Paradoxes experienced with the use of mobile technologies in the invidvidual decison making process

Abstract

The growth in the use of Mobile and Wireless Information Technology (MWIT) in organizations has increasingly enabled mobile work, bringing both benefits and challenges to work processes. The objective of this research was to understand the paradoxes experienced by using MWIT in decision making in mobility context. A qualitative research was conducted by applying a focus group and semi-structured interviews, with 26 participants (executives and mid-level managers) who make decisions in this context. The results corroborate some paradoxes already identified in the literature, which manifest themselves in the processes of decision making in the mobility context: Busy and Available, Planning and Improvisation, Engagement and Disengagement, and Competence and Incompetence. In addition, new paradoxes were identified: Personal and Professional, Increased Collaboration and Less Face to Face, More Agile Decisions and Decisions with Greater Exposure to Error.