Smartphones Project

Work/Life Balance and Smartphones:
Can a Smartphone make a difference?
Kristin Bomber
May 31, 2010

Examiner: Henrik Ferdfelt

Acknowledgements
The thesis process is hard work but at the same time challenging and interesting. It could not have been completed without help and therefore I would like to extend thanks to the following:

Växjö/Linneaus University for allowing me to study here for a Bachelor degree during the 20092010 school year as an exchange student and for the opportunity to write this thesis in the Management program in the School of Business and Economics. Henrik Ferdfelt, my supervisor, for informing me about what is needed for each part of a good thesis when I had no idea and constructive feedback during seminars and meetings. My classmates for reading through my thesis and providing honest and helpful critiques. Kris, rs, Dad, Kirsten, Paul, Toni, Andrew, and Bill for allowing me to bother you on the phone so I could collect my empirical material. Heath for allowing me to interview you, for giving me the idea for this thesis, and of course for always, always, always having your BlackBerry on.

ii

Table of Contents
Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... ii Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................... iv Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Background ................................................................................................................................. 1 Smartphone.................................................................................................................................. 1 Problem Discussion

Cited: Apple. (2010). Apple iPhone. Retrieved April 24, 2010, from http://www.apple.com/iphone/iphone-3gs/ BBGeeks. (2008, April 15). The history of the BlackBerry. Retrieved April 26, 2010, from http://www.bbgeeks.com/blackberry-guides/the-history-of-the-blackberry-88296/ Bird, J. (2003). Work-Life Balance Defined - What it really means! Retrieved April 24, 2010, from Worklifebalance.com: http://www.worklifebalance.com/worklifebalancedefined.html BlackBerry. (2010). What is BlackBerry. Retrieved April 24, 2010, from http://na.blackberry.com/eng/ataglance/blackberry.jsp#tab_tab_devices Bryman, A., & Bell, E. (2007). Business Research Methods. Oxford: Oxford UP. CEVA. (2010). Glossary of Terms. Retrieved April 24, 2010, from http://cevadsp.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=glossary Emslie, C., & Hunt, K. (2009). 'Live to Work’ or ‘Work to Live’? A Qualitative Study of Gender and Work–life Balance among Men and Women in Mid-life. Gender, Work and Organization , 151-172. Eriksson-Zetterquist, U., Lindberg, K., & Styhre, A. (2009). When the good times are over: Professionals encountering new technology. Human Relations , 1145-1170. Google. (n.d.). Google Search. Retrieved April 24, 2010, from Google : http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=work+life+balance&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai= Hatch, M. J., & Yanow, D. (2003). Organization Theory as an Interpretive Science. In The Oxford Handbook of Organization Theory: Meta-Theoretical Perspectives (pp. 63-86). Oxford University Press. Hogarth, T., & Bosworth, D. (2009, January). Future Horizons for Work-life Balance. Retrieved May 25, 2010, from Beyond Current Horizons: http://www.beyondcurrenthorizons.org.uk/futurehorizons-for-work-life-balance/ 31 Jackson, N., & Carter, P. (2007). Rethinking Organizational Behaviour: A Poststructuralist Framework. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. Kesting, S., & Harris, C. (2009). Providing a Theoretical Foundation for Work-Life Balance – Sen 's Capability Approach. New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations , 47-61. Kreiner, G., Hollensbe, E. C., & Sheep, M. L. (2009). Balancing Borders and Bridges: Negotiating the Work-Home Interface via Boundary Work Tactics. Academy of Management Journal , 704-730. Mazmanian, M., Orlikowski, W. J., & Yates, J. (2006). CrackBerrys: Exploring the Social Implications of Ubiquitous Wireless Email Devices. EGOS 2006 Sub-theme 14. Technology, Organization and Society: Recursive Perspectives. Mojave Media Group. (2009, October 14). A Brief History of the BlackBerry. Retrieved April 26, 2010, from http://www.brighthub.com/office/collaboration/articles/8041.aspx Parasuraman, S., & Simmers, C. A. (2001). Type of employment, work-family conflict and wellbeing: a comparative study. Journal of Organizational Behavior , 551-568. Schlosser, F. K. (2002). So, how do people really use thier handheld devices? An interactive study of wireless technology use. Journal of Organizational Behaviour , 401-423. Smartphone Evolution: From Simon to Pre in 12 Steps. (2009, July 19). Retrieved May 25, 2010, from CioZone: http://www.ciozone.com/index.php/Mobile-and-Wireless/Smartphone-EvolutionFrom-Simon-to-Pre-in-12-Steps/1.html Sturges, J. E., & Hanrahan, K. J. (2004). Comparing telephone and face-to-face . Qualitative Research , 107-118. Wikipedia. (2010, April 23). Smartphone. Retrieved April 24, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartphone Word Spy - Work Life Balance. (2010). Retrieved May 25, 2010, from Word Spy: http://www.wordspy.com/words/work-lifebalance.asp 32 Interviews Arndt, K. (2010, April 18). (K. Bomber, Interviewer) Blénessy , . (2010, April 15). (K. Bomber, Interviewer) Bomber, J. (2010, April 18). (K. Bomber, Interviewer) David, H. (2010, April 27). (K. Bomber, Interviewer) Gullerud, K. (2010, April 17). (K. Bomber, Interviewer) Holm, P. (2010, April 19). (K. Bomber, Interviewer) McGovern, T. (2010, April 16). (K. Bomber, Interviewer) McLeod, A. (2010, April 21). (K. Bomber, Interviewer) Smith, W. (2010, April 20). (K. Bomber, Interviewer) 33