Task-Technology Fit for Mobile Information Systems

Mobile information systems (IS) hold great promise to support organizational processes. Clear guidelines, however, of how to design effective mobile IS in support of organizational processes have not been developed. Based on earlier research that emphasizes the importance of fit between organizational tasks and technology and that develops fit profiles for specific task-technology combinations, this paper develops a task-technology fit (TTF) profile for mobile IS to support managerial tasks. We suggest a three-way match between dimensions of managerial tasks, mobile IS, and the mobile use context. We find that use situations characterized by high distraction and poor quality of network connection are particularly challenging for the design of mobile IS, and that the user interface requires particular attention. The proposed conceptual model of task-technology fit provides guidelines for the design of effective mobile IS and for future research studies.