”Making Pepper smart somehow” A qualitative case study on how sensemaking, enactment and boundaries take part in the ongoing construction of Pepper, a humanoid robot

Abstract

This qualitative study addresses the recursive, continuous and iterative nature of sensemaking in organizations, in relation to new technology. By adopting an ANT-inspired approach to our case study, we have collected stories from the field and allowed for the theoretical framework of sensemaking to emerge abductively. Presenting the humanoid Pepper as the focal point of our case study, we display how this technological object enables for the construction (enactment, crossing, moving) of boundaries, which in turn enable and constrain sensemaking. This study presents composite boundaries in relation to the construction of Pepper; boundaries between discontinuous sensemaking, boundaries between social groups within the company as well as boundaries based on relationships of asymmetric information. Concluding remarks illustrate how Pepper is constructed by organizational members, as well as how Pepper plays an important part in the construction of IBM’s context.