Social positioning matters: A socialized affordance perspective of mHealth in India

Abstract

Existing research on technology affordance rarely considers the role of social structures in shaping the interaction between human actors and technology. In this paper, we draw upon the concept of social positioning to explore how socialized affordances of technology adoption, as well as their impact in work and social life, are shaped by the social positions that human actors occupy within multiple social structures. We do so by examining the adoption of mHealth devices by community health workers in India. The study generates theoretical implications for research on affordances of technology and social structures by integrating social positioning of actors in the analysis of a digital practice, and enriching IS research by incorporating the broader social arrangements and power relations.