The Promise of Just-in-Time Adaptive Interventions for Organizational Scholarship and Practice: Conceptual Development and Research Agenda

Abstract

Organizational researchers are now making widespread use of ecological momentary assessments but have not yet taken the logical next step to ecological momentary interventions, also called Just-in-Time Adaptive Interventions (JITAIs). JITAIs have the potential to test within-person causal theories and maximize practical benefits to participants through two developmental phases: The microrandomized trial and the randomized controlled trial, respectively. In the microrandomized trial design, within-person randomization and experimental manipulation maximize internal validity at the within-person level. In the randomized controlled trial design, interventions are delivered in a timely and ecological manner while avoiding unnecessary and ill-timed interventions that potentially increase participant fatigue and noncompliance. Despite these potential advantages, the development and implementation of JITAIs require consideration of many conceptual and methodological factors. Given the benefits of JITAIs, but also the various considerations involved in using them, this review introduces organizational behavior and human resources researchers to JITAIs, provides guidelines for JITAI design, development, and evaluation, and describes the extensive potential of JITAIs in organizational behavior and human resources research.