Digitalization of household eating practices: A case study of meal-boxes
(2020) In Master Thesis SMMM20 20201Department of Service Studies
- Abstract (Swedish)
- The aim of this thesis is to describe and explain how meal-box, as a digital device designed to assist households in carrying out eating practices, reconfigure household practices and enable specific behavioural activities, including sustainability. Taking a socio-material and practice theory approach and drawing on an ethnographic study of three meal-box providers – The Seasons, Hello Fresh and Lina’s Meal-box – the paper shows how these devices enter into a hybridised relationship with consumers through an offering of convenience, structure and inspiration. The study also examines how these devices are “scripted” to promote sustainable consumption in relation to how this is perceived by consumers. Results from this study indicate that... (More)
- The aim of this thesis is to describe and explain how meal-box, as a digital device designed to assist households in carrying out eating practices, reconfigure household practices and enable specific behavioural activities, including sustainability. Taking a socio-material and practice theory approach and drawing on an ethnographic study of three meal-box providers – The Seasons, Hello Fresh and Lina’s Meal-box – the paper shows how these devices enter into a hybridised relationship with consumers through an offering of convenience, structure and inspiration. The study also examines how these devices are “scripted” to promote sustainable consumption in relation to how this is perceived by consumers. Results from this study indicate that when households integrate meal-boxes in their everyday life, a reconfiguration of practice is believed to take place that trigger change in, replace or delimit conventional practices related to eating. As a change, households would e.g. experience greater alignment and organization in practices of buying groceries, cooking and eating. This takes place through a hybridized relationship between households and the meal-box, where the meal-box come to assume agency over practices that traditionally was within the control of the households. Finally, this study illustrates how meal-boxes has different values inscribed in the device and how this encourage specific behaviors for its users while discouraging others.
Keywords: Practice theory; socio-technical scripting; eating practices; digitalization; sustainability. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9032754
- author
- El-Taha, Walaa LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- SMMM20 20201
- year
- 2020
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- publication/series
- Master Thesis
- language
- English
- id
- 9032754
- date added to LUP
- 2020-12-11 08:33:45
- date last changed
- 2020-12-11 08:33:45
@misc{9032754,
abstract = {{The aim of this thesis is to describe and explain how meal-box, as a digital device designed to assist households in carrying out eating practices, reconfigure household practices and enable specific behavioural activities, including sustainability. Taking a socio-material and practice theory approach and drawing on an ethnographic study of three meal-box providers – The Seasons, Hello Fresh and Lina’s Meal-box – the paper shows how these devices enter into a hybridised relationship with consumers through an offering of convenience, structure and inspiration. The study also examines how these devices are “scripted” to promote sustainable consumption in relation to how this is perceived by consumers. Results from this study indicate that when households integrate meal-boxes in their everyday life, a reconfiguration of practice is believed to take place that trigger change in, replace or delimit conventional practices related to eating. As a change, households would e.g. experience greater alignment and organization in practices of buying groceries, cooking and eating. This takes place through a hybridized relationship between households and the meal-box, where the meal-box come to assume agency over practices that traditionally was within the control of the households. Finally, this study illustrates how meal-boxes has different values inscribed in the device and how this encourage specific behaviors for its users while discouraging others.
Keywords: Practice theory; socio-technical scripting; eating practices; digitalization; sustainability.}},
author = {{El-Taha, Walaa}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
series = {{Master Thesis}},
title = {{Digitalization of household eating practices: A case study of meal-boxes}},
year = {{2020}},
}