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No good deed goes un-scripted: An Ethnographic Study on the Sustainable Smartphone Application Karma

Petersson Ivre, Jenny LU (2020) SMMM20 20201
Department of Service Studies
Abstract
Noting a need for a closer understanding of the discrepancy between the actions that sustainable smartphone applications encourage and the actions that the users perform, this thesis explores the implications for sustainable consumption practices. This thesis takes a sociological approach to markets, focusing on three key concepts (market devices, socio-technical scripts,
qualification) to answer two questions: 1) how consumer actions are promoted and enabled in the popular consumer food-waste management application Karma; and 2) how consumers translate the actions that the application promotes. To answer these questions, an ethnographic
method was applied: the content of the Karma application was observed, and interviews with 10 Swedish... (More)
Noting a need for a closer understanding of the discrepancy between the actions that sustainable smartphone applications encourage and the actions that the users perform, this thesis explores the implications for sustainable consumption practices. This thesis takes a sociological approach to markets, focusing on three key concepts (market devices, socio-technical scripts,
qualification) to answer two questions: 1) how consumer actions are promoted and enabled in the popular consumer food-waste management application Karma; and 2) how consumers translate the actions that the application promotes. To answer these questions, an ethnographic
method was applied: the content of the Karma application was observed, and interviews with 10 Swedish users of the application was conducted. The results show that digital devices are highly complex in changing consumer practices, as the way in which consumers translate actions depends on their routines and preferences in the context of food-shopping, but also how they react to their own actions. To describe this phenomenon, this thesis suggests that consumers engage in a “post-script assessment” of their own actions, which can serve to both reinforce and disrupt sustainable consumer actions. Managers are encouraged to take this phenomenon into account when promoting and enabling consumer actions through digital devices. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Petersson Ivre, Jenny LU
supervisor
organization
course
SMMM20 20201
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
language
English
id
9018145
date added to LUP
2020-11-20 10:40:38
date last changed
2020-11-20 10:40:38
@misc{9018145,
  abstract     = {{Noting a need for a closer understanding of the discrepancy between the actions that sustainable smartphone applications encourage and the actions that the users perform, this thesis explores the implications for sustainable consumption practices. This thesis takes a sociological approach to markets, focusing on three key concepts (market devices, socio-technical scripts,
qualification) to answer two questions: 1) how consumer actions are promoted and enabled in the popular consumer food-waste management application Karma; and 2) how consumers translate the actions that the application promotes. To answer these questions, an ethnographic
method was applied: the content of the Karma application was observed, and interviews with 10 Swedish users of the application was conducted. The results show that digital devices are highly complex in changing consumer practices, as the way in which consumers translate actions depends on their routines and preferences in the context of food-shopping, but also how they react to their own actions. To describe this phenomenon, this thesis suggests that consumers engage in a “post-script assessment” of their own actions, which can serve to both reinforce and disrupt sustainable consumer actions. Managers are encouraged to take this phenomenon into account when promoting and enabling consumer actions through digital devices.}},
  author       = {{Petersson Ivre, Jenny}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{No good deed goes un-scripted: An Ethnographic Study on the Sustainable Smartphone Application Karma}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}