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Smartphone Use and Job Performance: How Executives Are Realizing the Full Potential
Journal
Academy of Management Proceedings
ISSN
0065-0668
2151-6561
Type
conference paper
Date Issued
2023
Author(s)
Abstract
The use of information communication technologies (ICTs) increases steadily and allows workers to stay constantly connected to their employers, colleagues, and customers. Especially executives make intensive use of ICTs for work-related purposes after-hours due to the many demands that come along with the managerial role. Given the intensive use of ICTs after-hours by many executives, the question arises whether this behavior is beneficial or detrimental to their respective job performance. Available studies give no clear answer, as they are characterized by two shortcomings. Firstly, studies on the effects of work-related ICT use after-hours have generally produced mixed results. Secondly, previous research on ICT use has focused primarily on employees without managerial roles. Taking into consideration the shortcomings of previous research, I build on the job-demands-resources model and the conservation of resources theory and develop and test an individual-level model explaining the association between an executive’s after-hours work-related smartphone use and his or her job performance. Specifically, I argue that work-related smartphone use after-hours increases individual flexibility which in turn fosters job performance. Moreover, I hypothesize that whether managers can exploit the potential of ICTs depends on certain boundary conditions. Hypotheses were tested using large-scale survey data from 4,257 executives from 94 German firms from multiple industries. My results reveal a positive indirect association between executives’ after-hours work-related smartphone use and their job performance, which is mediated by their perceived work flexibility. In addition, I find this positive indirect relationship to depend on the degree of the executive’s polychronic orientation, the degree of formalization in the respective organization and his or her job pressure. Keywords: executives; technology; electronic communication; job performance
Language
English (United States)
Keywords
executives
technology
electronic communication
job performance
Volume
2023
Number
1
Event Title
Academy of Management Conference
Event Location
Boston, USA
Event Date
August 2023