Global Differences in Industrial Handheld Device Preferences

Burch V, R. F., Deb, S., Strawderman, L., & King, K. (2017). Global Differences in Industrial Handheld Device Preferences. Journal of Design Research. Inderscience Publishers. 15(2), 128/149. DOI:10.1504/JDR.2017.086779.

Abstract

One of the major concerns in managing a global organisation is the potential difficulty that could arise due to different cultural preferences for technologies. This study provides evidence that cultural difference can influence ruggedised handheld device design preference. Field workers from different world regions of a worldwide service company responded to a survey expressing their choices on four potential handheld devices, five available features, and on the most influencing feature. The region of the world from which the workers were domiciled was impactful and showed significant influence on device selection as well as on all of the feature preferences.