Unraveling real-time mobile connectivity paradox and emotional ambivalence: a quasi-experimental design from a multi-source perspective
Abstract
Purpose
This study develops and validates a theoretical model of real-time mobile connectivity, examining how employees' perceptions of their relationship with supervisors influence their emotional experiences. Through quasi-experiments, the authors investigate the behavioral patterns and emotional responses associated with real-time mobile connectivity in organizations, with a focus on messaging apps that indicate message read status. Specifically, they explore how supervisors' attentiveness or inattentiveness in mobile connectivity impacts emotional ambivalence (anxiety and pride) among subordinates. Additionally, they examine the downstream effects of this emotional ambivalence on employees' workplace thriving and job performance across various dimensions.
Design/methodology/approach
To address the paradox of real-time mobile connectivity, a quasi-experimental design involving 320 team members from 46 teams was implemented. Multi-level structural equation modeling was employed to analyze within-person variance and evaluate the proposed hypotheses.
Findings
The findings indicate that employees who do not receive timely indications from their supervisors are more likely to experience elevated levels of anxiety, while those who receive prompt indications experience a sense of pride. Moreover, the indirect effects of the real-time mobile connectivity paradox on employee performance, mediated by anxiety (negatively) and pride (positively), are fully explained through workplace thriving.
Research limitations/implications
This study provides insights into the emotional ambivalence experienced in the workplace due to real-time mobile connectivity, highlighting its implications for organizational competitiveness. Integrating resource conservation theory and cognitive appraisal theory of emotion, the study explores the mediating role of workplace thriving and the impact on employee performance through pride and anxiety. Generalizability requires considering organizational settings and cultural contexts while acknowledging limitations such as a focus on messaging apps and specific samples. Future research should explore these dynamics in diverse contexts and identify additional factors influencing the relationship between real-time mobile connectivity and employee outcomes.
Practical implications
This study provides valuable insights for managers regarding the significance of message indications, as their attentiveness can elicit emotional reactions from employees that subsequently impact workplace thriving and job performance.
Originality/value
This study pioneers the exploration of the paradox of real-time mobile connectivity in the workplace, uncovering the discrete emotions experienced by employees. Furthermore, it elucidates the subsequent opposing effects on workplace thriving and job performance, contributing to the existing literature and knowledge in this area.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This work is supported by Youth Research Project of Guangdong Province (No. 2021WT014), Philosophy and Social Science Planning Project of Guangdong Province (No. GD22XYJ33), Research Project of Shenzhen Institute of Information Technology (No. SZIIT2022SK015, No. 2021-cxcy11, SZIIT2023SK007), Shenzhen “Fourteenth Five-Year Plan” educational scientific planning project (No. dwzz22156), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 71803136).
Since the submission of this article, following authors have updated their affiliations: Yubing Sui is at the School of Finance and Economics, Shenzhen Institute of Information Technology, Shenzhen, China. Maria Teresa Cuomo is at the Brunel Business School London, Kingston Ln, Uxbridge, UK.
Erratum: It has come to the attention of the publisher that the article, Yubing Sui, Adeel Luqman, Manish Unhale, Francesco Schiavone and Maria Teresa Cuomo “Unraveling real-time mobile connectivity paradox and emotional ambivalence: a quasi-experimental design from a multi-source perspective”, published in Information Technology & People, was published with an incomplete affiliation for Francesco Schiavone. The author's affiliation is Department of Management Studies and Quantitative Methods, University of Naples Parthenope, Napoli, Italy, and Paris School of Business, Paris, France. The error was introduced in the editorial process and has now been corrected in the online version. The publisher sincerely apologises for this error and for any inconvenience caused.
Citation
Sui, Y., Luqman, A., Unhale, M., Schiavone, F. and Cuomo, M.T. (2023), "Unraveling real-time mobile connectivity paradox and emotional ambivalence: a quasi-experimental design from a multi-source perspective", Information Technology & People, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/ITP-02-2023-0150
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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