The Impact of Mobile Computing on Individuals, Organizations, and Society - Synthesis of Existing Literature and Directions for Future Research

The growing adoption of smart mobile devices, such as smart phones and tablets, is fundamentally changing the way how business is conducted. New mobile technologies exert a significant influence on individuals, organizations, and society at large. Our paper provides an analysis of empirical research on mobile computing in the information systems literature. The mobile computing paradigm has been used in various contexts, often interchangeably with ubiquitous and pervasive computing. Confusion surrounds how mobile computing should be delimited from these related but conceptually different notions, suitable levels of analysis, and appropriate research methods. Our goal is to reduce this confusion and to guide future research on mobile computing. We classify extant mobile computing literature and synthesize results. Based on the analysis, we develop a research agenda that will enable IS researchers to more readily account for the multi-level nature of mobile computing when investigating its role in everyday life, organizations, and society.