Start Date
11-12-2016 12:00 AM
Description
The open nature of online review platforms allows for use of the technology in unexpected ways, attracting some visitors with an objective other than aiding other consumers’ purchase decision. These consumers are exhibiting a particular form of adoption called technology appropriation by writing humorous reviews that often make fun of the products or telling absurd stories. This study conceptualizes humorous appropriation of an online review platform through a content analysis of 33,987 reviews for 14 products on Amazon.com. We find reviews written for products where the review platform has been appropriated for humor differ from “regular” reviews across three dimensions: narrativity, emotionality, and impropriety. These humorous reviews tend to be more narrative, more negative, and contain more words about inappropriate or sensitive subjects. Our model of humorous appropriation extends the technology appropriation literature and has implications for how online retailers and sellers manage this emerging form of digital performance.
Recommended Citation
Mudambi, Susan; Schuff, David; and Zifla, Ermira, "What’s “Funny” about Technology Adoption? Humorous Appropriation of Online Review Platforms" (2016). ICIS 2016 Proceedings. 10.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2016/ITImplementation/Presentations/10
What’s “Funny” about Technology Adoption? Humorous Appropriation of Online Review Platforms
The open nature of online review platforms allows for use of the technology in unexpected ways, attracting some visitors with an objective other than aiding other consumers’ purchase decision. These consumers are exhibiting a particular form of adoption called technology appropriation by writing humorous reviews that often make fun of the products or telling absurd stories. This study conceptualizes humorous appropriation of an online review platform through a content analysis of 33,987 reviews for 14 products on Amazon.com. We find reviews written for products where the review platform has been appropriated for humor differ from “regular” reviews across three dimensions: narrativity, emotionality, and impropriety. These humorous reviews tend to be more narrative, more negative, and contain more words about inappropriate or sensitive subjects. Our model of humorous appropriation extends the technology appropriation literature and has implications for how online retailers and sellers manage this emerging form of digital performance.