MIT Sloan Management Review Article on Smart Product Breakthroughs Depend on Customer Control

For centuries, writers and storytellers have imagined fantastic stories about autonomous robots and artificial intelligence. Today, what was once fantasy has become reality. Smart products, such as robotic vacuum cleaners and smart speakers, populate our everyday lives. They act completely on their own, without the need for humans to intervene.

In Greek myths and Hollywood movies alike, whenever such robots take control, it often ends in disaster. The robots wreak havoc and oppress humans. Influenced by this dystopian vision, many people are suspicious of and feel threatened by the reach of advanced technology — such as the friend who stops wearing a smartwatch after growing tired of its constant nudges, or the driver of an autonomous car who is reluctant to let go of the steering wheel. Both examples illustrate concern over losing control — a reasonable concern, given that humans have an innate desire for control.

About the Author

Jenny Zimmermann is a Swiss National Science Foundation research fellow at the Rotterdam School of Management at Erasmus University and a doctoral candidate at the University of St. Gallen. Jonas Görgen is a research associate and doctoral candidate at the Institute of Behavioral Science and Technology at the University of St. Gallen. Emanuel de Bellis is associate professor of empirical research methods and director of the Institute of Behavioral Science and Technology at the University of St. Gallen. Reto Hofstetter is a professor of marketing at University of Lucerne. Stefano Puntoni is the Sebastian S. Kresge Professor of Marketing at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. The first two authors contributed equally.

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