Perceived creepiness in response to smart home assistants: A multi-method study

Raff, Stefan; Rose, Stefan; Huynh, Tin (2024). Perceived creepiness in response to smart home assistants: A multi-method study International Journal of Information Management, 74, p. 102720. Elsevier 10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2023.102720

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Smart home assistants (SHAs) have gained a foothold in many households. Although SHAs have many beneficial capabilities, they also have characteristics that are colloquially described as creepy – a fact that may deter potential users from adopting and utilizing them. Previous research has examined SHAs neither from the perspective of resistance nor the perspective of creepiness. The present research addresses this gap and adopts a multi-method research design with four sequential studies. Study 1 serves as a pre-study and provides initial exploratory insights into the concept of creepiness in the context of SHAs. Study 2 focuses on developing a measurement instrument to assess perceived creepiness. Study 3 uses an online experiment to test the nomological validity of the construct of creepiness in a larger conceptual model. Study 4 further elucidates the underlying behavioral dynamics using focus group analysis. The findings contribute to the literature on the dark side of smart technology by analyzing the triggers and mechanisms underlying perceived creepiness as a novel inhibitor to SHAs. In addition, this study provides actionable design recommendations that allow practitioners to mitigate end users’ potential perceptions of creepiness associated with SHAs and similar smart technologies.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	Business School > Institute for Digital Technology Management Business School
Name:	Raff, Stefan; Rose, Stefan0000-0002-1327-0830 and Huynh, Tin
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
ISSN:	0268-4012
Publisher:	Elsevier
Language:	English
Submitter:	Stefan Raff
Date Deposited:	27 Oct 2023 10:10
Last Modified:	08 Nov 2023 09:21
Publisher DOI:	10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2023.102720
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Technology resistance; Perceived creepiness; Smart home technology; Smart home assistants; Smart product; Multi-method study
ARBOR DOI:	10.24451/arbor.20214
URI:	https://arbor.bfh.ch/id/eprint/20214