Emerging work practices of ICT-enabled mobile professionals

Currently, mobility is a significantly pervasive term; the concept is being widely used in multiple discussions including social, economic, political, and technological debates. However, the theoretical grounding of the concept is surprising unstable. This thesis aims to offer a theoretical foundation for the concept of mobility, particularly in contemporary work contexts. With support of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in general and mobile technology in particular, contemporary work activities are increasingly distributed and dynamically conducted in various locations. In such an emerging work environment, maintaining a highly level of 'mobility' is becoming critical for contemporary workers, particularly for mobile professionals. Based on the theoretical considerations on the concept of mobility, this thesis empirically explores the dynamic and heterogeneous nature of mobile professionals' work practices. In order to appreciate and explain the nature of mobility in contemporary work, this thesis specifically addresses the emerging work practices of mobile professionals. the data collection consisting of in-depth interviews and ad-hoc observations of sixty0two professional workers was conducted in Tokyo, Japan during the summer of 2002. Informed by the results of this qualitative field study, the thesis discusses a distinct mode of mobility in mobile professional work. The mode of mobility is characterised not only by extensive geographical movement but also by operational flexibility and intense interaction in mobile professional's dynamic work activities. Based on these theoretical and empirical discussions, this thesis aims: 1) to theoretically underpin our understanding of mobility in contemporary work contexts; 2) to offer empirically grounded implications for the post-bureaucratic, fluid organising of work, organisation, and technology