To Question or Accept? How Status Differences Influence Responses to New Epistemic Technologies in Knowledge Work

In this article I present a theoretical model of how relationships among members of groups of knowledge workers shape the way new epistemic technologies, which are tools that play a central role in the ongoing construction of knowledge, are encountered. In particular, I theorize about how status differences influence interactions among group members. These interactions shape whether users engage in questioning practices, which involve examining the embedded assumptions within the technology, or accepting practices, where users trust the technology’s outputs without seeking to understand the assumptions that may influence their content. I then consider the consequences of these practices on the novelty of knowledge outcomes. Because knowledge work continues to rely upon increasingly complex epistemic technologies, I suggest that the salience of status differences is of central importance to the production of new and updated knowledge.