Canadian middle manager experience with mobile email technologies: A phenomenological exploration of frequent BlackBerry users

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore lived experiences of Canadian middle managers that report frequent use of a BlackBerry. The study has provided a descriptive account exploring the characteristics and effects of frequent BlackBerry usage as perceived by approximately 20 middle managers from Toronto and Vancouver who have at least 3 years of experience using a BlackBerry. The data was generated via semi-structured interviews. Moustakas' (1994) modified van Kaam methodology was followed to analyze the data. Seven themes were extracted from the data: (1) BlackBerry's effect on employee effectiveness; (2) BlackBerry's impact on personal life; (3) the impact of BlackBerry technology on communication quality; (4) feelings that occur when BlackBerry technology malfunctions; (5) effect of convergence on employees and organizations; (6) perception and experiences of addictiveness of frequent BlackBerry use; and (7) recommendations for using BlackBerry technology to maximize the organizational effectiveness. The participants of this study expressed that frequent BlackBerry use may improve employee effectiveness. The data also suggests that BlackBerry use may be enabling communication structure changes in society.