Investigating the Effects of Social Influence on the Choice to Telework

Darren M Scott, Ivy Dam, Antonio Páez and Robert D Wilton
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Darren M Scott: TransLAB (Transportation Research Lab), School of Geography and Earth Sciences, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
Ivy Dam: Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University, 75 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON N2L 3C5, Canada

Environment and Planning A, 2012, vol. 44, issue 5, 1016-1031

Abstract: This paper contributes to the telework literature by investigating empirically the impact of social influence on the decision to telework. An innovative web-based telework survey was developed and used to obtain data from a sample of employees of a large postsecondary institution in Ontario, Canada, between January and March 2009. A unique feature of the survey instrument is that it allowed employees to easily construct their workplace social networks. Using a univariate (binary) probit model, we identify three mutually exclusive sources of social influence on the decision to telework: friends who telework, neighbors who telework, and colleagues at the workplace. With respect to colleagues, we find that the net impact of social influence is governed by both the composition and the size of an employee's workplace social network. Composition is captured by interacting telework status with relationship strength.

Keywords: social influence; social network; telecommute; telework; university; web-based survey (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:envira:v:44:y:2012:i:5:p:1016-1031

DOI: 10.1068/a43223

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