Abstract:

Work in many companies is being mobile and ubiquitous allowing workers to interact with others anytime anywhere. Work can thus be considered as a social context for interaction and diffusion of information among mobile workers. Social relationships developed in consequence and all resources mobilized through networks refer to social capital. Apart benefits provided (access, timing, synchronization, etc...), social capital may intensify work by increasing the amount of information exchanged and providing redundant information. It can thus be regarded as a source of information overload. The literature review shows in one hand that direct relation between ICT and information overload has been widely discussed. Indirect effects have however not yet been explored. In the other hand, only benefits of the social capital have interested researchers. To fill this gap, this paper tries to serve as a first discussion on the indirect role of mobile work in increasing information overload through the accumulation of social capital.