Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Consumers’ reaction to sci-fi as a source of information for technological development: An empirical analysis

Messeni Petruzzelli, Antonio; Mora, Luca; Natalicchio, Angelo; Platania, Federico; Toscano Hernandez, Celina

Authors

Antonio Messeni Petruzzelli

Angelo Natalicchio

Federico Platania

Celina Toscano Hernandez



Abstract

Science fiction (sci-fi) creative products inspire individuals by envisioning alternative futures and imaginary technological development. The stimuli conveyed by sci-fi creative products can trigger consumers' interest, which nowadays translate into reactions on social media platforms. Consequently, these reactions allow to understand the attitude of potential consumers towards not-yet-developed technologies and inform firms developing novel and unconventional technological solutions, hence reducing their market uncertainty. This study aims at exploring if the individuals' reactions to the technological themes presented through sci-fi creative products and conveyed through social media may become a source of information for innovating firms, that may consequently affect their technology development processes. To answer our research question, we relied on the individuals’ reactions to the sci-fi series Black Mirror conveyed through Twitter and on patents related to the technological themes presented in the series. Results show that in most cases there is a significant variation in social media engagement about the presented technology after the first airing of the episode and, in a subset of cases we found a significant variation in the mean number of related patents filed per day, that can be associated with an actual change in the technology development processes.

Citation

Messeni Petruzzelli, A., Mora, L., Natalicchio, A., Platania, F., & Toscano Hernandez, C. (2024). Consumers’ reaction to sci-fi as a source of information for technological development: An empirical analysis. Technovation, 132, Article 102970. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2024.102970

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jan 31, 2024
Online Publication Date Feb 24, 2024
Publication Date 2024-04
Deposit Date Mar 26, 2024
Publicly Available Date Feb 25, 2026
Journal Technovation
Print ISSN 0166-4972
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 132
Article Number 102970
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2024.102970
Keywords Technology development, Information asymmetries, Social media, Sci-fi, Consumer behavior, Signaling, Market uncertainty
Public URL http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/3529508

Files

This file is under embargo until Feb 25, 2026 due to copyright reasons.

Contact repository@napier.ac.uk to request a copy for personal use.




You might also like



Downloadable Citations