Literature Summary YSS-31806 Consumer, Technology & Innovation
User perspective
P1: Gram-Hanssen (2008) – Consuming technologies – developing routines
Routines in daily life are crucial for water and energy consumption. Routines emerge,
develop and change in close relation with different kinds of everyday technologies.
Routines are: ‘the often repeated, in-bodied, unconscious doings and sayings, which are part
of broader social practices, including cooking, lighting and washing.’
These processes are investigated from three different perspectives:
1) historical perspective: how technologies have entered homes.
2) consumer perspective: how both houses and new technologies are purchased.
3) user perspective: how routines develop while these technologies are being used -> focus
paper
Conclusion: on the one hand, social practices are collectively shared and developed in a
society. On the other hand, within social practices there is space for individual difference in
the routines that make up these practices. For example: drying clothes on a clothing line
rather than in the dryer. Analyses show that similar households in similar houses can have
energy consumptions that differ by 100%.
Technologies are often the cause of the change of routines. Not as technological
determinism, as development of technology is in itself a social construction, but as the direct
reason for the inertia of the routines being overcome. New technologies always demand a
change in routines, as routines often involve daily practical handling of the material things
that surround us, and if the material things change, the routines also have to change.
Therefore, it is also obvious to think of the users’ routines already in the design of
technologies. However, we also see that users often rethink and reshape the technologies in
ways that were not predicted by the designers.
1
, P2: Groot-Marcus et al. (2006) – technology and household activities
Technology plays an important part in many activities in modern household.
Result technology: higher standard of living; more comfort; working ease.
Consumer technology: studies relationships between technology, behaviour and
environmental effects.
Household activities: behavioural component of the household.
Household group: performs activities aimed at the satisfaction of everyday material needs of
human beings and which creates material conditions for their immaterial needs. Purpose:
achieve well-being for the members of the household group.
Technological approach to households: households are systems where an activity, in
general, has energy, material, and immaterial (mostly human) resources as input. The output
consists of the desired services, undesired side effects, and waste.
Consumer-Technology Interaction Model:
this model is based on the technological
approach to households: households are
systems in which material and immaterial
elements function for the satisfaction of
everyday needs in interaction with society
and the environment.
The household system is a dynamic
system, therefore it requires feedback to
keep stability when technology disturbs
the balance between level and standard
of living.
Technological influences and responses: 4 interactions when a new technology is introduced
in a household system.
1) perceivability: the perceivability of the effects by the household group. Consumers will only
react and change their performance levels if there are perceptible performance indicators.
2) action compatibility: the extent of congruence with regular household activities.
Behavioural patterns introduced must be similar to patterns executed before.
3) logistic compatibility: the way in which household activities are run and resources are used
remains the same. 4 different kinds: labor distribution; time; space; and financial.
4) functional compatibility: the performance level of a function remains the same and is
compatible with the living standard. The extent wo which the function fulfillment of the new
technology corresponds with the traditional technology.
When a new technology scores high on these 4 characteristics, it may be implemented in the
household system, without substantial change, the response of the household will be
minimal. When fewer characteristics are present, hurdles must be overcome to implement
and change the household system.
2
