¹Management Division, Columbia Business School, New York, NY, USA

Correspondence: Daniel Beunza, Management Division, Columbia Business School, 3022 Broadway, New York, NY 10027, USA. E-mail: db2417@columbia.edu

Abstract

When changes in the context of a technology prompt users to alter the way they employ it, the potential for novelty opens up. This phenomenon, known as 'exaptation,' is explored in a simulation by Villani et al. The authors show that exaptation, or innovation through re-use, is more likely to take place when a number of contextual characteristics are present: ambiguity, noise and room for misinterpretation. The results provide strong support to the sociological literature on ambiguity and multivocality. The article also incorporates material artifacts in the methodology of economics.