Cognitive Lock-in Research Articles

From attention economy to cognitive lock-ins

The economic logic of the attention economy is frequently used to critique and respond to the dangers of unfettered technological expansion, including nascent platforms and products powered by generative artificial intelligence. This commentary warns that while large parts of the internet have been financed through such business models, there is no guarantee that emerging generative artificial intelligence products will be commercialized in this way too. Instead, I argue, we must look beyond the attention economy to predict the future of monetization of an industry already mired in anti-competitive practices. Using popular large language models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT as a case, I discuss how some platforms are developing computational dependencies between technology and their users. I propose the term ‘cognitive lock-in’ to help us unpack the implications of such technological dependencies, and redirect the study of this nascent business model.

Switching channels: investigating the push, pull, and mooring effects of moving from cable TV to OTT services

ABSTRACT In recent years, Over-the-Top (OTT) streaming services have become increasingly popular as a form of digital leisure, triggering a significant shift of users from traditional television. This research article uses the Push Pull Mooring Framework to explore the factors that influence the switching intention from traditional cable TV to OTT. The results showed that frustration with TV, convenience, trialability, and trendiness positively impact switching intention. In contrast, cognitive lock-in has a negative impact. The study contributes to the literature by being the first to use the Push Pull Mooring Framework to explain the switching intention from traditional TV to OTT. These insights could be instrumental in formulating impactful strategies to maintain or attract viewers, thereby shaping the future dynamics of leisure activities.

What motivates users to continue using current short video applications? A dual-path examination of flow experience and cognitive lock-in

Short video applications are becoming a new form of entertainment and diversion for social media users. However, the underlying reasons why people are immersed in and continue to use current short-form video applications still need to be investigated in depth. This study examines the dual drivers (flow experience and cognitive lock-in) and their antecedents of sustained use of short-form social media based on flow theory and status quo bias theory. The model proposed in this study was tested by analyzing data from a sample of 365 users. The results indicate that flow experience and cognitive lock-in positively influence continued intention to use. In addition, recommended information characteristics (self-referencing and serendipity) significantly affect flow experience, while recommendation information vividness has insignificant effects on flow experience. Also, sunk costs, network externalities, and habits positively affect cognitive lock-in. This study explains the two-factor driven path of short-video users’ continuous usage intention, as well as provides some valuable insights into the sustainable development of short video platforms.

Order matters: Breaking cognitive lock-in through occasional preferential use of a rival app

Although growing attention has been paid to the use of competing technologies, little is known about how occasional preferential use of the rival system (OPUR) affects individuals’ adoption of the dominant system. In this study, we investigate how OPUR breaks the cognitive lock-in of the dominant system in the app context. The results demonstrate that supplementing OPUR reduces (increases) user access to the dominant (rival) app. In addition, the OPUR effect is more salient for high-demand and female users. Our results demonstrate that OPUR provides a great opportunity for catching-up apps to offset the first-mover advantage of dominant apps.

How Does Product Advertising Information Affect Consumers’ Online Shopping Intention in the Context of Cognitive Lock-in

Under the situation of online shopping, the effectiveness of online advertising has become the focus of theoretical and practical circles. Using the experimental research method, this paper explores the influence mechanism of the interaction between consumers’ cognitive lock-in regulation focus and online advertising information framework on consumers’ purchase intention, and the mediating role of consumers’ purchase decision-making model. The results show that consumers’ cognitive lock-in moderation focus has a moderating fitting effect in the interaction between online advertising information framework and consumers’ purchase decision-making model and purchase intention. Consumers’ purchase decision-making model is the intermediary variable of consumers’ cognitive lock-in moderation focus and online advertising information framework influencing consumers’ purchase intention. Therefore, the e-commerce platform should have a more in-depth insight into consumers, set up more rich online shopping experience scenarios, improve the pertinence of advertising content, and achieve accurate push.

The Power of the Central Bank of Brazil in a Financialised Economy: an institutionalist and Foucauldian analysis

This article attempts to understand political economy by explaining the ambivalence of the economic policy that successfully reconciled redistribution and orthodoxy in Brazil, under the governments led by the Workers’ Party – until that reconciliation proved unsustainable. The analysis combines institutional macroeconomics with a sociological perspective on economic policy instrumentation. The former points out how the distributive purpose became unsustainable, once the financialisation of the capital accumulation process was only limited – but not fundamentally questioned. The latter approach characterises a cognitive lock-in of the developmental State’s improvement. We show that this lock-in was an incremental transformative result of liberal governmentality devices, which redirected the central bank to a new function of gathering together what can be called an instrumental coalition that gave a veto power to financial interests. The central bank has therefore been a crucial institution in a government of the population, in the sense given by Foucault to this concept.

Lock-in, paradox and regional renewal

ABSTRACT This paper focuses on the interaction between political and cognitive lock-in in stalling attempts at regional renewal of old industrial regions. It draws on analysis of the city of Anchorage, Alaska. The decline of the oil industry has been followed by a gridlock: a pattern of being stuck and polarized. This gridlock is caused by a particular type of lock-in: an excessive polarization to individual economic gain has at the same time removed incentives to develop capabilities at the collective level. A key implication is that the inability to perceive and work with paradox is a cognitive barrier sustaining political lock-in.

Creative AI-based inventions: How incumbents strategically renew their invention portfolios

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is often considered a general purpose technology with the potential for disruption in most existing markets. When facing a substantial technological disruption, it has been shown that incumbents are confronted with many challenges to develop new products (conflicting customer incentives, cognitive lock-in, lack of complementary assets), despite that this activity is critical to ensure companies' survival. Overcoming those issues lies with companies' capacity to strategically renew their resources and remain competitive in their market. However, while the literature has shown how incumbents used AI technologies to increase efficiency or productivity, little is known about how they rely on AI technologies in their inventive process. It has also been observed that companies broadly vary in the ways they are embracing AI technologies, but most studies approach AI-based inventions as homogeneous. Hence, to cope with this research gap, we adopted a strategic renewal perspective (e.g., Agarwal & Helfat, 2009), and we conceptualized a new taxonomy of different types of AI technology usages in companies' inventive processes. Creative AI-based inventions focus on implementing AI technologies that serve new-to-company applications and open up new technological paths. Follow-up creative AI-based inventions indicate the company's efforts in following the newly created technological path. Low AI-based inventions specify the usage of AI to extend the existing technology portfolio without disrupting the current business of the company. By drawing upon an example from the agricultural sector, we developed techniques relying on patent data to implement our taxonomy by dealing with 39,000 utility patents from the sector's top-19 companies. First, we explored how incumbents and new entrants from different industry origins relied on different AI technology usages with different adoption patterns. Second, by relying on patent indicators, we reviewed the performances of the different types of AI technology usages in companies' inventive process. We contribute to strategic renewal theory by revealing that incumbents from the industry we focus on others rely on AI to renew their patent portfolio to strategically develop new business. Second, we demonstrated the co-existence of different usages of AI technologies in companies' inventive processes to complement incumbents' portfolios and open new innovative paths. Consequently, companies should plan which type of strategic renewal is appropriate for their organisations based on their strategic playing field to achieve the desired outcome.

Historical industrialisation, path dependence and contemporary culture: the lasting imprint of economic heritage on local communities

AbstractCulture matters for regional economic development and is one source of cognitive lock-in that influences path creation and dependency. However, little is known about the sources of regional variation in culture. This study explores the long-term imprinting effect of the Industrial Revolution on cultural practices across local communities in Great Britain. Historical data from 1891 on the employment in large-scale industries (e.g. textiles and steel) is used to estimate causal effects of industrialisation on five cultural dimensions. It is found that historical industrialisation is still reflected in contemporary local cultures marked by lower engagement with education and employment, less adherence to social rules but stronger collective action and social cohesion. It is concluded that one reason for the relatively poor effect of the public policies on local and regional economic development is that historical industrialisation has left a lasting legacy on contemporary culture in many places that impairs institutional efforts to foster change.

El impacto de la integración social (overembeddedness) sobre la innovación en los emprendimientos turísticos de la Comarca Minera, Hidalgo, México

El objetivo es identificar las limitantes que la sobre integración social (overembeddedness) impone sobre las acciones de innovación entre los emprendedores que conforman el parque ecoturístico “El Bosque de las Truchas”, ubicado en la Comarca Minera, Hidalgo. Fueron analizados 23 emprendimientos turísticos. Los temas redundantes en las entrevistas fueron codificados y analizados mediante el software Atlas ti y el cálculo del coeficiente C. Las limitaciones a la innovación derivan de la centralidad de la Asamblea de Ejidatarios que mediante el control de la información y de las relaciones con el exterior, ha propiciado un “bloqueo cognitivo” reflejado en una oferta turística repetitiva.

Exploring askers’ switching from free to paid social Q&A services: A perspective on the push-pull-mooring framework

The purpose of this study is to explore the factors that prompt askers to switch from free to paid social question-and-answer (SQA) services. Prior studies have investigated users’ motivations and participation in free and paid SQA services; however, little attention has been paid to askers’ switching behavior. We empirically analyzed the content of qualitative interviews from 64 askers on a well-known SQA platform in China. Based on the push-pull-mooring framework, we identified and classified factors that influenced askers’ to switch from free to paid Q&A services, using the critical incident technique, after which we calculated the entropy weights of the 16 subcategories before and after the switch, using the entropy weight method. The findings suggest that askers’ switching behavior was influenced by push factors (i.e., dissatisfaction with the free SQA service), pull factors (i.e., satisfaction with the paid SQA service), and mooring factors (i.e., social factors, personal factors, situational factors). Moreover, the findings show that the effects of these factors vary significantly before and after a switch. Dissatisfaction with the quality of information from the free SQA service would influence users before a switch, whereas satisfaction with the quality of information from the paid SQA service would influence them after a switch. In terms of mooring factors, the effects of social and personal factors on askers’ switching behavior, especially subjective norms and cognitive lock-in, turn out to be less significant after a switch, whereas the effect of trust is more significant. Besides, the effects of situational factors are more or less the same before and after a switch. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is one of the first attempts to explore factors that affect askers’ switching behavior and to shed light on the managerial strategies of paid SQA services.

The aesthetic fidelity effect

Product aesthetics is a powerful means for achieving competitive advantage. Yet most studies to date have focused on the role of aesthetics in shaping pre-purchase preferences and have failed to consider how product aesthetics affects post-purchase processes and consumers' usage behavior. This research focuses on the relationship between aesthetics and usage behavior in the context of durable products. Studies 1A to 1C provide evidence of a positive effect of product aesthetics on usage intensity using market data from the car and the fashion industries. Study 2 corroborates these findings and shows that the more intensive use of highly aesthetic products may lead to the acquisition of product-specific usage skills that form the basis for a cognitive lock-in. Hence, consumers are less likely to switch away from products with appealing designs, an effect that is labeled as the ‘aesthetic fidelity’ effect. Study 3 addresses an alternative explanation for the ‘aesthetic fidelity effect’ based on mood and motivation but finds that the ‘aesthetic fidelity’ effect is indeed determined by usage intensity. Finally, Study 4 identifies a boundary condition of the positive effect of product aesthetics on product usage, showing that it is limited to durable products. In sum, this research demonstrates that the effects of product aesthetics extend beyond the pre-consumption stage and have an enduring impact on people's consumption experiences.

Innovation security of cross-border innovative milieu

Innovative milieu is an elusive networking scheme established within geospatial, socio-economic, institutional, and knowledge types of boundaries that enable the actors involved to excel in particular field(s) of activity. Generally these are high-tech sectors of the economy, the so called smart and creative industries that are highly reliant on human capital, knowledge, and competences. Gradual expansion of interregional and international ties increases the possibility for synergies, fostering network diversification and intra-regional overspecialisation all at the same time. Along with numerous positive externalities, such as avoidance of the cognitive lock-in effect, regional clusters of excellence become dependent on their external counterparts, either within national or international domain. This dependence is caused by utilization of shared science and technology facilities, interdependent production processes, complementary technologies, etc. Unforeseen circumstances, such as temporal economic sanctions and product embargo can affect the sustainability of the innovation activity in the region and create structural holes along the value chain. Regional innovation policy should account for possible threats to the regional as well as national innovation systems. In this paper we examine different scenarios for the development of innovative milieus across borders. The study draws upon cross-border cooperation initiatives of European border regions, featuring brief case study examples for each of the negative development scenarios identified. There are three major types of threats to innovation security of a border region determined: a) disintegration and decay, b) internal asymmetries, c) unilateral integration initiatives. The article concludes with policy recommendations on innovation security strategy for the borderland regions.

Consumer loyalty toward smartphone brands: The determining roles of deliberate inertia and cognitive lock-in

Research in commitment–trust perspective overlooks the effect of status quo bias on consumer brand loyalty. This study aims to integrate the bias including consumers’ deliberate inertia and cognitive lock-in with consumers’ trust and commitment in the perspective. We empirically analyze a research model and hypothetical relationships using structural equation modeling with survey data from smartphone consumers. The results show that the inertia meaningfully and positively enhances consumers’ brand loyalty, and the lock-in significantly predicts consumers’ deliberate inertia and commitment. The findings significantly advance extant knowledge with the positive effects of deliberate inertia and cognitive lock-in on consumers’ brand loyalty.

Barriers to the development of temperate agroforestry as an example of agroecological innovation: Mainly a matter of cognitive lock-in?

Agroforestry (AF) is promoted as an environmentally sound farming practice to address the pressing challenges of meeting a rising global demand for agricultural commodities while conserving biodiversity. Although AF played an important role in European farming in the past, reintroducing the planting of trees in fields is a radical innovation in the modern context, and is, initially, a researcher’s idea. This paper investigates stakeholders’ perspectives on modern AF in two contrasting sub-regions of southern Belgium (Wallonia). Using Q methodology to identify patterns of subjectivity, we found that the conversation splits into three idealised-types of discourse that reflect different farming styles. Only one of the three discourses is in favour of AF. The results indicate that the paradigm type (holism vs. reductionism) underlying each discourse is a major factor that influences stakeholders’ position on AF. The main barriers hampering mainstreaming of AF seem cognitive in nature, and are related to the level of ecological knowledge. By exploring the ‘cognitive unlocking process’, our Q methodological study led to the identification of two readily available strategies to scale up AF: (1) ecological education and (2) social learning within multi-actor innovation networks. Such networks could foster on-farm innovation development and research, in which the farmer is an expert at the same level as the researcher. While this study focuses on the development of AF, the findings could be extrapolated to other agroecological innovations.

Do consumers dig it all? The interplay of digital and print formats in media

Purpose This study aims to explore consumers’ motivations in the adoption of either print or digital forms of media, given the fluctuation of trends and attitudes in magazine consumption in the USA. This paper utilizes cognitive lock-in and the power law of practice to further the understanding of digital adoption through an interdisciplinary lens. Design/methodology/approach In this study, initially, five focus group sessions, including 53 qualifying non-student participants randomly placed into groups of 10 or 11, were held. Next, a 2 × 2 between-subjects quasi-experiment, using 163 undergraduate students at a large public university, was conducted. Findings The findings show that although the digital medium is considered less expensive, more convenient and more environmentally friendly, the print medium is regarded as more familiar, personal and visual. Further, whether the media type is a book or a magazine, consumers report higher perceived value, hedonic value and attitude toward print versus digital media. Practical implications The potential to digitally attract and lock-in consumers in the media industry has immense implications. Individuals consume media because of fashion marketing, personal space and advertisements, among other reasons. Originality/value This paper contributes to existing research by uncovering qualitative and quantitative insights into media consumption through a multilayered analysis of focus group participants and a quantitative experiment. The findings indicate that both the power law of practice theory and cognitive lock-in are plausible explanations for the choice of print over digital media format.

Driving forces of cluster evolution – Growth and lock-in of two German packaging machinery clusters

This paper explores the driving forces for divergent trajectories of cluster evolution within the same branch of industry using the example of two packaging machinery clusters located in the German regions of Schwaebisch-Hall and Mittelhessen. Between 1998 and 2010 the Schwaebisch-Hall cluster recorded an increase in employment of almost two thirds. On the other hand, employment in the Mittelhessen cluster declined by about 15% and the cluster is characterised by negative functional and cognitive lock-in. This study tackles the existing lack of comparative in-depth longitudinal case studies with regard to cluster evolution. In doing so, the driving forces from recent conceptual approaches to cluster dynamics are exemplified empirically, which has rarely been done before. It is pointed out that dynamics at individual firm level (e.g. routines, spin-offs) are equally important – albeit highly interdependent – as those dynamics of relations (e.g. learning, rivalry, policy) and those operating at a systemic level (e.g. cluster heterogeneity, markets). Therefore we consider conceptual approaches to cluster evolution, which combine several driving forces to really understand changes, as necessary.

Consumers’ Cognitive Lock-in on Websites: Evidence from a Neurophysiological Study

The objective of this research was to investigate neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the development of cognitive lock-in. Cognitive lock-in describes a situation in which a consumer has learned how to use a website, based on repeated interactions with it, with the consequence that more experience reduces the probability to switch to a competitor's website. A major reason for the reduced switching probability is that interaction with an unfamiliar website typically implies high levels of cognitive load. Researchers conducted an experiment measuring cognitive load while consumers performed online purchasing tasks. Results show that participants visiting the same website multiple times have different cognitive load patterns than participants visiting different websites. The former group rapidly moved from controlled processing to automatic processing, which is metabolically less costly, leading to cognitive lock-in. Theoretical contributions and managerial implications are discussed.

Learning style instruments: reasons why research evidence might have a weak influence on practitioner choice

Whilst there has been much debate about learning styles in the literature there has been little research identifying which instruments are the most popular with Human Resource Development (HRD) practitioners or proposing reasons for popularity. This article aims to close this gap by reporting on a research project that investigated these issues (Waters, R. 2010. Influences on professional practice: The HRD practitioner and their choice of learning style questionnaire. DSocSci thesis, University of Leicester). Data were collected through a mixed method study drawing on semi-structured interviews and an on-line survey. The results of this research showed that the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) was the most popular learning style instrument amongst those surveyed. Further analysis suggested that brand strength, consumer and cognitive lock-in are important factors influencing HRD practitioner choice. A model of the decision-making process is then proposed drawing on the Bases of Action model (Bhaskar, R. 1998. Facts and values: Theory and practice. In Critical realism: Essential readings, ed. M. Archer, R. Bhaskar, A. Collier, T. Lawson, and A. Norrie. Abingdon: Routledge). This model helps to explain why research evidence is generally less influential on practitioner choice of learning style instrument than brand strength, consumer and cognitive lock-in.

Working towards sustainable urban water management: the vulnerability blind spot

The unprecedented water scarcity in Australia coincides with the adoption of a new urban water rhetoric. The 'Security through Diversity' strategy has been adopted in a number of Australian cities as a new and innovative approach to urban water management. Although this strategy offers a more holistic approach to urban water management, in practice, the Security through Diversity strategy is largely being interpreted and implemented in a way that maintains the historical dependence on large scale, centralised water infrastructure and therefore perpetuates existing urban water vulnerabilities. This research explores the implementation of Security through Diversity as the new water scarcity response strategy in the cities of Perth and Melbourne. Through a qualitative study with over sixty-five urban water practitioners, the results reveal that the practitioners have absorbed the new Security through Diversity language whilst maintaining the existing problem and solution framework for urban water management. This can be explained in terms of an entrenched technological path dependency and cognitive lock-in that is preventing practitioners from more comprehensively engaging with the complexities of the Security through Diversity strategy, which is ultimately perpetuating the existing vulnerability of our cities. This paper suggests that greater engagement with the underlying purpose of the security though diversity strategy is a necessary first step to overcome the constraints of the traditional technological paradigm and more effectively reduce the continued vulnerability of Australian cities.