The orchestrated digital inequalities of the IoT: How vendor lock-in hinders and playfulness creates IoT benefits in every life

Abstract

As the Internet of Things (IoT) is becoming the next frontier for the digital divide, we argue that access to most of the IoT and its benefits are hindered by vendor lock-in. Yet, people with an advanced set of operational skills can find creative ways to overcome vendor lock-in. In this article, we study socio-contextual dispositions to why some people are better able to capitalize on IoT benefits creatively than others. We use interview data and a novel approach to a diary study using a mobile application among 30 households. By focusing on vendor lock-in against the interplay between operational skills and creative IoT uses, we find those with the least access to IoT benefits are users who mainly task-oriented and consider IoT tools to solve specific problems. Those with a more play orientation are better positioned to access IoT benefits and further develop their operational skills.

Challenges and opportunities in mobile e-coaching

“…In the studies by van der Zeeuw et al ( 11 , 12 ), the authors study the digital divide and (lack of) digital literacy in the Internet-of-Things (IoT) context. TIIM was used in combination with interview data as a diary study instrument to study socio-contextual dispositions as to why some people can better capitalize on IoT benefits creatively than others among 30 households.…”

Understanding the opportunities and challenges of building automation and control systems to support facility management – an extensive literature review

“…A qualitative systematic literature review, based on a thematic analyses, was conducted to make an overview of the opportunities and challenges of BACS for facility managers (Snyder, 2019). The research strategy consists of defining search terms, the scope and selecting different data sources to identify candidate articles.…”

“…It is time-consuming and costly for facility managers to transition to another vendor. Vendor lock-in can occur for products and services tied to a vendor (Verbeke et al, 2022), resulting in competitive market positions (van der Zeeuw et al, 2022). Customers may change or combine different vendors for several reasons, like price increases, technical issues or the need to improve their BACS.…”

“…Vendor lock-in can occur for products and services tied to a vendor (Verbeke et al. , 2022), resulting in competitive market positions (van der Zeeuw et al. , 2022).…”

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