User involvement in production: a case study of a technology firm

Abstract

One of the most interesting factors that might be present in the construction of technology is the one derived from the user, mainly because it is the one that corresponds to the non-producer and the one that has less tradition in this respect. This article makes an analysis of the presence of this agent in the technological development through a case study of a Portuguese company of navigation systems (GPS). Even though some approaches are focused exclusively on production or consumption, in this work both fields are articulated in order to define a conceptual framework that is critical of the user’s effective interference in the conception of technology.