Illusions of Balance and Control in an Always-on Environment: a Case Study of BlackBerry Users

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size

Notes

[1] ‘BlackBerry’ is a registered trademark of Research in Motion (RIM).

[2] Refer to www.rim.com/news/press/index.shtml for quarterly updates of subscriber numbers. As of June 2006 subscriber numbers were estimated at approximately 5.5 million. It is estimated that RIM has 75 per cent of the US mobile e-mail market (Waldie, 2006).

[3] One of the appeals of the BlackBerry is its seamless international roaming ability. Users must pick a provider that supports this service. With this service, simply turning on the device starts the flow of e-mail, from any worldwide location within network reach.

[4] It is noted that the BlackBerry is most widely adopted and best known in the United States and Canada (Reguly, 2006). In the past couple of years it has gained a foothold among mobile users in the United Kingdom (Tait, 2006) and Australia (Connors, 2006). At the time of writing, the BlackBerry was not widely used in European or Asian markets, where 3G mobile phones often provide more functionality than BlackBerries. Service has been available in India since 2004 (Sharma, 2004). There is limited BlackBerry adoption in South America, with service becoming available in 13 countries in 2006 (BlackBerry Press Releases, 2005). A full list of products available around the world can be found online at http://www.rim.net/products/handhelds/index.shtml.

[5] Examples can be found by searching databases including ABI/Inform, Factiva or LexisNexis, using search terms like ‘BlackBerry and Crackberry’.

[6] It is assumed from the use of the word ‘Crackberry’ in the article title that the ‘wireless email devices’ studied were BlackBerries, but this is not stated explicitly.

[7] Hatch (1993) provides a synthesis of research criticizing Schein's approach to organizational culture. She proposes a reformulation of his model incorporating symbols, and focusing on the dynamics of culture, but notes that Schein's model ‘continues to have relevance’ (p. 658). Cultural analysis is used in this paper as a diagnostic tool to expose shared understandings and underlying assumptions embedded in the adoption of an artefact. Schein's model is well suited for this purpose.

[8] An interesting extension of work on BlackBerry usage would be to consider the personalities of individual adopters, with a specific focus on traits that indicated workaholism. Work by Burke and colleagues (Burke, 2001, 2004; Burke et al., 2004) and Buelens & Poelmans (2004) could provide starting points for this line of investigation.

[9] Double loop learning involves questioning the norms in which an organization operates. A double loop learning response may involve challenging organizational norms, whereas a single loop process operates within existing norms (Morgan, 1997, ch. 4).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Catherine A. Middleton

Catherine Middleton teaches in the Faculty of Business at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada. Her research focuses on consumer adoption of new communication technologies, with specific interests in mobile devices and fixed and wireless broadband networks (see www.broadbandresearch.ca and www.cwirp.ca for Catherine's current research projects). Correspondence to: Catherine Middleton, School of Information Technology Management, Faculty of Business, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, Ontario Canada M5B 2K3. [email protected]