Introduction:

 

Problem Statement

 

Technology is witnessing unprecedented growth in all sectors of business, while simultaneously equipping leaders with relevant and readily accessible information to assist them in decision making process.  Thanks to the Internet, laptops, and smart phones, leaders have access to information from anywhere at any time.  However, this ease of access to information for organizations has also increased the demands and expectations of its leaders.

While organizations have adopted technologies to help drive an insatiable quest for productivity, efficiency and profitability, the consequences have been the virtual elimination of the 40-hour workweek.  In order to stay ahead of their competition, organizations have almost come to expect that their employees are always available, despite their personal lives and schedules outside of the office.

This notion of “always being connected” to work has introduced a new construct to the traditional eight to five white-collar job. Organizations are operating in a dynamic business environment which is prone to change, internally as well as externally, while leadership is left to deal with this change (Robbins, 2009).  The challenge for today’s managers is being able to lead both inside and outside the organization, while simultaneously being able to leverage rapid advancements in technology to remain competitive and relevant in their particular industry.  Technology can be used to leverage and assist managers in coping with the dynamic business environment.

A preliminary review of the literature has shown that there is minimal research on this notion of technology adoption and its impact on the leader outside of the organization.  Hence, there exists a substantial literature gap which can be filled by the proposed research. This research will seek determine the demographic influence that technology has had both within and outside of the workplace.

Leadership Theory:

The dynamic shift in the culture of an organization due to the adoption of technology implies that there may also be shift in this situational relationship between a leader and their subordinates.  This environmental aspect of the organization applies to both the cultural norms and operational performance of the organization. This study uses two theoretical frameworks, situational leadership theory and Scott’s model of institutional carriers, to understand how the technological and autonomous shift of the operational environment aligns with the needed situational leadership style required of today’s leaders.

The theory of situational leadership was developed by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard and is best understood by considering both the leadership style and development levels of subordinates (Robbins, 2009).  It is a contingency theory that takes into consideration the readiness of the leader’s subordinates in adapting to various situations. Situational leadership stresses that leaders adapt their style to the demands of different situations.  While situational leadership is not a new form of leadership study, it does provide an excellent context for this research study because it also takes into account the development levels of subordinates.  Consequently the situational leadership model can also provide a critical understanding as to the effect technology adoption has to the purview of a leader and their responsibilities to the organization.

Situational leadership contrasts the directive and supportive behaviors a leader has on their subordinates.  These two behaviors are further classified into a bell shaped curve that measures the leadership style through a continuum of four quadrants; High Directive/Low Supportive (Directing), High Directive/High Supportive (Coaching), Low Directive/High Supportive (Supporting) and Low Directive/Low Supportive (Delegating) (Robbins, 2009).

While the behavior styles of the leader help shape one’s influence over their subordinates, so too are the development levels of their subordinates.  These development levels describe the subordinates commitment and competence (i.e. developing to highly developed) over a given task.  As the data is analyzed, this framework will be critical to understanding the conducive nature by which both the leader and subordinate are adapting to this new operational environment as always being on and available.

Finally as the landscape of the organization has changed, so to has the need for the type of leadership style most conducive to this change.  Therefore, the second element of leadership theory needed for this research will be Scott’s model of institutional carrier’s.  Using Scott’s framework for this research will help to understand how organizations are shifting their “routines” from normal (i.e. 8 AM to 5 PM Monday through Friday) workdays to one of no downtime, always on and always connected because of technology adoption outside of the normal work routine.

This research will contribute to the scholarship of understanding how technology adoption within an organization affects the leadership style of its administrators.  Consequently, this research and the two aforementioned theoretical frameworks outlined above will help to provide insight as to what has changed, and the impact technology has had on the normal routines of most organizations.

 

Purpose Statement:

The purpose of this quantitative research study is to understand the role that technology has on leaders within an organization.  At this point in the research, the perspective role of technology will generally be defined as email, smart phones, Internet access and computers both within and outside the organization.

Barbour (1993) highlighted the three views on the technology namely, “Technology as the liberator”, “Technology as the threat” and “Technology as the instrument of power”. Further, the research will try to determine which viewpoint fits in the case of use of technology by the leaders both within and outside the organization.

Research Question(s):

The research outlined by this proposal will provide answers to the following questions and sub-questions concerning the role of leaders outside and

Question 1.  How has technology expanded a leaders role outside of traditional working hours as outlined by Scott’s Organizational Theory of Institutional Pillars and Carriers?

Question 2.  How can Situational Leadership Theory be applied by leaders to understand the role that income, race, age, education and gender have on organizational routines within an organization?

In order to answer these general research questions, the following sub-questions will be addressed:

Sub-question 1.  Is there a significant difference in what a person’s role within an organization has on the amount of work activity they do outside of normal working hours via use of technology?

H_O:  There is no significant difference between a person’s role within an organization and the work that they do outside of normal working hours via use of technology.

H_a:  There is a significant difference between a person’s role within an organization and the work that they do outside of normal working hours via use of technology.

Sub-question 2.  Is there a significant difference in the role that technologies have on leadership positions in utilizing more advanced services as compared to other employees?

H_O:  There is no significant difference in the role that technologies have on leadership positions in utilizing more advanced services as compared to other employees.

H_a:  There is a significant difference in the role that technologies have on leadership positions in utilizing more advanced services as compared to other employees.

Sub-question 3.  Is there a significant difference in technology use by a leader because of their race, gender, age and education?

H_O:  There is no significant difference in technology use by a leader because of their race, gender, age and education.

H_a:  There is a significant difference in technology use by a leader because of their race, gender, age and education.

Sub-question 4.  Is there a significant difference in employees working longer hours outside of normal hours when an organization blocks websites?

H_O:  There is no significant difference in employees working longer hours outside of normal hours when an organization blocks websites.

H_a:  There is a significant difference in employees working longer hours outside of normal hours when an organization blocks websites.

 

Sub-question 5.  Is there a significant difference in the amount of work a leader does outside of normal working hours because of their access to technology?

H_O:  There is no significant difference in the amount of work a leader does outside of normal working hours because of their access to technology.

H_a:  There is a significant difference in the amount of work a leader does outside of normal working hours because of their access to technology.

 

Definitions

Type of work – Is the job title of the individual that one holds within an organization.  It is an independent variable.

Amount of Time – Refers to the time spent by an employee outside of the workplace doing work related activities.  It is a dependent variable as it depends on the type of work.

Cell Phone and Internet Use outside of work – Refers to the accessibility to technology outside of the workplace. It is a dependent variable as it depends on the type of work and technology access.

Internet Access – Refers to whether the employee has been provided the Internet access by the organization or not. It is an independent variable as every employee has an access to Internet in order to facilitate the working.

E-mail Access – Refers to whether the employee has been provided E-mail access by the organization or not. It is an independent variable as every employee has an access to E-mail in order to enable working outside of the organization.

Cell phone or Smartphone access – Refers to whether the employee has been provided the cell phone or Smartphone access by the organization or not. It is a dependent variable as it depends on the type of work.

Race, Gender, Age and Education – These are independent variable used to highlight the demographic profile of the target population.

Income – It is a dependent variable as it is dependent upon the type of work. It is also a demographic variable.

Block Websites – Refers to the websites on which the organizations explicitly places restrictions to access.  Employees are not allowed to access these websites from their place of work potentially impacting their ability to do work.

Technology use increases amount of time at work – It is a dependent variable as it measures the perception of the employees towards the use of technology and how the use of technology affects the amount of working time outside of normal business hours.

Table 1.  Overview of Data and Connections to Theoretical Framework

Research Sub-Question(s)	Variable (Dependent/ Independent)	Label	Source	Data type (Values)
1,2,3,4,5	Type of Work  (Independent)	Role	2014 Pew Technology Use Research Questionnaire	Kind of work (01-08); Questionnaire #6
1,2,3,4,5	How often work outside of workplace (Dependent)	Time	2014 Pew Technology Use Research Questionnaire	Amount of Time worked (1-6); Questionnaire #6a
1,2,3	Cell Phone & Internet use outside of work (Independent)	Technology	2014 Pew Technology Use Research Questionnaire	Importance of Internet and cell phone access outside of work (1-4); Questionnaire #14
5	Internet Access (Independent?)	Internet	2014 Pew Technology Use Research Questionnaire	Internet access for job (1-4); Questionnaire #7
5	Email Access (Independent)	Email	2014 Pew Technology Use Research Questionnaire	E-mail access for job (1-4); Questionnaire #10
5	Cell Phone or Smartphone Access (Independent)	Cell	2014 Pew Technology Use Research Questionnaire	Cell Phone or Smartphone access for job (1-4); Questionnaire #8
3	Race (Independent)	Race	2014 Pew Technology Use Research Questionnaire	Race (1-2);
3	Gender (Independent)	Gender	2014 Pew Technology Use Research Questionnaire	Gender (1-2);
3	Income (Dependent)	Income	2014 Pew Technology Use Research Questionnaire	Income (1-4);
3	Age (Inependent)	Age	2014 Pew Technology Use Research Questionnaire	Age (1-4);
3	Education (Independent)	Education	2014 Pew Technology Use Research Questionnaire	Education (1-4);
4	Block Websites (Independent)	Block	2014 Pew Technology Use Research Questionnaire	Company Blocks Websites (1-3); Questionnaire #15
6	Technology use increase amount of time at work (Dependent)	Use	2014 Pew Technology Use Research Questionnaire	Increase the amount of time at work (1-2); Questionnaire #18

 

 

Significance of Study:

 

With more and more people accessing telecommunications services from their homes and billions of dollars already spent on infrastructure, the question must be asked by both researchers and leaders, “What effect does this adoption of technology have on leaders and their relationship with their employees?”   While there are various leadership theories, the one that appears most appropriate relative to this study would be situational leadership that takes into account the relationship between the leader and their followers.   In addition, there is social context with the organizational through the rapid adoption of technology and its impact on the personal lives of employees.  Consequently, this delineation between work and family time is becoming blurred with the advent or technology.

This research will seek to examine the impact that technology access has on the leadership role within an organization. If senior executives can “tune into” the key differentiators associated with situational leadership and learn to adapt their technology adoption to their organizational routines, then they can not only advance employee morale, but also possibly improve the customer relationships because of higher employee satisfaction.  Ultimately this simple relationship between technology adoption and balancing the routines of an organization could ultimately lead to improved financial performance and profitability for their shareholders.

Finally, there is a need to understand what role does the demographic differences exist between; gender, age, education, race and income have on the leaders adoption of technology.  For example, what role does one’s leadership position have on their workload outside of normal work hours because of ease of access to technology?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Limitations & Delimitations:

 

The delimitations of a study are related to the chosen boundaries that are being studied, while the limitations of the scope are made with the purposeful intentions to not include specific elements during the design of the study.  Secondary data was gathered via Pew Research Data; consequently, there are several delimitations and limitations related to the design of this study.

 

Specifically, the delimitations associated with this research proposal are that only customers within United States were studied.  While further research could be conducted across numerous parts of the globe to determine correlating evidence or effects that demographic influences might have on this model, that was not the intent of this study.

 

In addition, only adults are part of this study.  While age groups were part of the ranges, it was only 18+.  While it could be conceived that the rapid adoption is by those 18 and younger, the purpose of this study was based on those that use technology via an organization and are employed.

Finally, this study did not concentrate on any specific industry segment (i.e. Service, Manufacturing, Banking, Farming, etc.).   Despite this delimitation, there could be some similarities between or within sectors due to the adoption of technology by an organization.

 

Finally, while there are other variations of quantitative analysis that could be used, the logistic regression model was chosen because it provides a sound baseline to predict a dependent variable based on numerous and categorical independent variables.  In addition, this logistical regression model provides executive leadership with the information necessary to pinpoint areas for understanding the managerial intervention in deciding where to focus on adapting organizational routines.

 

The limitations of this study were related to the study environment since only one geographical area was chosen for this research proposal and it may not have provided an overarching or representative viewpoint of other areas within the United States or Globally.

 

The data was collected in 2014 and is two years old.  Therefore the results may not accurately reflect the current state and use of more current technology inside and outside of the workplace.

 

The other limitation associated with this study was that of not knowing the length or frequency by which the customers have used technology within their organization.  This may have an impact on the results as it is unknown whether previous positive or negative experiences may have caused the employee to respond differently.   The respondent’s perception of previous experiences with their current technology may have had a direct influence on the response provided.  Further, there could have been other questions asked of the participants to gain a deeper understanding into the technologies and issues surrounding the tethering of technology for leaders.

 

Literature Review:

A literature review is essential for any research study as it structures the premise for the examination of the issue and helps the researcher to increase valuable knowledge reagrding the research themes.  It also serves as a pivotal wellspring of secondary data which can be utilized to supplement the discoveries of any future research.  Hence, in the context of this study, the existing literature can assist in understanding the role that technology has on leaders within an organization.

Technology is viewed differently by different individuals. Some consider it to be the valuable source of higher expectations for everyday comforts, enhanced wellbeing, and better correspondences. Others may view technology as reproachful, holding that it prompts estrangement from nature, ecological obliteration, and perhaps even the loss of human liberation. A third opinion could be that innovation is vague, its effects fluctuating as indicated by the social setting in which it is planned and utilized, on the grounds that it is both an item and the origin of monetary and political force. (Galliers, 1992)

In this context,  researchers have contended that there are three views on technology namely, “Technology as the liberator”, “Technology as the threat” and “Technology as the instrument of power”. The first view highlights that technology makes human life easy by protecting human beings from hunger, various deadly diseases and poverty. The second view highlights that technology is a threat to the human existence while the third view propend that the technology can be both a liberator and a threat, depending upon the use of it. It will be quite interesting to find whether the technology act as a liberator or an oppressor in the organizational context. (Barbour, 1993)

Numerous leadership theories have been developed over the past century to understand the relationship between a leader and their followers.  Many of these leadership theories have been the result of organizational and psychological research that have been refined over the decades.  However it wasn’t until the late 1960’s, that one of the more relevant leadership styles began to emerge within the organizational realm – situational leadership (Hersey and Blanchard, 1969).

Situational leadership is characterized by how a leader operates within the various environments in which they are leading.  The premise of this theory is that different situations demand different types of leadership styles (Northouse, 2010).  The uniqueness of situational leadership is that it operates within the realm of two dimensions; directive and supportive.

The theory further expands upon how a leader applies each of these dimensions in a measured way given each unique situation (Northouse, 2010).  Based upon a particular situation, a leader must evaluate their employees and assess how competent and committed they are to perform a given task (Northouse, 2010).  It is also assumed that the employees skills and motivations change over time, therefore situations leadership theory suggests that leaders should change the degree to which they are directive and supportive to meet the changing needs of their subordinates (Northouse, 2010).

Although situational leadership is widely discussed in scholarly literature, to understand the tenants and applications in the corporate environment, specifically via the use of technology outside of work, (Chen and Nath, 2008) coined the term “nomadic culture” to describe the artifacts, values and basic assumptions that provide the remote workers with the flexibility to work anywhere and anytime.  However, the organization must also adapt its operational procedures, by helping the leader adapt through the use of support mechanisms that tie into the culture and values of the organization.  Studies have shown that this nomadic culture has led to higher job satisfaction within organizations (Chen and Nath, 2008).

The effective supervision of this nomadic culture concluded that in order for a employees must be trustworthy, responsible, and self-directed in order for technology to provide a positive impact on those worker who access it from a mobile standpoint outside of the organization (Chen and Nath, 2008).   The tension therefore between the technical and social aspect of changes in technology have been defined through a theory known as the socio-technical theory (Bostrom and Heinen, 1977).  This theory states that the processes, tasks and technology needed to transform inputs to outputs has a relationship upon the attributes of people (i.e. attitude, skills and values) along with relationships among people, reward systems and authority structures.  The four elements therefore are the social system (Structure and people) and the technical system (technology and tasks) (Bostrom and Heinen, 1977).

The traditional information technology systems approach always focused on optimizing the technical subsystem while allowing social system to adapt to these changes.  However the socio-technical theory contrasts this approach by stating that any redesign of an organization’s work system must consider the impact of each subsystem on the other and that the requirements of these two subsystems must be met simultaneously (Rouse and Baba, 2006).

While situational leadership can be understood from the leader follower perspective, another dimension that must be taken into account is the culture of organization.  The dimension of understanding how a leader manages while in a changing organization can be understood through the notion of agency and institutions (Scott, 2008).  One of the best frameworks to understand this type of social structure within an organization is through the use of varying carriers (Jepperson, 1991).  Specifically, Scott identifies four types of vehicles or carriers within an organization; symbolic systems, relational systems, routines, and artifacts (Scott, 2008).  These carriers can be seen as fundamentally important as to how an organization changes whether in a convergent or divergent way (Scott, 2008).

Institutional carriers point to a set of mechanisms that allow theorists to account for how ideas and changes move through an organization and who or what is transporting them (Scott, 2008).  While a fairly substantial amount of literature exists, it is considered illusive to researchers, as a variety of labels are used to define these carriers (i.e. diffusion of innovation, technology transfer and organizational learning) (Scott, 2008).  In the case of this research study, carriers will be defined as the routines of an organization (i.e. those protocols, jobs, procedures and roles) that have evolved with the use of technology.

What researchers have determined is that these carriers are never neutral and can be interpreted in different ways (Scott, 2008).  Thus, these carriers can be considered “conduit metaphors” since how the message is received and circulated affects how it is interpreted and received (Reddy, 1979).

Institutions also have structured activities in the form of habitual behavior and routines.  These routines are patterned actions that reflect the knowledge of actors, which may be considered habits and procedures not necessarily articulated in knowledge and beliefs.  Therefore, many early scholars viewed routines, patterns, standard operating procedures and habitual actions as central features of institutions (Veblan, 1919).  However more recent evolutionary theorists have emphasized the stabilizing role of employee skills and organizational routines that involve little conscious choice by the participant and in which they are not even aware of their actions (Nelson and Winter, 1982).   These routines are further rooted into the DNA of an organization in which they range from “hard” – activities encoded into technologies to “soft” – organizational routines of which all are repetitive in activity (Winter, 1990).   These patterns include the behaviors by both the individual and the organization (Miner, 1991).  It is these types of skills that bring about the stability of organizational behavior that account for the rigidness and reliability of the operational performance of an organization (Scott, 2008).

It is the relational systems of an organization that sustains and renews the routines of the organization (Scott, 2008).  As these routines evolve, a term entitled, “legitimate peripheral participation” begins through which existing employees demonstrate the mastery of knowledge and skills so that newcomers move toward full participation (Lave and Wenger, 1991).

Based on Scott’s framework of routines, it can be posited that the influence and expansion of technology within an organization could begin to evolve to a new level of expectations, and commitment to stay within the routines of that community.  However these routines could also be evolving causing the community to be transforming itself due to the technologies being utilized for the employee.  Despite the evolution of the organization, there is still debate that these routines are learned and sustained within that community and are not transportable to new organizations (Scott, 2008).   However the use of technology and easy access to it could be considered transportable to other communities, despite different actors and participant relationships.

Early studies on mobile work and access to new technologies remotely, were deemed as both a driver and enabler of organizational transformation (Chen and Nath, 2008).  Most of these technologies are considered convenient, transparent, integrated and convenient from outside of the organization (Kleinrock, 2001).   While the benefit of allowing workers to be almost nomadic in terms of office confinement has also brought about a social construct to the cultural context of the organizations and its leaders.

Using these frameworks of Situational Leadership and Routines, then there can be assumed a social impact to work outside of the organization.  Leaders and their employees must redefine what the expected social norms (ie. Routines) should be so that they can find new ways to make themselves productive and efficient (Chen & Nath, 2008).  Without these new social boundaries, these technology rich environments may infringe on the worker’s work-life balance (Davis, 2002).  One scholar was quoted as saying that without these new work cultures or practices, “anytime, anywhere work has become all the time, everywhere work” (Jarvenpaa, Lang, and Tuunainen, 2005).  It is therefore the organization that must define what the work and supervision should be in this new computing enhanced environment, otherwise researchers predict that there will be a spill-over effect from work to personal life can have a long-term negative effect which will lead to a decrease in productivity (Chesley, 2005 and Davis, 2002).

 

 

 

 

Methods:

 

Research methodology can be explained as a system of identifying, collecting, analysing, disseminating, and using the information gathered to assist leaders in the decision making process while also providing solutions to management problems. It can also be explained as a blueprint, arrangement and strategy of investigation to obtain the answers to the proposed research questions and problems (Malhotra, 2008).

The study intends to use the secondary research from the Pew Research Center (Appendix A) so as to understand the differences between leadership positions and technology use inside and outside of the workplace. With the analysis of the secondary data obtained from the Pew Research center, the study will determine how the leaders leverage the power of technology to facilitate their working in and outside the organization. For this purpose, SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) software will be used by the researcher to statistically determine the answers to the proposed research questions.

 

Research Philosophy

 

As far as literature is concerned, there exists two paradigms in the case of  research philosophy; namely ontological and epistemology philosophies. The epistemology philosophical position involves reviewing the valid knowledge and measures to achieve it as perceived by the researcher.  It takes into account the two main perspectives; positivism and interpretivism.  Positivism refers to the perception that the knowledge perceived as valid by the researcher is based on natural aspects which are usually permanent and cannot be altered. Conversely, interpretivism considers the knowledge from a social outlook. This takes into account the difference in the perceptions of various individuals and how different social groups view the similar knowledge in various and distinguishing ways.  The present study is assessing how the technology adoption within an organization affects the leadership style of its administrators. This means that the epistemological, philosophical underpinning is interpretivist or anti-positivist in nature. (Saunders et al., 2009)

On the other hand, ontology refers to the review of the nature of reality and how existence can be understood. This is subdivided in two ways. It can be either objective or subjective. An objective philosophical underpinning assumes that reality is constituted in a way that is independent of individuals’ perceptions.  This makes nature immutable.  However, a subjective reality assumes that the nature of reality is constructed and influenced by humans. Technology is something that is manmade in nature and the adoption of technology depends largely upon the administrator. This means that nature is subjective. This provides the justification of the philosophical underpinnings of the study. (Saunders et al., 2009).

Research Approach

 

The research approach is the one which is chosen by the researcher to conduct the research work. Usually the researcher is faced with the dilemma of whether the research work should employ a deductive research approach or an inductive research approach. Although, it is completely feasible to combine the two research approaches in any research study, in the case such demand arises (Malhotra, 2008).

Deductive research involves providing a rationalization of a specific phenomenon depending upon the proposed research questions and the hypotheses which exists. Contrary to the deduction, an inductive approach is based on the ability of the researcher to develop a new tentative model, theory or a framework which can be employed by the other researchers as a foundation for their studies. The inductive approach largely emphasizes more on the contexts of events that seem to develop at a notable pace within the study area (Khan, 2011).  The present research work is simply trying to assess how the technology adoption within an organization affects the leadership style of its administrators. Clearly, this indicates that the present research work is deductive in nature.

Another important decision which needs to be taken by the researcher is whether the nature of the research should be qualitative or quantitative. The qualitative research is based on collection, collation and analysis of the existing literature that can be expressed in terms of either the numbers or the characters.  However, quantitative research is exactly the opposite.  In this case, the data is collected by the researcher using secondary research from the Pew Research Center (Appendix A).  For this particular reason, a quantitative study is preferred for the present research work.

Data Collection

 

Using secondary research from the Pew Research Center (Appendix A), this dissertation will seek to understand the differences between leadership positions and technology use inside and outside of the workplace.  The secondary datasets available for this research is of a categorical nature and contains multiple dependent and independent variables.  Therefore, the most appropriate quantitative analysis will be Logistical Regression.

Pew conducted research that was categorical in nature (See Appendix A for the options to answers).  In order to understand how leaders adapt to the organizational environment and their followers, the employment of situational leadership will be used as the framework for this analysis.  It would be beneficial for today’s leaders to understand how the evolving organization (due to technology) has made leaders and their followers adapt.  For example the leadership position (DV) of a person (Q6) directly affects the type of work activity (IV) that they do outside of work (Q6a, Q14).  This would help identify through the situational leadership lens how a leader must adapt and the influence of Scott’s institutional carriers (i.e. internet access) of an organization has on that leader.  Since there are multiple dependent and independent variables, logistical regression techniques would be employed.  This type of analysis is well suited for the predictability required when having multiple categories.

 

Survey Background:

 

The survey used in the study was obtained from the Pew Research Center.  The analysis in this survey was based on an online probability survey conducted September 12-18, 2014 among a sample of 1,066 adult internet users, 18 years of age or older.  Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung(GfK) Group conducted the survey using KnowledgePanel – a nationally representative online research panel.

In order for a person to qualify for the main survey, the panel member had to be at least 18 years of age and meet one of the following two criteria:

 

• They must be using Internet or email at least occasionally;

or

• They must be accessing the Internet on a cell phone, tablet or other mobile handheld device at least occasionally

 

The survey obtained from the Pew Research Center was conducted in English.

The data collected on the basis of the survey obtained from the Pew Research Center,  used for this research was based on a subgroup of the Internet users in the sample who were either full-time or part-time employed. The sampling error for these 535 working adults who use the Internet was plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.

KnowledgePanel members were recruited through probability sampling methods and included both those with Internet access and those without.  If Internet access was not available to a panel member then KnowledgePanel provided Internet access along with an access device when they joined the panel.

A combination of random digit dialing (RDD) and address-based sampling (ABS) methodologies were used to recruit panel members (in 2009 KnowledgePanel switched its sampling methodology for recruiting panel members from RDD to ABS). The panel was comprised of households with landlines and cellular phones, including those only with cell phones, and those without a phone.

A company called Marketing Systems Group (MSG) provided both RDD and ABS samples.

KnowledgePanel continually recruits new panel members throughout the year to offset panel attrition. The survey was conducted in English. Respondents were selected randomly from eligible adult household members of the panel. All sampled members received an initial email September 12-13, 2014 to notify them of the survey and included a link to the survey questionnaire. One follow-up reminder was sent three days later to those who had not yet responded.

The final sample for this survey was weighted using an iterative technique that matches gender, age, education, race, Hispanic origin, household income, metropolitan area or not, and region to parameters from the July 2013 Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS). In addition, the sample was weighted to match current patterns of Internet access from the July 2011 CPS survey. This weight was multiplied by an initial base or sampling weight that corrects for differences in the probability of selection of various segments of the sample and by a panel weight that adjusts for any biases due to nonresponse and non-coverage at the panel recruitment stage (using all of the parameters mentioned above as well home ownership status).

Sampling errors and statistical tests of significance take into account the effect of weighting at each of these stages. Sampling error for the total sample of 1,066 respondents is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points at the 95% level of confidence. Sample sizes and sampling errors for other subgroups are available upon request.

In addition to sampling error, one should bear in mind that question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of opinion polls.  (Purcell and Raine2014)

 

 

 

 

References

 

Barbour, I. G. (1993). Ethics in an Age of Technology (No. 2, 1989-1991).

 

Bostrom, R. P. and Heinen, J. S. (1977).  MIS problems and failures: A socio-technical perspective PART II: The application of socio-technical theory, MIS Quarterly, 4, 11–28.

 

Chen, L., and Nath, R.  (2008).  A Socio-Technical Perspective of Mobile Work.  Information Knowledge Systems Management, 1 (7), 41-60.

 

Chesley, N.  (2005).  Blurring boundaries? Linking technology use, spillover, individual distress, and family satisfaction, Journal of Marriage and Family 67(5), 1237–1248.

 

Davis, G.B.  (2002).  Anytime/Anyplace Computing and the Future of Knowledge Work, Communications of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) 42 (12), 67–73.

 

Galliers, B. (1992). Information technology: management’s boon or bane?  The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 1(2), 50-56.

 

Hersey, P., and Blanchard, K. H. (1969).  Life Cycle theory of Leadership.  Training and Development Journal, 23, 26-34.

 

Jarvenpaa, S.L., Lang, K.R. and Tuunainen, V.K.  (2005).  Friend of foe? The ambivalent relationship between mobile technology and its users, in: Designing Ubiquitous Information Environment: Socio-Technical Issues and Challenges, C. Sorensen,

1. Yoo, K. Lyytinen and J. DeGross, eds. Springer, New York.

Jepperson, R. L.  (1991).  Institutions, institutional effects, and institutionalization.  In the New Institutionalism in Organizational Analysis, edited by Walter W. Powell and Paul J.

DiMaggio (pp-143-163).  Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

 

Khan, J. A. (2011). Research methodology. APH Publishing Corporation.

 

Kleinrock, L.  (2001).  Breaking loose. Communications of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM), 44(9), 41–45.

 

Lave, J. and Wenger, E.  (1991).  Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

 

Malhotra, N.K., 2008. Marketing research: An applied orientation, 5/e. Pearson Education India.

 

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Appendix A

 

In this survey, we want to explore some questions about the role of the internet and mobile connectivity in your life.

 

S1. Do you use the Internet or email, at least occasionally?

1          Yes

2          No

 

Q1. Do you access the Internet on a cell phone, tablet or other mobile handheld device, at least occasionally?

1          Yes

2          No

 

[if S1=2 or refused AND q1=2 or refused, terminate]

 

Q2. Do you own a cell phone?

 

1          Yes

2          No

 

[IF Q2=1]

Q3. Some cell phones are called “smartphones” because of certain features they have. Is your cell phone a smartphone such as an iPhone, Android, Blackberry or Windows phone, or are you not sure?

1          Yes, smartphone

2          No, not a smartphone

 

 

 

Now we would like to ask you some questions about work and jobs.

 

ASK ALL

EMPL.            Are you now employed full-time, part-time, retired, or are you not employed for pay?

 

1          Employed full-time

2          Employed part-time

3          Retired

4          Not employed for pay

5          Disabled

6          Student

7          Other (SPECIFY)—- text box

 

 

 

[IF EMPL=1,2]

Q6       What kind of work you do?

01        Professional: Examples would be: lawyer, doctor, teacher, nurse, accountant

02        Manager, executive, or official: Examples would be:store manager, business executive

03        Business Owner

04        Clerical/Office/Sales: Examples would be: secretary, receptionist, sales clerk

05        Service work: Examples would be: waiter/waitress, hairstylist, police or fireman, janitor, nurses’ aide

06        Skilled trades: Examples would be: electrician, plumber, carpenter

07        Semi-skilled: Examples would be: assembly line worker, truck driver, bus driver

08        Other  — text box

 

 

[IF EMPL=1,2]

Q6a     How often, do you work outside your workplace – either from home, at other businesses like clients or customers, or from other places like coffee shops or libraries?

1          Every day

2          Almost every day

3          A few times a week

4          A few times a month

5          Less often but at least every so often

6          Never

 

 

 

Now we would like to know about various technologies and tools and how important they are for you doing your job

 

 

[IF EMPL=1,2]

Q7          How important is the internet to your job?

 

1              Very important

2              Somewhat important

3              Not too important

4              Not at all important

 

[IF EMPL=1,2]

Q8          How important is a cell phone or smartphone to your job?

 

1              Very important

2              Somewhat important

3              Not too important

4              Not at all important

 

[IF EMPL=1,2]

Q9          How important is a landline phone to your job?

 

1              Very important

2              Somewhat important

3              Not too important

4              Not at all important

 

[IF EMPL=1,2]

Q10        How important is email to your job?

 

1              Very important

2              Somewhat important

3              Not too important

4              Not at all important

 

[IF EMPL=1,2]

Q11        How important are social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn to your job?

 

1              Very important

2              Somewhat important

3              Not too important

4              Not at all important

 

 

[IF Q6A=1,2,3,4,5]

Q14        When you do work away from your workplace, how important are the internet and your cell phone in allowing you to do your job remotely?

1          Very important

2          Somewhat important

3          Not very important

4          Not at all important

 

 

 

Now we’d like to learn some things about your employer.

 

[IF EMPL=1,2]

Q15        Does your company block your access to certain websites while you are at work?

1. Yes
2. No
3. Don’t know

 

[IF EMPL=1,2]

Q16        Does your company encourage employees to promote the company online?

• Yes
• No
• Don’t know

 

[IF EMPL=1,2]

Q17      Does your company have rules about what employees can say or post online?

 

1. Yes
2. No
3. Don’t know

 

 

[IF EMPL=1,2]

Q18     Have technologies such as the internet, email, and cell phones increased the amount of time you spend working? {modified}

1          Yes

2          No

 

[IF EMPL=1,2]

Q19     Have technologies such as the internet, email, and cell phones allowed you more flexibility in the hours you work?

1          Yes

2          No

 

[IF EMPL=1,2]

Q25     Have technologies such as the internet, email, and cell phones expanded the number of people OUTSIDE of your company that you communicate with while doing your job?

1          Yes

2          No

 

[IF EMPL=1,2]

Q26        In general, how do you think the internet has affected you at work?

1              Made me more productive

2              Made me less productive

3              My use of technology has not affected my productivity
[DISPLAY ON SAME PAGE AS Q37_Q40 GRID]

Now we would like to ask you some questions about technology and the internet.

 

[GRID; SP Across]

Please tell us if the following statements are true or false.

 

Down:

Q37     The Internet and the World Wide Web are the same thing.

Q38     Twitter limits the number of characters per tweet to 140.

Q39     Moore’s Law relates to how many transistors can be put on a computer chip.

Q40     When a company posts a privacy policy, it ensures that the company keeps confidential all the information it collects on users.

 

Across:

1. True
2. False

 

 

 

Q41        The first widely popular graphical Web browser, released in 1993, was:

 

1. Netscape Navigator
2. Internet Explorer
3. Mosaic
4. Opera

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Q43        Who is this technology leader?

 

 

 

1. Steve Jobs of Apple Computer
2. Bill Gates of Microsoft
3. Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook
4. Sergei Brin of Google

 

 

 

 

Q44        Who is this internet leader?

 

 

1. Marissa Mayer of Yahoo!
2. Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook
3. Meg Whitman of Hewlett Packard
4. Arianna Huffington of Huffington Post

 

 

 

 

 

Q45     The Apple iPhone was first released in what year?

1. 2005
2. 2007
3. 2009
4. 2011

 

Q46        Choose the bigger amount of information:

1              A kilobyte

2              A megabyte

 

Q47        Which one of these is a captcha?

 

 

 

 

Well-informed battery

 

Now we would like to ask you about information and its role in your life.

 

Q28    How much, if at all, have the internet and cell phones improved your ability to learn new things?

 

1              A lot

2              Some

3              Only a little

4              Not at all

 

 

Q29 How much, if at all, have the internet and cell phones improved your ability to share your ideas and creations with others?

 

1              A lot

2              Some

3              Only a little

4              Not at all

 

 

Q32     How much, if at all, have the internet and cell phones improved your ability to find ways to get information about health and health care?

1              A lot

2              Some

3              Only a little

4              Not at all

 

 

Q33     Some people say they feel overloaded with too much information these days. Others say they like having so much information available. Which best describes you? {Pew Dec 2007 Gadgets trend, modified/library user typology 2013}

1          I feel overloaded

2          I like having so much information

 

 

[GRID/SP]

Q34     We’d now like you to think about all the ways that the Internet connects you to information. Compared with five years ago, would you say that you are better informed on the following topics because of your use of the internet and cell phones, or not?

 

Across:

1. Better informed because of technology, compared with 5 years ago
2. Not better informed, compared with 5 years ago

Down:

1. local news
2. national news
3. international news
4. your neighborhood and your neighbors
5. your family
6. your friends
7. the hobbies and personal interests you have
8. your health and fitness
9. civic life and government activities in your community
10. popular culture such as movies, music, and books
11. products and services to buy

 

 

Q35        Do you think access to the internet has made average Americans …

 

1. Better informed
2. Less well-informed
3. Has not made much of a difference

 

Q36        Thinking specifically about America’s students: Has access to the internet made today’s students:

 

1. Better informed
2. Less well-informed
3. Has not made much of a difference

 

 

Now we would like to ask you some additional questions about technology and the Internet.

 

Q48        What does phishing mean?

 

1. Using a fishing pole as a weapon in an online game
2. Using a fake message to get someone to share personal information such as their password or credit card
3. Using digital painting tools to draw a fish body on someone’s picture
4. Remixing music from the music group Phish

 

 

 

Q49        Hashtags are most widely used in which place?

 

1. Twitter
2. Wikipedia
3. Blogs
4. YouTube

 

 

Q52        “Net Neutrality” refers to:

 

1. The postings on websites that are nonpartisan
2. A promise by users of some websites that they will not make critical comments
3. The way Wikipedia editors are instructed to handle new entries on their site
4. Equal treatment of digital content by Internet service companies

 

 

Q53        Which University was the first on Facebook?

 

1. Harvard
2. Stanford
3. MIT
4. Univ. of Illinois

 

 

Q54        What does “URL” stand for?

 

1. Uniform Resource Locator
2. Ultra Reliable Linkage
3. User Responsibility Liability
4. Unique Rate Limit

 

 

 

Please tell us if the following statements are true or false.

 

Q55        Advanced search looks like this

 

 

1. True
2. False

 

 

Q56        Cache is a slang term that refers to web content that is especially popular in Europe.

 

1              True

2              False

 

 

Q57        The word “spyware” refers to special digital gear that can be worn by users and that can secretly record conversations with others.

 

1              True

2              False

 

Q58        A PDF file can be transferred using any of the major email programs.

 

1              True

2              False

 

 

Q59        Wiki is a web application used by thousands of web sites which allows people to add, modify, or delete content in collaboration with others.

 

1              True

2              False

 

 

Q60        And now a final question: Did you take this survey on a computer or on a mobile device like a smartphone?

 

1              Computer

2              Mobile device