Paper ID
2322
Paper Type
short
Description
Users’ perceptions of a material artefact hold important implications of how they make sense of a digital innovation, expressed in their technological frames about the innovation. Yet, research on sensemaking offers little insights on the role of the material artefact for shaping users’ technological frames. This paper proposes a 2x2 experiment to investigate how newness as a crucial aspect of the material artefact influences users’ frames. Based on theories of resonance, we assume that this effect is mediated by cognitive and emotional resonance. We manipulate the technical and design newness of smart speakers to investigate our research model. Our findings contribute to research on technology sensemaking by illuminating the role of the newness of the material artefact. For developers, our results indicate how users’ understanding can be shaped by embodying familiar and non-familiar cues in digital innovations.
Recommended Citation
Mütterlein, Joschka; Thürmel, Verena; and Hess, Thomas, "Making Sense of Digital Innovations: The Role of the Material Artefact" (2019). ICIS 2019 Proceedings. 6.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2019/human_computer_interact/human_computer_interact/6
Making Sense of Digital Innovations: The Role of the Material Artefact
Users’ perceptions of a material artefact hold important implications of how they make sense of a digital innovation, expressed in their technological frames about the innovation. Yet, research on sensemaking offers little insights on the role of the material artefact for shaping users’ technological frames. This paper proposes a 2x2 experiment to investigate how newness as a crucial aspect of the material artefact influences users’ frames. Based on theories of resonance, we assume that this effect is mediated by cognitive and emotional resonance. We manipulate the technical and design newness of smart speakers to investigate our research model. Our findings contribute to research on technology sensemaking by illuminating the role of the newness of the material artefact. For developers, our results indicate how users’ understanding can be shaped by embodying familiar and non-familiar cues in digital innovations.