"Kind of Mine, Kind of Not": Digital Possessions and Affordance Misalignment
Authors: Mardon, R., Denegri-Knott, J. and Molesworth, M.
Journal: Journal of Consumer Research
Volume: 50
Issue: 2
Pages: 255-281
ISSN: 0093-5301
DOI: 10.1093/jcr/ucac057
Abstract:The objects we consume increasingly exist in digital form, from audiobooks and digital photographs to social media profiles and avatars. Digital objects are often argued to be less valued, personally meaningful, and self-relevant than their physical counterparts and are consequently dismissed as poor candidates for possession. Yet, studies have identified highly meaningful, even irreplaceable, digital possessions. In this article, we account for these contradictory narratives surrounding digital possessions, arguing that digital objects are not inherently unsuited to possession, but rather their affordances may not align with consumers' imagined affordances (i.e., the object affordances that consumers anticipate). Drawing from a qualitative study of 25 consumers and their digital possessions, we identify three recurring types of affordance misalignment-missing affordances, covert affordances, and deficient affordances-that mediate how consumers and digital objects interact (pragmatic mediation) and, consequently, consumers' experiences of, and beliefs surrounding, digital objects as possessions (hermeneutic mediation). We demonstrate that these affordance misalignments can create obstacles to consumers' desired experiences of possession and document consumers' attempts to overcome these obstacles by employing alignment strategies, with varied behavioral outcomes. This article advances debates surrounding digital possessions and presents an enriched affordance theory lens that provides new insights into possession.
https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/38118/
Source: Scopus
"Kind of Mine, Kind of Not": Digital Possessions and Affordance Misalignment
Authors: Mardon, R., Denegri-Knott, J. and Molesworth, M.
Journal: JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH
Volume: 50
Issue: 2
Pages: 255-281
eISSN: 1537-5277
ISSN: 0093-5301
DOI: 10.1093/jcr/ucac057
https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/38118/
Source: Web of Science (Lite)
Kind of Mine, Kind of Not”: Digital Possessions and Affordance Misalignment
Authors: Denegri-Knott, J., Mardon, R. and Molesworth, M.
Journal: Journal of Consumer Research
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISSN: 0093-5301
Abstract:The objects we consume increasingly exist in digital form, from audiobooks and digital photographs to social media profiles and avatars. Digital objects are often argued to be less valued, personally meaningful, and self-relevant than their physical counterparts and are consequently dismissed as poor candidates for possession. Yet, studies have identified highly meaningful, even irreplaceable, digital possessions. In this article, we account for these contradictory narratives surrounding digital possessions, arguing that digital objects are not inherently unsuited to possession, but rather their affordances may not align with consumers’ imagined affordances (i.e., the object affordances that consumers anticipate). Drawing from a qualitative study of 25 consumers and their digital possessions, we identify three recurring types of affordance misalignment—missing affordances, covert affordances, and deficient affordances—that mediate how consumers and digital objects interact (pragmatic mediation) and, consequently, consumers’ experiences of, and beliefs surrounding, digital objects as possessions (hermeneutic mediation). We demonstrate that these affordance misalignments can create obstacles to consumers’ desired experiences of possession and document consumers’ attempts to overcome these obstacles by employing alignment strategies, with varied behavioral outcomes. This article advances debates surrounding digital possessions and presents an enriched affordance theory lens that provides new insights into possession
https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/38118/
Source: Manual
"Kind of Mine, Kind of Not”: Digital Possessions and Affordance Misalignment
Authors: Mardon, R., Denegri-Knott, J. and Molesworth, M.
Journal: Journal of Consumer Research
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISSN: 0093-5301
Abstract:The objects we consume increasingly exist in digital form, from audiobooks and digital photographs to social media profiles and avatars. Digital objects are often argued to be less valued, personally meaningful, and self-relevant than their physical counterparts and are consequently dismissed as poor candidates for possession. Yet, studies have identified highly meaningful, even irreplaceable, digital possessions. In this article, we account for these contradictory narratives surrounding digital possessions, arguing that digital objects are not inherently unsuited to possession, but rather their affordances may not align with consumers’ imagined affordances (i.e., the object affordances that consumers anticipate). Drawing from a qualitative study of 25 consumers and their digital possessions, we identify three recurring types of affordance misalignment—missing affordances, covert affordances, and deficient affordances—that mediate how consumers and digital objects interact (pragmatic mediation) and, consequently, consumers’ experiences of, and beliefs surrounding, digital objects as possessions (hermeneutic mediation). We demonstrate that these affordance misalignments can create obstacles to consumers’ desired experiences of possession and document consumers’ attempts to overcome these obstacles by employing alignment strategies, with varied behavioral outcomes. This article advances debates surrounding digital possessions and presents an enriched affordance theory lens that provides new insights into possession
https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/38118/
Source: BURO EPrints