Knowledge Management in the Dark: The Role of Shadow IT in Practices in Manufacturing

The voluntary use of private devices by employees without the formal approval of the IT department, commonly termed Shadow IT, is an increasingly widespread phenomenon. In this article, the authors study the role of private smartphones (and related applications like WhatsApp) in knowledge-intensive practices in the manufacturing domain. With an in-depth case study based on data gained from observations and interviews, the authors are able to empirically illustrate why workers use their private smartphones (contrary to company guidelines) and how they find significant gains of productivity by using the forbidden applications. This study gives rich insights into the rise of Shadow IT in a manufacturing context which takes place in a self-organised way without knowledge of the management.