Objectives

Information environments are becoming both pervasive and nomadic. A manager’s or a knowledge worker’s use of computing and communication services is less limited to solitary moments at an office desk; it is extending to all aspects of organizational life. Much of the work is mediated through embedded computing devices that are part of the physical environment or move around with the workers. Consequently, the experience of managing and organizing in the future will involve multifaceted engagements with an “intelligent” computing environment through a rich array of access methods including desk-top devices, mobile communicators, digital assistants, wrist-watches, play-consoles, and clothing. These engagements amplify digitilization of all types of information leading to new forms of service and organization based on anytime, any place computing. These ubiquitous information environments will make possible new forms of organizing, communicating, working and living.

In recent years new research challenges of organizing in and for ubiquitous information environments have been identified. They involve among others:

• how the bodily and the virtual will mesh in novel and unanticipated ways in the work and workplace;

• how to design applications that are easy-to-use, efficient, robust and adaptable over a number of different access technologies;

• how to design and manage such applications in a globally distributed environment;

• how different and varying access technologies and infrastructures can be integrated and managed from both organizational and technological points of view;

• how diverse technologies will be adopted, integrated and utilized by individuals, teams and organizations;

• how to design virtual teams, organizations, business processes and management structures that can profitably deploy and draw upon ubiquitous computing.

The emerging field of ubiquitous computing is distributed across diverse research and R&D communities. It intersects with several industries and specialties including strategy and system integration, telecommunications, software, media and hardware. These communities span numerous disciplines including organizational design, management, knowledge management, CSCW, HCI, computer science, telecommunications, information systems, information science, sociology, communication studies, psychology and policy studies.