How Do You Scan? The Emergence and Development of the QR-Code Scanning Practice in China, Sweden and the USA

Abstract

Abstract: The commercial diffusion of QR-Codes has increased in recent years. These twodimensional barcode are used for a vide spectrum of applications. Even though the QR-Codes are visible in our everyday life, the use of QR-Codes differ widely between countries. Precisely, the use of QR-Codes is more popular in Asian compared to Europe and the USA. Therefore, the aim of the study is to illustrate consumers’ and producers’ role in the emergence and development of the QR-Code scanning practice in China, Sweden and the USA. In order to address this issue, the study takes a consumer practice theory perspective and conducts an intense-multiple case study. Three Practitioners and three business professionals from each country were interviewed to gain an deep understanding of the QR-Code scanning practice and the institutional context in each country. Based on thematic analysis and a cross-country comparison, the article shows that a recursive relationship between consumers and producers exist, which affects the trajectory of QR-Codes in each country. Further, specific circumstances facilitated the development of the practice into the everyday life of practitioners in China. Based on these findings, the article concludes that the different usage of QR-Codes is an outcome of consumer-producer relation, rather than the affect of the behavioral intention of the consumers.