Inventing Apps: The Case of The Incubatees at iCentre Brunei

One of the most widely held current perspectives about technology is social construction of technology (SCOT). Despite being a powerful theory frequently held high by social constructivists, most studies that utilise SCOT focused their attention more on user-producer relationships in relation to technological development. There is a minimal emphasis on the role of producers of technology. This study’s main objective is to critically examine cooperative relationships amongst the producers or incubatees of mobile applications at an incubation institution in Brunei Darussalam, iCentre Brunei (iCB) and to address the first research question that seeks to find out the conditions that facilitate cooperation and the innovation of apps amongst the incubatees as how they had experienced it. The experiences of the incubatees are further examined through the second research question, which aims to assess the concept of trust that is widely perceived as important elements that ensures cooperation.

By engaging symbolic interactionism perspectives with qualitative data obtained from fieldwork interviews together with relevant literatures, the case of the incubatees confirms the significance of social situations and social meanings in securing their respective teams’ cooperation and innovation. Vulnerable as they are due to their limited financial capability and lack of entrepreneurial experience, the incubatees at iCB survives and thrives by fostering and valuing both informality and trust to facilitate their cooperation and simultaneously foster their innovation. In addition, both homophily and passion also plays vital roles in securing trust and cooperation within the incubatees’ respective team.

Based on the above findings, this study recommends an alternative way in understanding the social construction of technology within the experiences of novice producers of mobile applications.