[Review of] Arjun Appadurai, Modernity at Large, Cultural Dimensions of Globalization

Modernity at Large is a collection of essays (most of which are reprinted from other sources, e.g., Public Culture) that link the themes of modernity and globalization to contemporary everyday social practice, and to group individual identity construction and expression. Appadurai takes up the conditions of modernity which for him include science as a dominant ideology, obsession with technological development, colonial social relations, and the primacy of national communities. Weaving these conditions with issues of globalization, which he defines as instantaneous worldwide telecommunications (phone, fax, and internet), increased international or transnational migration, the expanding scope and impact of mass media, and the surge in global tourism

The impact of market use of consumer generated content on a brand community

Many studies have demonstrated that members of brand communities are capable of extensive, and increasingly professional, creation of brand content. However, little work has examined how the use of such community-created content impacts the community or its members. We conducted a netnographic study of the Jones Soda brand community. Jones Soda relies heavily upon its community of loyal users for the creation of branding content, including product innovations, packaging, promotions and advertising. We found a brand community that possesses all three of the markers of brand community and allows for personal transformation and consumer empowerment, yet is largely inorganic in nature. These findings have implications for our conceptualizations of brand communities. [to cite]

How Practice Diffusion Drives IoT Technology Adoption and Institutionalization of Solutions in Service Ecosystems

This paper proposes a framework for considering how practice diffusion drives the adoption of IoT technology and fuels institutionalization of solutions within service ecosystems. Practice diffusion requires the adaptation of a practice (using a wearable device) as it emerges across distinct sociocultural contexts. The adaptation of practices allows for the adoption of technology in different ways. New materials are linked with pre-existing meanings and competences as practices emerge and become embedded within a social structure. For IoT technologies, materials include a device and its associated digital data. Thus, practice adaptation requires linkages that enable the integration and use of both a device and data. We highlight a growing mental health crisis and the potential of wearable devices as medical aids, particularly for adolescents who spend much of their time connected to the internet. We consider important linkages to help institutionalize unique solutions for those in need

Practice co‑evolution: Collaboratively embedding artificial intelligence in retail practices

Many retailers invest in artificial intelligence (AI) to improve operational efficiency or enhance customer experience. However, AI often disrupts employees’ ways of working causing them to resist change, thus threatening the successful embedding and sustained usage of the technology. Using a longitudinal, multi-site ethnographic approach combining 74 stakeholder interviews and 14 on-site retail observations over a 5-year period, this article examines how employees’ practices change when retailers invest in AI. Practice co-evolution is identified as the process that undergirds successful AI integration and enables retail employees’ sustained usage of AI. Unlike product or practice diffusion, which may be organic or fortuitous, practice co-evolution is an orchestrated, collaborative process in which a practice is co-envisioned, co-adapted, and co-(re)aligned. To be sustained, practice co-evolution must be recursive and enabled via intentional knowledge transfers. This empirically derived recursive phasic model provides a roadmap for successful retail AI embedding, and fruitful future research avenues