electronic system did not speed up orders at all. He felt that the paper based system in Sydney was superior as he did not have to do double entry there he could simply fax in the handwritten orders It should be noted that had he bought a laptop he would have been able to key in his orders as they were made. The consultant did use the fax if the web site was down. He also received new account forms, credit notes and new product information by fax and via the mail. In the US, the consultant covered up to 300 miles each day so an important part of his electronic equipment in his mobile office (car) was a radar detector. He reported this electronic device is legal in the United States and he found it a vital piece of his mobile electronic equipment. Software called MapPoint was used extensively by the consultant to map out his daily visits to clients spread across the huge sales area. The consultant found this a great benefit to his efficiency and a big improvement on his experiences in Sydney where he had to map out his visits manually (although it must be noted again that the area in Sydney was not large). Another issue that the consultant found constraining in the US was the fact that he was not able to give discounts as was the case in Sydney. 4. 5 The England System and issues In the first week of May, 2006 the consultant moved to the London company and started work immediately as a Sales Consultant in West and South London Districts. It is here that he has found that as stated by [8] innovative software tools and internet based products have made it possible for knowledge nomadic workers to work at any time, from any location To this mix he would add effective mobile telecommunications. An in-depth, on-site interview took place in London in late June, 2006 followed up by emails and Skype and phone interviews. He was provided with a car, a mobile phone and he bought a GPS Navigation device called TomTom. He was able to pick up his car and mobile devices on a Friday and commenced work

Proceedings of the First International Conference on the Digital Society (ICDS'07) 2007

immediately on the following Monday. He reported that he was greatly impressed with TomTom which enabled him to navigate around London with no problems on the first day. Figure 1 shows a TomTom

destination and the route is worked out and displayed for him. The TomTom can issue spoken instructions as well as display the actual road map [10]. This mobile device has proven to be a tremendous boon to the salesman allowing him to move quickly around the large metropolis of London easily despite the fact that he is a newcomer. 4.6 London Operations The first thing the consultant noticed that was different from the US and the Australian experience was the complete reliance on Mobile Devices for his mobile office. These new devices enable actors to evolve new routines and behaviour with the technology [1]. Table Two illustrates these differences. The second improvement noted by the consultant was the Hewlett Packard Jornada which was supplied by the company see Figure 2. This handheld device is carried by the consultant into the clients business along with the paper based catalogue which has been

Figure 1: TomTom GPS navigation System [10] The TomTom Navigation system uses Digital maps and GPS to enable users to find their way around a city, town or entire continent. The TomTom is mounted on the dashboard of the car and the consultant can either key in the address or post code of his

Table 2: Electronic/Mobile Equipment and software provided/used Australia Company Car fuel card Company Mobile phone (All the bill) Own Desktop computer Laptop supplied in 2003 Internal Modem company provided Facsimile United States Company Car reimbursed for gas monthly Own Mobile Phone (part payment) Own Desktop Computer Own Cable Modem Facsimile Radar (legal) MapPoint England Company Car fuel card Company Mobile Phone (all the bill) Company Mobile HP Jornada link to mobile phone via infra red Own Wireless Router Own home Facsimile Radar detector (legal) TomTom GPS navigation System AutoRoute Comments Used as office also work at home when necessary Company pays all or part of mobile bills Jornada PC proves to be the most user friendly and efficient - provides total mobility for the knowledge worker For working at home Company provided Not provided by company Not provided by company Supplied by company

detector

a common feature throughout his history with the company. The consultant is able to key in the orders immediately as they are made. The software contains all the client history so the need for the customer card is eliminated. At each client site the consultant can connect the device wirelessly to his mobile phone and send the data immediately to the head office for picking and fulfilling. If the order is received prior to

14.30 the products are shipped for next day delivery. The consultant has found this to be the most useful feature of working in London compared with his Sydney and Louisiana experiences. As well each morning he is able to download new information about his clients and products from head office update his invoices, and examine his clients history . examine the credit history which is updated every

Proceedings of the First International Conference on the Digital Society (ICDS'07) 2007

night. The history is not deleted after each year as was the case in the US where a rolling 12 month history system was in place. One issue that has not pleased the consultant in London is the handling of discounts for clients. If he wishes to give a discount he must text his immediate superior in Kent with the client identification, the product number and the amount of discount he wishes to offer his client. He must await a return text message on his mobile phone for authorization. This generally works well but on some occasions he has found that his boss is in a meeting and is not able to text back immediately. This can hold up a sale and, in fact, can mean on occasions that orders are not sent in before the 14.30 deadline for next day delivery. As the consultant was able to make his own decisions on discounts in Sydney from 2000 to 2003 he finds this system time consuming and annoying.

(introduced) competitor, with the incumbent more often than not, winning. It was found however, that when the competition did not pose a direct (identifiable) threat to high end products, the introduced company was able to slowly infiltrate the market and eventually, bit by bit, displace the incumbent. Contemplating the above analogy, we consider the original paper based system and the online system in Australia and the United States. If we relate the paper system to the incumbent and the online system as the introduced, we are able to map an explanation for success. Initially the paper based system relied on the cards for recording order details. To address this, the new system introduced laptops which, although remaining in the house of the sales consultant, provided a record of the client history. It meant that he had reliable access to the clients sales history, downloading it to paper prior to visits. In the United States operation, the online system evolved to include an email system, addressing issues associated with communications between the head office and the sales consultant. However it is interesting to note that the email system became a source of irritation to the consultant in the United States operation as discussed in Section 4.4. The misinterpretations associated with hand writing were addressed with the next system evolution. An online web system allowed the sales consultant to directly enter orders at the end of each day. Again the consultant had some issues with this system as it still required quite a bit of typing Finally the system incorporated a mobile device, the HP Jornada, allowing for sales consultants to place orders and access client information online on demand while on the road. Here the system requires a minimum of keying in as the entire product line can be accessed via a click of a button. We note the satisfaction with this system from the user, the sales consultant. It is worthwhile noting that each country implemented its own client order system. Another aspect of the English mobile system is the lack of email communication which the consultant states that he has not missed. In this system text messaging (SMS) is the communication of choice and the sales person has not been issued with a company email address as had been the case in the United States. From our perspective, the consultant in London has now entered a totally mobile workspace his mobile office is his car and he has a suite of mobile devices in his office on which he relies. These are his mobile phone for voice, data transfer, texting (SMS) and as a modem; his mobile PC (Jornada) for ordering products and updating his client details; his TomTom navigation device for moving easily around London and his legal radar detector.

Figure 2: Handheld HP Jornada [11]

5. Discussion and Interpretation

The original paper based system caused several problems. The redundancy of data, double handling and reliance on individual efficiency and control of paper files created issues not only for the sales consultant but for staff in head office. Several cases in which a technology solution to issues associated with paper based systems (such as the ones described in the original system) are described in [12]. In many of these situations described, a problem was identified and a technology introduced as a solution however the introduction of the new system did not achieve the beneficial effects expected. [12]. The English system reported in our case study had the opposite result with the elimination of the inefficient paper based system by a mobile system. Why then was there such a difference in outcome? The explanation in success can be illustrated through contextualizing low end disruption theory which is used mainly to explain innovation in competition between companies. An incumbent company will vigorously defend its market share against a new

Proceedings of the First International Conference on the Digital Society (ICDS'07) 2007

6. Conclusion
The nomadic, sales knowledge workers who live in a data-centric world, need constant contact and communication [13]. The longitudinal case study of one knowledge workers experience with a multinational company in three countries has provided a snapshot of successful technology changes in the workplace over a period of six years. The path from a paper based system to a mobile one has caused a number of issues for the consultant but as a mobile, nomadic knowledge worker, he now reports satisfaction with the mobile system he is using. The use of mobile analytics and low end disruption theory have assisted the researchers in running and interpreting this longitudinal case study. Future work will concentrate on the introduction of new mobile devices into the mobile enterprise and ways to ensure that security and privacy issues are addressed.

[9] Stress, technology and IT, Management issues, 2005, Too much email rots your brain, management Issues News , 22 April 2005, http://www.managementissues.com/display_page.asp?section=research&id =2074 [10] http://www.tomtom.com/products [11] http://www.amazon.com) [12] Sellen, A and Harper, R. 2003 The Myth of the paperless office, MIT Press, Massachusetts [13] Wyatt, A. 2005 Mobile Workforce fir Dummies: Avaya Limited Edition, Wiley Publishing Inc, Indiana, USA

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Proceedings of the First International Conference on the Digital Society (ICDS'07) 2007