Innovation at work: The relative advantage of using consumer IT in the workplace

Abstract

Employees' personal devices are increasingly evident in the workplace; the use of non‐enterprise sanctioned hardware and software is now commonplace. This phenomenon, frequently referred to as IT consumerization, is gaining momentum. Employees increasingly are using their own devices and choosing their own software (eg, Google Apps, Skype or Dropbox) in addition to—or instead of—enterprise IT. Employees are turning from consumers of enterprise IT to IT deciders, bypassing the IS department to use what critics call “rogue IT.” While discouraged in some contexts, the influx of consumer IT into the workplace has been suggested to influence innovative behaviours among employees. Although the phenomenon is very prevalent, research lags in the operationalization of an IT consumerization model. In this paper, we take a close look at the antecedents and consequences of consumerization behaviours. We examine to what extent an individual's level of satisfaction with enterprise IT in juxtaposition with the level of perceived relative advantage of consumer IT over enterprise IT influences an individual's usage of consumer IT in the workplace; we also examine how organizational mandates and IT empowerment influences IT consumerization behaviours. Finally, we investigate the influence of IT consumerization on innovative behaviours at work.

Full text

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Innovation at work: The relative advantage of
using consumer IT in the workplace
Iris Junglas
1
|Lakshmi Goel
2
|Blake Ives
3
|Jeanne Harris
4
1
College of Business, Florida State University,
Rovetta Business Annex, Room 348, 821
Academic Way, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA
2
Coggin College of Business, University of
North Florida, Building 42, Room 3226, 1UNF
Drive, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
3
C. T. Bauer College of Business, University of
Houston, 270c Melcher Hall, Houston, TX
77204, USA
4
Accenture Institute for High Performance,
800 Boylston St, Boston, MA 02199, USA
Correspondence
Iris Junglas, Florida State University, College of
Business Rovetta Business Annex, Room 348,
821 Academic Way, Tallahassee, FL 32306,
USA.
Email: iris.junglas@gmail.com
Abstract
Employees' personal devices are increasingly evident in the workplace;
the use of non‐enterprise sanctioned hardware and software is now
commonplace. This phenomenon, frequently referred to as IT
consumerization, is gaining momentum. Employees increasingly are
using their own devices and choosing their own software (eg, Google
Apps, Skype or Dropbox) in addition to—or instead of—enterprise IT.
Employees are turning from consumers of enterprise IT to IT deciders,
bypassingtheIS departmentto use whatcritics call“rogue IT.”While dis-
couraged in somecontexts,the influx ofconsumer IT into theworkplace
has been suggested to influence innovative behaviours among
employees. Although the phenomenon is very prevalent, research lags
in the operationalization of an IT consumerization model. In thispaper,
we take a close look at the antecedents and consequences of
consumerization behaviours. We examine to what extent an indi-
vidual's level of satisfaction with enterprise IT in juxtaposition with the
level of perceived relative advantage of consumer IT over enterprise
IT influences an individual's usage of consumer IT in the workplace;
we also examine how organizational mandates and IT empowerment
influences IT consumerization behaviours. Finally, we investigate the
influence of IT consumerization on innovative behaviours at work.
KEYWORDS
consumer IT, consumerization, empowerment, innovative work
behaviour, relative advantage, satisfaction
1|INTRODUCTION
IT consumerization, or the usage of personal technologies in the workplace, is now a well‐documented phenomenon.
Influenced by their personal experiences, employees perceive their personal devices as easier to use and more useful,
up‐to‐date, and enjoyable than the enterprise tools provided by the organization (eg, Harris, Ives, & Junglas, 2012;
Niehaves, Köffer, & Ortbach, 2012; Weeger, Wang, & Gewald, 2016; Weiss & Leimeister, 2012). Studies have found
that half to 90% of employees harness the capabilities of consumer gadgets for business purposes (eg, Columbus,
2014; Harris et al., 2012; IDG, 2014). File sharing and collaboration tools (such as Dropbox, Box, Egnyte, Google Apps
Received: 27 June 2014 Revised: 2 December 2017 Accepted: 26 February 2018
DOI: 10.1111/isj.12198
Info Systems J. 2019;29:317–339. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltdwileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/isj 317