A Customer Perspective on Omnichannel Customer Journey and Channel Usage : A Qualitative Study
This qualitative study investigates customer behavior during the omnichannel customer journey. The study aims to increase the understanding of omnichannel service environments from a customer-centric point of view. The data was collected by interviewing 10 young adults (from 26 to 30 years old) who had bought a Finnish clothing brand (R-Collection) product via a digital or a physical channel. The research interviews dealt with the interviewees' experiences and channel behavior during their shopping journeys. Our results reflect the multidimensional nature of the omnichannel customer journey and give interesting insights into the usage of digital channels and technologies for clothing shoppi…
Gender, Age, and Generational Differences in the Use Intention of Mobile Payments and Its Antecedents
Although mobile payments have gained considerable attention in academic research, there still are major gaps in our more in-depth understanding of the antecedents of their acceptance and use. In this study, we aim to address these gaps by examining the potential gender and age differences in the use intention of mobile payments and its antecedents in terms of the effects of the antecedent factors on use intention as well as the antecedent factors and use intention themselves while also considering the critical prerequisite of measurement invariance. Moreover, through a careful selection of the compared age groups, we extend the examination to cover also the potential generational difference…
Critical Experiences During the Implementation of a Self-tracking Technology
Emerging technologies have brought several new ways to track, measure and evaluate own activity. Well-being, nutrition, physical training, mood, and sleep are a few of the various measures that can be self-tracked by different technological solutions. At the same time, people are becoming more interested in themselves and their own well-being, and constant tracking of own activities is getting more and more popular both on individual level as well as in general healthcare. This study examines critical experiences that occur during the implementation phase of the innovation-decision process and their influence to adopting or rejecting a self-tracking technology. The study is qualitative in n…
What makes a (ro)bot smart? : examining the antecedents of perceived intelligence in the context of using physical robots, software robots, and chatbots at work
In recent years, the acceptance and use of intelligent robots and other kinds of intelligent systems have begun to gain more and more attention also in information systems research. Here, many studies have found the perceived intelligence of robots to act as one critical antecedent for their acceptance and use, but few studies have focused on the antecedents of perceived intelligence itself. In this study, we aimed to address this gap in prior research by examining the effects of individual intelligence dimensions on the overall intelligence perception of robots in the work context. In addition, we also examined the potential differences in these effects as well as in the individual intelli…
Effects of Using Standing Versus Sitting Workstations on the Well-Being at Work of Software Professionals
Although people admittedly are one of the most valuable assets of many software companies, relatively little academic research has been done from the well-being at work aspect of software professionals. This intervention study aims to address this gap in prior research by examining the potential effects of using standing instead of sitting workstations on the well-being at work of software professionals in terms of physical activity, mental alertness, and stress. The two measurements before and after the intervention were conducted in June and September 2015 for 29 employees of a local site of a large Finnish software company by using questionnaires and the Firstbeat Lifestyle Assessment se…
Expectations and Experiences of Implementing a Mobile Secure Communication Application
The privacy and security of communication in corporations and governmental organizations has increased enormously over the years. At the same time, a growing amount of technological solutions to support this have emerged. This study examines user expectations before and use experiences during the implementation phase of a mobile secure communication application. These are investigated from the expectation–confirmation perspective and its influence on continued adoption. The study has an exploratory approach for this investigation. To guide the investigation, the study draws from the expectation–confirmation theory (ECT) and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). Emp…
Physical Activity Tracker Application in Promoting Physical Activity Behavior among Older Adults : A 24-month Follow-Up Study
Objectives To investigate whether and how PA tracker application use supports PA behavior among older adults during the first 24 months of use. Methods: The changes in PA levels (i.e., time spent in different PA intensities) and between PA categories (i.e., low, moderate, or high based on total PA) were examined between three different time points: before taking the application into use (t0), after 12 months of use (t1), and after 24 months of use (t2). The data was collected by using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire modified for the elderly (IPAQ-E). Results: A statistically significant increase was observed in walking (χ2 (2) = 29.741, p < .001), moderate PA (χ2 (2) =…
How Is Gamification Perceived in Health and Wellness Technology Companies : Views from Four Companies of Different Size
Technological development has facilitated new innovations in several fields, and the emergence of novel devices as well as software products and services is constant. Health and wellness is a field where the development of technology for various purposes has truly boosted. In the growing competition, companies are constantly seeking ways to better engage people with their offered products and services. One potential and increasingly used way to do this is gamification. However, even though the number of academic studies on gamification has increased, there is still relatively little research available on the perceptions of companies regarding the use of gamification in their offerings. In t…
Customer Experience Formation in Online Shopping : Investigating the Causes of Positive and Negative Emotions During a Visit to an Online Store
This study explores customer experience formation in an online shopping context by investigating the causes of customers’ positive and negative emotions during their visit to an online store. Survey data collected from 1786 Finnish online customers was used to identify individuals who experienced strong positive (N = 138) or negative emotions (N = 215) during their visit. The causes of negative and positive emotions were studied by analyzing customers’ open-ended, written explanations attributed to their emotions. Attribution theory is utilized to explain how individuals make sense of their emotions. The findings show that customers offer various explanations for the emotions evoked during …
Identifying the Ideal Types of Online Shoppers : A Qualitative Analysis of Online Shopping
The tremendous increase in online shopping has created a growing demand to understand online shopping behavior. This study contributes to this understanding by identifying ideal types among online shoppers. An ideal type is an analytical construct used to ascertain similarities and deviations to concrete cases in an individual phenomenon. Theoretically, the study draws from different perspectives to create a multifaceted view of online shoppers. The purpose is not to categorize online shoppers under a specific category but rather to help understand different typically occurring online shopping behaviors. Through thematic analysis of the data from 31 participants, this study presents five id…
Adoption and Adoption Interests of Self-Tracking Technologies : Single and Multiple Technology Perspectives
During the past few decades, different forms of technology based self-tracking have become increasingly common but received little attention in academic research. In this study, we aim to address this gap by examining the adoption and adoption interests of four different self-tracking technologies: exercise, activity, sleep, and nutrition tracking. The examination is conducted from both single and multiple technology perspectives and by concentrating particularly on the potential gender and age dependencies in the adoption rates and adoption patterns of the technologies. By analysing the responses collected from 824 consumers through an online survey, the results of the study are able to re…
Survival of the Fittest? Examining Lapsing Behaviour in the Context of Elderly People and the Use of Physical Activity Tracker Applications
Physical activity (PA) tracker applications have been proposed as one potential solution to the increasingly prevalent physical inactivity problem among elderly people, but their long-term potential is limited by the frequent lapses in their use. In this study, our objective is to promote the understanding of the lapsing behaviour of PA tracker applications among elderly people. More specifically, we are interested in how gender, age, and household type as well as initial PA level and technology readiness (TR) affect the risk of lapsing. As the data for the study, we use actual PA tracker application usage data as well as survey data, which were both collected in our ongoing research progra…
To sit or to stand, that is the question : examining the effects of work posture change on the well-being at work of software professionals
Despite the central role of human resources in determining the success of software companies, relatively little academic research has been conducted on the well-being at work aspect of software professionals. This study aims to address the aforementioned gap by examining the effects of using standing instead of sitting workstations on the well-being at work of software professionals in terms of their physical activity, mental alertness, stress, and musculoskeletal strain. An intervention study consisting of two measurements was conducted for 29 employees of a large Finnish software company by using questionnaires and the Firstbeat Lifestyle Assessment service. The findings of the study sugg…
Sport and Wellness Technology to Promote Physical Activity of Teenagers
Life-long physical activity patterns are established during teenage years, so promoting physical activity is important. Sport and wellness technology has potential for promoting physical activity. Yet, research concerning its use among teenage populations is sparse. This intervention study investigated whether using a sport and wellness technology application could affect teenagers' physical activity intention, its antecedents, and the effects of these antecedents on intention. The study uses the theory of planned behavior (TPB) combined with self-efficacy as a theoretical model. The results showed no statistically significant difference between the intervention and control group in terms o…
Perspectives on Digital Content Markets: A Literature Review of Trends in Technologies, Business and Consumer Behaviour
In this paper, we focus on digital content markets (DCMs), which have typically been seen as an offspring of technological and business innovations. However, recent trends indicate that these two perspectives are not enough when attempting to understand how DCMs actually work. Technology is obviously a prerequisite for business innovations, which in turn provide new possibilities for consumers. Nevertheless, consumer behaviour is not only a result of technological and business innovations, but by itself a crucial factor of DCMs. In this paper, we attempt to clarify the general view of DCMs by carrying out a literature study that is based on the above mentioned three perspectives: technology…
Perceived Well-being Effects During the Implementation of a Self-tracking Technology
In recent years, both individuals and the healthcare sector have become more interested to measure and improve health and well-being by using different selftracking technologies. However, the number of studies concerning the experiences that people have with these technologies is still rather limited. This study investigates the expectations and perceived short-term effects of using self-tracking technologies on users’ well-being. The focus is on the first weeks of usage i.e., the implementation phase. The study is qualitative in nature and based on thematic analysis of ten semistructured interviews. The results reveal that the perceived well-being effects of using a self-tracking technolog…
The Habits of Playing and the Reasons for Not Playing Exergames: Gender Differences in Finland
This study examines the habits of playing and the reasons for not playing digital exercise games (i.e., exergames), concentrating particularly on the gender differences between the male and female players and non-players. Exergames can be considered an important and interesting research topic as they can be used to motivate people to do more exercise and, consequently, to improve their health and well-being. The study is based on analysing an online survey sample of 3,036 Finnish consumers through contingency tables, the Pearson’s χ 2 tests of independence, and the Cramér’s V coefficients. The results of the analysis reveal 11 main reasons for not playing exergames as well as several gender…
To Gamify or Not to Gamify? : Gamification in Exercise Applications and Its Role in Impacting Exercise Motivation
Gamification and different exercise applications have become increasingly popular in recent years. The common purpose of gamification is to enhance one’s motivation and engagement to certain activities. Gamification has been commonly understood as the use of game elements in non-game context. In this paper, we propose a divide between the process and the experience of gamification. This paper is the first to propose such division and the results demonstrate its necessity. Gamification exists also in many exercise applications. The purpose of this study is to explore how the use of an exercise application affects users’ exercise motivation and behaviour by concentrating especially on the rol…