Abstract
This study investigates how tablet users react when technology falls short of their expectations. We deploy a data/frame model to study this process and investigate resistance-related reactions and the deployment of accommodating practices at the individual level. Analyzing user blogs that provide narratives on user interaction with tablets, we identify triggers of episodes of disillusionment and illustrate five sensemaking paths that users follow, eventually leading to one of three practices: 1) users choose to defer tasks until the situation changes, or they abandon the platform altogether; 2) they develop workarounds at different levels of proficiency; or 3) they proceed by reframing their expectations of the platform. By revealing user decision-making process during episodes of disillusionment, the findings contribute to information systems post-adoption research. At a practical level, the findings inform IT artifact and application design by offering insights on how users process discrepancies between their expectations and actual use experience.
Highlights
The literature on user behavior is characterized by the duality of adoption and resistance
Tracing a user’s sensemaking process following an episode of disillusionment, we have identified alternative paths, where different sensemaking functions may be at play
This study proposes a new approach for examining postadoption user perceptions and actions, by focusing on how users make sense of the triggers that cause a disparity between their expectations and the interaction’s outcomes (Fig. 1)
Summary
The literature on user behavior is characterized by the duality of adoption and resistance. As others have noted, “[u]sers’ post-adoption behaviours have emerged as a key topic in information systems (IS) research”, most likely because “the long-term viability of a new IS hinges more on users’ continuance behaviour than their initial adoption decisions” (Venkatesh et al 2011) This has given rise to an interest in resistance-related behavior research. We study individual post-adoption behaviors in instances of disillusionment; that is, gaps between expectations and perceived realities in use We consider this to be of increased interest, because expectations about a given information system may very well a) lie beyond performance and usability aspects, and incorporate issues of e.g., satisfaction and hedonism, and b) change over the course of time and after having sufficiently interacted with the IT artifact. The paper concludes by proposing directions for future research as well as discussing the study’s contributions
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