Why do you care what other people think? A qualitative investigation of social influence and telecommuting

The effect of social interactions on decision-making is a topic of current interest in the travel behavior literature. These interactions have been investigated primarily from an intra-household perspective, but increasingly too in other types of social settings. In the case of interactions within a workplace, it has been suggested that the decision to telecommute may have some important social components. Previous research has concentrated on social isolation, and the effect on job satisfaction of qualitatively different (i.e., telecommunications-mediated) relationships with managers and colleagues. A topic that remains unexplored is the way social norms, in effect the influence of other people's behavior, may influence the decision to adopt telecommuting. In this paper we set to investigate, within a qualitative framework, the role of social contact in the process of acquiring information on, and making decisions about, telecommuting. The results indicate that social contact does play a subtle but non-trivial role in the adoption and continuation process, and offer some insights about the importance of the social dimension, institutional set-up, and how they interact to influence the decision to telecommute.

[1]  Peter V. Miller,et al.  Web Survey Methods Introduction , 2008 .

[2]  Eric J. Miller,et al.  Exploring the propensity to perform social activities: a social network approach , 2006 .

[3]  Harvey J. Miller,et al.  Necessary Space—Time Conditions for Human Interaction , 2005 .

[4]  Daniel C. Feldman,et al.  Patterns of telecommuting and their consequences: Framing the research Agenda. , 1997 .

[5]  P. Kanaroglou,et al.  AN ACTIVITY-EPISODE GENERATION MODEL THAT CAPTURES INTERACTIONS BETWEEN HOUSEHOLD HEADS: DEVELOPMENT AND EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS , 2002 .

[6]  Vuk Tvrtko Opačić,et al.  Rob Kitchin, Nicholas J. Tate (2000): Conducting Research into Human Geography: Theory, Methodology and Practice ; Prentince Hall, Harlow , 2001 .

[7]  Katherine M White,et al.  Extending the theory of planned behavior: the role of self and social influences in predicting adolescent regular moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. , 2008, Journal of sport & exercise psychology.

[8]  David Lamond,et al.  Teleworking: Frameworks for Organizational Research , 2001 .

[9]  Ta Theo Arentze,et al.  Social Networks, Choices, Mobility, and Travel , 2008 .

[10]  Frank Goetzke,et al.  Network Effects in Public Transit Use: Evidence from a Spatially Autoregressive Mode Choice Model for New York , 2008 .

[11]  K. Hoggart,et al.  Researching Human Geography , 2001 .

[12]  J. Beckmann,et al.  Action control : from cognition to behavior , 1985 .

[13]  Timothy D. Golden,et al.  The role of relationships in understanding telecommuter satisfaction , 2006 .

[14]  Yehuda Baruch,et al.  Home, Sweet Work: Requirements for Effective Home Working , 1997 .

[15]  A. Páez,et al.  Social Influence on Travel Behavior: A Simulation Example of the Decision to Telecommute , 2007 .

[16]  Icek Ajzen,et al.  From Intentions to Actions: A Theory of Planned Behavior , 1985 .

[17]  Joan L. Walker,et al.  Discrete choice with social and spatial network interdependencies: An empirical example using mixed generalized extreme value models with field and panel effects , 2005 .

[18]  A. Páez,et al.  A Discrete-Choice Approach to Modeling Social Influence on Individual Decision Making , 2008 .

[19]  Greg W. Marshall,et al.  Workplace isolation: Exploring the construct and its measurement , 2007 .

[20]  Tim Schwanen,et al.  Managing Uncertain Arrival Times through Sociomaterial Associations , 2008 .

[21]  A. Bryman Social Research Methods , 2001 .

[22]  A. Bandura Social learning theory , 1977 .

[23]  Yulin Fang,et al.  Individual, social and situational determinants of telecommuter productivity , 2005, Inf. Manag..

[24]  Junyi Zhang,et al.  Representing household time allocation behavior by endogenously incorporating diverse intra-household interactions: A case study in the context of elderly couples , 2006 .

[25]  Diane E. Bailey,et al.  The advantages and challenges of working here, there anywhere, and anytime , 1999 .

[26]  J. F. Veiga,et al.  The impact of professional isolation on teleworker job performance and turnover intentions: does time spent teleworking, interacting face-to-face, or having access to communication-enhancing technology matter? , 2008, The Journal of applied psychology.

[27]  Ilan Salomon,et al.  MODELING THE CHOICE OF TELECOMMUTING (III).. , 1996 .

[28]  David A. Hensher,et al.  Distributed work and travel behaviour: The dynamics of interactive agency choices between employers and employees , 2000 .

[29]  Jin-Ru Yen,et al.  Interpreting employee telecommuting adoption: An economics perspective , 2000 .

[30]  Frank Douma,et al.  Telecommuting Implications for Travel Behavior: Case Studies from Minnesota , 2001 .

[31]  Kay W. Axhausen,et al.  Social networks and travel: Some hypotheses , 2003 .

[32]  R. Kitchin,et al.  Conducting Research in Human Geography: theory, methodology and practice , 1999 .

[33]  Peter Vovsha,et al.  Impact of Intrahousehold Interactions on Individual Daily Activity-Travel Patterns , 2004 .

[34]  G. Duranton,et al.  Communication Externalities in Cities , 2003 .

[35]  Richard J. Varey,et al.  An exploration of the emotional impact of tele‐working via computer‐mediated communication , 2000 .

[36]  S. Handy,et al.  QUALITATIVE METHODS IN TRAVEL BEHAVIOUR RESEARCH , 2003 .

[37]  Nancy B. Kurland,et al.  A review of telework research: findings, new directions, and lessons for the study of modern work , 2002 .

[38]  Daisuke Fukuda,et al.  Incorporating aggregate behavior in an individual's discrete choice: An application to analyzing illegal bicycle parking behavior , 2007 .

[39]  Simon Robinson,et al.  Telework : present situation and future development of a new form of work organization , 1988 .

[40]  A. Strauss,et al.  Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. , 1992 .

[41]  Patricia L. Mokhtarian,et al.  Modeling the Choice of Telecommuting: Setting the Context , 1993 .

[42]  Nancy B. Kurland,et al.  Telecommuting, professional isolation, and employee development in public and private organizations , 2002 .

[43]  Jack M. Nilles,et al.  Traffic reduction by telecommuting: A status review and selected bibliography , 1988 .

[44]  S. A. Silva,et al.  The impact of social influence on adolescent intention to smoke: combining types and referents of influence. , 2009, British journal of health psychology.

[45]  Ilan Salomon,et al.  Modeling the Choice of Telecommuting: 3. Identifying the Choice Set and Estimating Binary Choice Models for Technology-Based Alternatives , 1995 .