About Appropriation of Mobile Applications: The Applicability of Structural Features and Spirit

This paper presents early findings of a study on how users appropriate a computerised mobile system designed to administer service orders. The theoretical lens used was Adaptive Structuration Theory (AST) and focused on Structural Features, Spirit and Appropriation of Structure. In order to accomplish the purpose, two aspects were to be considered: the system’s structure and the user’s appropriation, because the structure of a system affects the appropriation of the system. The study was conducted at a large international company’s Swedish subsidiary operating in heavy industry, machines and transportation. The methods used were a blend of several instruments, such as analysing documents, observations and interviews. These qualitative empirical data were analysed from the perspective of AST. The initial results demonstrate that some of the tested constructs within AST are not applicable to computerised mobile information and therefore some adjustments must be made in AST to fit the mobile computing domain. In order to test these results further, at least two possible strategies lie ahead: either a closer study of the underlying assumptions of Structural Features and Spirit or a broader test of more of the propositions in the AST framework.