Adoption of Technologies within an Applied Context: The Case of Community Organisations

Abstract

Mobile technologies are unique, ubiquitous, provide convenience for the user, can be highly interactive and support personalised applications. This paper describes the use of mobile applications in the context of local sporting associations. These form part of a larger group known as community based organisations and are predominantly run by volunteers. The study considered the process from initial knowledge of mobile technology applications through to the decision to adopt or discontinuance of use. An indepth case analysis was undertaken in an attempt to determine their characteristics within this specific context. The findings suggest that the most prominent use by local sporting clubs are for ubiquity and convenience with no evidence of interactivity nor personalisation. It was also determined that the sophistication of the communication could be increased when moving from SMS messaging to mobile broadband. The contribution of the research, therefore, is to demonstrate the importance of classifying mobile technology applications within a situation where they are most effective.