CONSUMERS AND THEIR SMART OBJECTS : UNDERSTANDING THE DYNAMICS OF HUMAN-OBJECT-RELATIONSHIPS

Digital change is transforming all of our lives with its astonishing speed, reach, and penetrating power. It revolutionizes not only how information flows, but also how we produce, work, consume, and even live (Friedewald and Raabe 2011; Burrell 2016; Donath 2021;. Fong et al. 2018). Entirely new product categories emerge, each with unique capabilities that differentiate them from manual solutions. Embedded in the Internet of Things, these products invisibly connect to one big network (Aldossari and Sidorova 2020). In the residential domain, artificial intelligence establishes itself as an ecosystem of its own in the so-called smart home (Hussain et al. 2009). This thesis contributes to the field of consumer research by investigating what meanings consumers give to their smart objects. It takes a dynamic perspective over the period of usage looking at human-object-relationships. The focus is on experiences between consumers and smart speakers, and their impact on relational dynamics through changing expressive roles. The paper deepens existing literature in the area of relationship styles and extends it to include dynamic developments over time.
Masterarbeit Universität Innsbruck 2022