Trends in Mobile Computing within the IS Discipline: A Ten-Year Retrospective

Abstract

We analyze mobile computing trends in research and practice between the years 2000–2009 with an inductive categorization of 806 articles in nineteen leading academic, crossover, and practitioner outlets. We integrate this categorization with previous research in mobile commerce and e-business in order to provide the most comprehensive categorization to date. Using this categorization, we next investigate trends in the discussion and research on mobile computing. From these trends, we develop a comprehensive framework that addresses both where mobile computing research has been over the past ten years, but also areas of opportunity for future research. Results indicate research is required in the areas of: (a) IT value stream proposition (both within and outside the firm), (b) human-computer interaction (designing usable mobile computing systems), (c) legal/ethical issues surrounding mobile computing-enabled activities, and (d) organizational/societal impact and change precipitated by mobile computing technologies.