An Activity Theory Perspective on Creating a New Digital Government Service in Finland

Digitalization of government services is a central goal in many countries. At policy-making level, digital government services are often expected to simultaneously reduce cost and provide citizens with better and more versatile services. Development of new digital government services, however, often involves companies, which typically have differences in their approach to the development and implementation of new digital services compared to the public sector. This study applies activity theory as a lens to identify the similarities and differences between the private and public sector in the development and implementation of a new government digital service. The aim is to identify the cont…

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…

Does strategy matter? A comparison of broadband rollout policies in Finland and Sweden

This study investigates broadband policies applied in Finland and Sweden with special reference to the geographical coverage of the required network infrastructure. These two Nordic countries are seen as forerunners in the development of the information society, and they also share several other similarities bearing relevance to the take-up of broadband. However, they have applied different broadband strategies: Sweden, one of the first-movers in this field, already launched its ambitious and interventionist national ICT infrastructure program in 2000, whereas the Finnish broadband strategy, published in 2003, largely relies on market forces. The present article analyses these broadband str…

Analyzing the Current Phase of the OSS/BSS Software Market

In this section, the evolution of the OSS/BSS software industry is described, and the current phase of the OSS/BSS software market is analyzed using quantitative data. The first analysis uses the viewpoint of the general industry lifecycle stage models. This is followed by an analysis from the viewpoint of the vertical software market evolution model. The last section analyses the mergers and acquisitions of the OSS/BSS market from the last few years.

The Effects of Consumer Demographics and Payment Method Preference on Product Return Frequency and Reasons in Online Shopping

In online shopping, product returns are very common. In order to reduce them, one must first understand who are making them and why are they being made. In this study, we aim to address these questions by examining product return behaviour from a consumer-centric rather than the more traditional product-centric, retailer-centric, and order-centric perspectives. More specifically, we focus on the effects of four demographic characteristics of consumers (i.e., gender, age, education, and income) as well as their payment method preference on their product return frequency and product return reasons. As the data, we use the responses from 560 Finnish online consumers, which were collected with …

How Do QR Codes Enhance Customer Experience? : Omnichannel Customer Experiences in a Brick-and-Mortar Fashion Store

In this qualitative study, we investigate how customers perceive QR codes enhancing their customer experience (CX) in the brick-and-mortar (B&M) store environment. Introducing QR codes to B&M stores is a part of the larger phenomenon of retailers creating omnichannel CXs by utilizing digital and cyber-physical elements in B&M stores. To collect data from real customers’ CXs, we displayed QR codes in a Finnish fashion brand’s B&M store and interviewed customers who had authentically visited the store. The QR codes displayed in the store were linked to a product information page on the brand’s online store, a brand ambassador’s Instagram posts, and an online survey. The data consist of 15 ind…

The habits of playing and the reasons for not playing exergames: Age differences in Finland

This study examines the habits of playing and the reasons for not playing digital exercise games (i.e., exergames), concentrating especially on the differences between four different age groups of 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. There are also potentially significant age differences in how these games are perceived. The study is based on analysing an online survey sample of 3,036 Finnish consumers by using contingency tables, the Pearson’s χ2 tests of independence, and the Cramér’s V coefficients. The results o…

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…

What is meaningful for responsible shoppers in online fashion retail?

This qualitative study investigates what is meaningful for responsible shoppers in online fashion retail. The study aims to identify and describe these essential themes from the customers’ perspective. The data were collected by interviewing nine self-proclaimed responsible shoppers aged 26–51 years. All participants were female. The findings highlight six meaningful themes for responsible shoppers. These include 1) comprehensive and versatile information; 2) familiar brands and retailers; 3) domesticity; 4) pricing; 5) justification of purchase; and 6) the durability of fashion wear. The study indicates that these meaningful themes are related to the online store characteristics and brands…

Extending the Technology Acceptance Model with Personal Innovativeness and Technology Readiness : A Comparison of Three Models

This study concentrates on the role of personal traits in technology acceptance by comparing which of the two personal trait constructs commonly used in IS research, personal innovativeness in the domain of information technology (PIIT) or technology readiness index (TRI), performs better in terms of promoting the explanatory power of the technology acceptance model (TAM). The comparisons are conducted in the case context of online services offered by electric suppliers, and the study is based on the data collected from 1,176 consumers through an online survey and analysed by using structural equation modelling (SEM). The findings of the study show that the inclusion of both PIIT and TRI in…

Overview of Telecom Operator Software Market

Telecommunications is an essential enabler of modern societies and a global vertical industry, providing communication and information services, with its annual revenue of over trillion euros. In this book, a company providing these services is referred to as a telecom operator or communications service provider (CSP). CSPs create value by offering connectivity to and via an infrastructure of networks for transferring signals. The core business processes in a telecom operator company therefore revolve, on one hand, around physical networks and their maintenance, and on the other, managing their customers and their use of the connectivity services over the networks.

Visualising maritime vessel open data for better situational awareness in ice conditions

Situational awareness of maritime vessels in ice conditions is important for the operation of supply chains. In the artic sea areas, the ice conditions pose a major challenge for maritime vessels getting stuck in the ice and being significantly delayed in arrival to harbor. Data science and open data provide new opportunities to overcome these challenges. This paper introduces available open data sources and data visualizations that can be used to develop applications, for example, for detecting maritime vessel collision, predicting estimated time of arrival to harbor, as well as maritime vessel route optimization in ice conditions. The paper begins by introducing available open data source…

Music Piracy Neutralization and the Youth of the 2010's

In this qualitative research, music piracy among the youth was studied by applying Sykes’ and Matza’s neutralization theory. The key objective of the study was to find out how youths view music piracy, and how they give accounts for it using techniques of neutralization. According to the conducted semi-structured interviews, youths do acknowledge the ethical and economic problems of music piracy. However, piracy is still exercised, and in order to justify this, multiple neutralization techniques are used. The most characteristic of the employed techniques was “claim of normalcy”, with “denial of victim” and “justification by comparison” also appearing frequently. In order to prevent piracy,…

Young Elderly and Digital Coaching : A Quantitative Intervention Study on Exercise Self-Efficacy

Sport and wellness technology devices are becoming an increasingly relevant topic when discussing health and wellness. This study focuses on the use of a “digital coach”, within a specific population, young elderly people. This research explored how the use of a digital coach would affect self-efficacy related to physical activity and exercise among young elderly. Thisquantitative intervention study provided a digital coaching device to a group of young elderly people ranging from 61-78 in age for 10-weeks. It was found that a digital coach may be useful for this population, particularly in increasing their perceived confidence in exercising independently. However, the participants’ percept…

The Cross-Channel Effects of In-Store Customer Experience in the Case of Omnichannel Fashion Retailing in Finland

Although omnichannel retailing has emerged as a popular research topic in academic research, there are still gaps in our understanding of this phenomenon. One such gap concerns omnichannel customer experience and particularly the cross-channel or spillover effects of how customer experience in one channel may affect customer behaviour not only in that specific channel but also in the other channels of the same retailer. In this study, we aim to address this gap by examining how customer experience in the offline channel affects customer behaviour in both the offline and the online channel, more specifically how in-store customer experience affects both brick-and-mortar store and online stor…

Exploring Online Customer Experience Formation:How do Customers Explain Negative Emotions during Online Shopping Encounters?

The Slow Adoption Rate of Software Robotics in Accounting and Payroll Services and the Role of Resistance to Change in Innovation-Decision Process

Robotic process automation (RPA) has by now for years been viewed as a disruptive innovation that will have a significant impact on accounting, HR and payroll services, and yet the rate of adopting the innovation has not reached a level anticipated in past predictions. As several elements have a negative impact on the organization’s rate of adopting RPA, passive resistance to change has a significant impact in the form of constant dithering. Resistance to change can emerge at any stage of the Innovation-Decision process and fluctuate throughout the continued adoption, causing wasted investments, capabilities and resources. peerReviewed

Software Business in the Telecommunications Sector

Operations and Business Support Systems (OSS/BSS) software of Communication Service Providers (CSP's) can be developed internally within the CSP or acquired from a Software Vendor. The software industry lifecycle model hypothesizes that software development is internal in the beginning of the industry's lifecycle, and that the share of external products increases when it matures. Empirical evidence shows signs of the OSS/BSS software industry approaching maturity. Current and future developments of the industry include the possibilities of utilizing the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model and Open Source software (OSSw). Both have gained increasing interest by the CSP's. However, the relativ…

Value Creation Behavior of Oura Ring Users in Social Media (Customer-dominant LOGIC)

Smart devices such as self-trackers are being used by an ever-increasing number of exercisers to self-monitor their health. Users' interactions in social media can co-create and co-destruct the value and has a substantial impact on services. To investigate Oura Ring users' value creation behavior in the online context, we focus on customer-dominant logic and customer-to-customer (C2C) interaction. This paper proposes a conceptual framework, one of the first to investigate value creation in an empirical study in the context of well-being. Oura Ring is a smart ring that enables users to track their activities and sleep quality. To test relationships, structural equation modeling and Fuzzy Set…

Wellness Technology Use in Everyday Life: A Diary Study

Digital wellness technologies and their use have become exceedingly popular. More and more people are using them in their everyday lives. Respectively, the need to understand their users and usage has increased. This study aims to deepen the understanding of how people use and perceive wellness technologies in their everyday lives. Empirically, the study is based on diaries collected from 18 participants over a six-week period, which are analysed using thematic analysis. The results show that the use of wellness technologies can positively influence wellness motivation. Further, they can help people to learn more about their own wellness related behaviour and its effects (learning-effect). …

The Effects of Using a Mobile Wellness Application on Physical Activity Levels : A Four-Month Follow-Up Study Among Aged People

Insufficient physical activity threatens people in older age. Thus, finding ways to support a physically active life in the older age is important. Digital wellness technologies have been presented as potential solutions, but in order for these solutions to be effective, research to gain insights on their use among aged people is needed. This study investigated how the use of a mobile wellness application for tracking physical activity affects physical activity levels among aged people. The physical activity levels were measured by using the IPAQ-E. The focus was on the first four months of use. The study was part of a research program in which groups of aged people take into use a mobile w…

Demographic Differences in the Effectiveness of a Physical Activity Application to Promote Physical Activity: Study Among Aged People

The global population is ageing and simultaneously the life expectancy at older ages is improving. To support healthy and active aging, it is imperative to find solutions to support physical activity (PA) in older age. Digital wellness technologies are a potential solution, but in order for such technologies to be successful, research is needed to gain a better understanding on their use and effectiveness among aged people. To address this need, this study investigated the effectiveness of a physical activity application to promote PA behavior among aged people of different demographics (gender, age, education, marital status). PA levels were measured before taking the application into use …

Metsänomistus ja digitaaliset metsänomistajapalvelut : kyselytulosten raportti

Exploring Online Customer Experience Formation: How do Customers Explain Negative Emotions during Online Shopping Encounters?

We investigated online customer experience formation by using customers’ own explanations of their negative emotions during their online shopping encounters. Survey data from 1,786 Finnish online shoppers were used to identify customers who experienced strong negative emotions during online shopping encounters (N = 215) and the causes of their negative emotions were then analyzed in depth from their written descriptions. Our findings indicated that customers attributed most of their negative emotions to online store characteristics, including user interface, product and service range, pricing, and trustworthiness; however, some negative emotions were also attributable to factors outside of …

Implementing a Digital Wellness Application into Use : Challenges and Solutions Among Aged People

The ageing population is a growing priority area for policy makers and healthcare providers worldwide. Life expectancy is improving, but at the same time, insufficient physical activity threatens older age. Thus, an important question arises: how to improve the probability of people living a healthy and active life in older age. One potential solution to support physical activity and healthy aging is digital wellness technologies. However, digital wellness technologies are still typically designed for younger populations, yet a growing need and potential also among aged people is prevalent. Aged people are a user group with distinct needs and challenges. The main purpose of this study was t…

The Critical Mass of Wireless Communications

The aim of this chapter is to identify and analyze the timing and level of critical mass in the development of market penetration for wireless communications. The authors assume that critical mass is fulfilled at the point when the acceleration of the diffusion process is at its maximum. In practice, this point is determined by estimating the diffusion function and calculating the second derivative with respect to time. The diffusion of mobile subscription is modelled using the Bass diffusion model. The penetration levels and points of time of critical mass of 209 countries or areas of the world are identified and subsequently subjected to regression analysis against population and economic…

Sustained Adoption of Systematic Physical Activity for Young Elderly : A Developed UTAUT Approach

Health recommendations state that for young elderly systematic physical activi-ties at moderate intensity for at least 150 minutes per week are required to help them stay in good shape for their senior years. We have found that young elderly readily gets started with a physical activity (PA) program but there is some challenge to make them stay with this program. We have learned that a PA program should build on activities that users find meaningful and/or best suited for their history of PA and their present physical capacity. Support from dig-ital services to find meaningful and suitable programs can make a difference. We work out developments of the UTAUT to find drivers that could help …

Adoption of Open Source Software and Software-as-a- Service Models in the Telecommunication Industry

A case research is carried out on adoption of open source software (OSS) and software-as-a-service (SaaS) in the telecommunication industry. The study was conducted to examine the types of software deployed as OSS and SaaS and the conditions of adopting OSS and SaaS. Findings of the case study indicate that industry-specific software is not developed as OSS or deployed in SaaS mode. Based on the findings, we also arrive at conclusion: Adoption is hindered by specificity of processes and technology interfaces.

Reinforcement of brand relationships in an omnichannel environment: a qualitative study on clothing shopping

Today’s brands operate in an omnichannel environment consisting of different online and offline channels where the brand can be experienced. This qualitative study investigates brand relationship reinforcement in the omnichannel environment among customers of a Finnish clothing brand, R-Collection. The data collection was conducted in 2021 by interviewing ten customers of R-Collection. We examined the brand relationship reinforcement in four channels: brick-and-mortar (B&M), online store, social media, and second hand. The findings show that brand relationships can be rein-forced differently in these channels. In B&M stores, sensing the quality of clothing, a customer experience that meets …

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…

Role of situational context in use continuance after critical exergaming incidents

Use continuance is crucial in terms of information systems (IS) success. Previous research has shown that situational context can be central for IS use continuance but has paid limited attention to its specific characteristics. Furthermore, the link between situational context and use continuance has remained unexplored in the novel area of “exergames,” which are defined as digital games requiring physical effort from the player that determines the outcome of the game. Studying exergames is deemed important due to their potential in providing health benefits for users, revenues for providers, and well‐being for societies. However, their potential remains unreached because users tend to disc…

Applying UTAUT2 to Explain the Use of Physical Activity Logger Applications Among Young Elderly

Digital wellness technologies have been proposed as a promising way to promote the levels of physical activity and to solve the prevalent problem of physical inactivity among elderly people. In this study, we propose and test a research model for explaining the acceptance and use of these technologies in the case of the young elderly segment (people aged 60–75 years) and physical activity logger applications. The proposed model is theoretically founded on UTAUT2, and it is empirically tested by using the data collected from 115 Finnish young elderly users of a physical activity logger application and analysed with partial least squares based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). We find …

Changes in the Use Intention of Digital Wellness Technologies and Its Antecedents Over Time : The Use of Physical Activity Logger Applications Among Young Elderly in Finland

Physical inactivity has become a prevalent problem among elderly people. Although digital wellness technologies have been proposed as one promising solution to it, our understanding on the antecedents of the acceptance and use of these technologies among elderly people remains limited. In this study, our objective is to promote this understanding by examining the potential changes in the use intention of digital wellness technologies and its antecedents over time in the case of the young elderly segment and physical activity logger applications. We base this examination theoretically on UTAUT2 and empirically on survey data that is collected from 99 Finnish young elderly users of a physical…

User behaviours after critical mobile application incidents : the relationship with situational context

Users occasionally have critical incidents with information systems (IS). A critical IS incident is an IS product or service experience that a user considers to be unusually positive or negative. Critical IS incidents are highly influential in terms of users’ overall perceptions and customer relationships; thus, they are crucial for IS product and service providers. Therefore, it is important to study user behaviors after such incidents. Within IS, the relationships between the situational context and user behaviors after critical incidents have not been addressed at all. Prior studies on general mobile use as a related research area have recognized the influence of the situational context,…

The Effect of Textual Producer-Generated Descriptions on Demand of Mobile Applications

We analyze the impact of different app description characteristics on app demand on the basis of panel data for six months and 1081 distinct apps. We use several text mining techniques in order to operationalize the descriptions’ textual characteristics. The extracted variables are then used in an econometric investigation to examine their impact on apps’ downloads. Our results provide evidence that app descriptions have an effect on demand. Apps with upfront price should be described in a neutral tone. Apps without an upfront price but with in-app purchase option should be offered with rather short descriptions that are written in a formal and subjective style. peerReviewed

Theories Related to Vertical Software Industry Evolution

The word innovation often refers to a new product, usually to an industrial or technical invention, although actually all kinds of new ideas should be considered. Following Rogers (2003, p. 12), “[a]n innovation is an idea, practice, or object that is perceived as new by an individual or other unit of adoption.” The birth of a new industry can be considered to occur as this new innovation is introduced to the markets by the first manufacturing firm. At this point the potential customers evaluate whether it is worth to adopt the product or not.

Who are the Showroomers? Socio-Demographic Factors Behind the Showrooming Behavior on Mobile Devices

This quantitative study focuses on socio-demographic variables and their associations with different forms of showrooming behavior. The purpose of this study is to find which consumer groups based on age, gender, and income level are demographically the most probable showroomers, and how much each of these variables explain showrooming. The data used is a structured online survey from 1,028 Finnish omnichannel consumers aged between 18 and 75 years. We compare the means of demographic groups’ shares on different aspects of showrooming, and then use partial least squares structural equation modeling with confirmatory factor analysis to see how much each of the variables explain showrooming. …

The Role of Anticipated Guilt and its Neutralisation in Explaining Responsible Online Shopping

Although responsible consumption has been the target of growing interest in academic research, the antecedents of responsible online shopping remain poorly understood. In this study, we address this gap in prior research by focusing on the role of anticipated guilt in explaining responsible online shopping. By using data from 479 Finnish consumers, we aim to answer two research questions: (1) how strong an antecedent of responsible online shopping intention is anticipated guilt in relation to other potential antecedents and (2) how efficiently can consumers regulate their resulting feelings of guilt by using different kinds of neutralisation techniques? We find anticipated guilt to be a str…

Identifying the Sales Patterns of Online Stores with Self-Organising Maps on Time Series Data

Electronic commerce, especially in the business-to-consumer (B2C) context, has for years been a popular research topic in information systems (IS). However, the prior research on the topic has traditionally been dominated by the consumer focus instead of the business focus of online stores. For example, whereas various segmentations exist for online consumers based on their purchase behaviour, no such segmentations have been developed for online stores based on their sales patterns. In this study, our objective is to address this gap in prior research by identifying the most typical sales patterns of online stores operating in the B2C context. By using self-organising maps (SOM) to analyse …

Vertical Software Industry Evolution: The Impact of Software Costs and Limited Customer Base

ContextSoftware systems are commonly used in a variety of industries as a means of automating organizational business processes. Initially, such software is often developed in-house by the vertical organizations possibly with the support of professional IT service providers; however, in many cases, internally developed software is eventually replaced with the software products provided by independent software vendors. These vendors often use license fees to recover their software development investments, as well as to gain some margin. However, if the vendor's customer base for a specific type of software is limited, then either the license fees are too high and hence the customers may pref…

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…

Exploring positive online customer experience formation : a study of food waste shoppers

This qualitative study investigates the formation of positive online customer experiences in the context of online grocery shopping. This study analyzes customers’ written descriptions of the causes of their positive experiences when visiting an online store. Data were collected with an online survey of 581 respondents. The case company is a Finnish online retailer, Fiksuruoka Ltd. Fiksuruoka’s business idea is to sell food waste; its product range consists of surplus groceries that are in danger of being disposed of. The findings show that four main themes contribute positively to the online customer experience. Positive customer experiences were explained by factors related to 1) the shop…

Does Physical Activity Application Use Promote Self-Efficacy for Exercise? A Study Among Aged People

The importance of sustained physical activity in healthy aging is well established. To achieve sustained physical activity and exercise, related self-efficacy is important. Hence, solutions to promote self-efficacy for exercise among aged people are urgently needed. Digital wellness technologies provide a potential solution, but research on their potential to promote self-efficacy for exercise is scarce and more research is needed. To address this need, this study investigates how effective is the use of a physical activity application in promoting self-efficacy for exercise among aged people. Self-efficacy levels were compared between three different time points: before taking the applicat…

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…

Stages of Exercise Behavior Change in a Digital Wellness Program for Aged People : Relationship With Self-Efficacy for Exercise

Sustained physical activity and exercise are central to healthy ageing. Yet, the majority of aged people are insufficiently physically active. Digital wellness technologies are potential in promoting exercise behaviors among aged people, but more detailed research on their potential to promote behavior change is limited. To address this gap, the purpose is to investigate how partaking in a digital wellness program influences the stage of exercise behavior change among aged people and to test whether self-efficacy for exercise can differentiate the program participants in terms of the stages of change. The investigation builds on the stages of exercise behavior change derived from the transt…

Identifying the Sales Patterns of Online Stores with Time Series Clustering

Electronic commerce, especially in the business-to-consumer (B2C) context, has for years been a popular research topic in information systems (IS). However, the prior research on the topic has traditionally been dominated by the consumer focus instead of the business focus of online stores. For example, whereas various segmentations exist for online consumers based on their purchase behaviour, no such segmentations have been developed for online stores based on their sales patterns. In this study, our objective is to address this gap in prior research by identifying the most typical sales patterns of online stores operating in the B2C context. By using self-organising maps (SOM) to analyse …

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…

Customers’ QR Code Usage Barriers in a Brick-and-Mortar Store : A Qualitative Study

The purpose of this study is to explore the factors that hinder customers from utilizing QR codes when they visit brick-and-mortar (B&M) stores. The research was conducted at a Finnish fashion retailer, where three types of QR codes were displayed for customers to use. In order to identify the barriers that customers face, two different sets of data were collected and analyzed: open-ended survey data (n = 101) and interview data (n = 16). The findings showed two main categories of barriers,customer and company related, with seven sub-barriers. The customer-related barriers included lack of interest in QR codes, user-related usage issues, desire for a device-free B&M store, and dislike towar…

User expectations, use experiences and continued adoption of a mobile secure communication application

The importance of secure communication between employees in enterprises and governmental organizations as well as technologies to support that has increased tremendously over the past years. This study examines the user expectations before and the use experiences during the implementation phase of a mobile secure communication application together with expectation–confirmation and its influence on continued adoption. The study is explorative in nature and empirically based on thematic analysis of qualitative data collected from pilot users of a mobile secure communication application who work in a governmental organization in Finland. The theoretical basis of the study draws from two well-e…

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…

Ideal Types of Sport and Wellness Technology Users

A demand exists for the increasing understanding of consumers’ motives and habits related to exercising and the influence of sport and wellness technology on everyday lives. This study aims to shred light to the different types of users of sport and wellness technology by examining the influential aspects of sport and wellness technology and gamification. By thematically analyzing data from 16 indepth interviews, one group interview, and one set of observation, the study highlights the unique characteristics of the sport and wellness technology users by grouping them into ideal types that represents data as extensively as possible. An ideal type is an analytical construct to ascertain devia…

Barriers to Data-Driven Decision-Making Among Online Retailers

This study investigates the barriers to data-driven decision-making among online retailers. The study seeks to deepen the previous knowledge by considering data-driven decision-making as a process and identifying the critical obstacles within its different (6) stages. Qualitative interview data (N=10) collected from Finnish e-commerce professionals are analyzed. The findings show that barriers to data-driven decision-making occur at all stages during the decision-making process. The barriers are mostly related to the employees’ and the management’s expertise in collecting, organizing, analyzing, summarizing, synthesizing, and prioritizing data. In addition, attitudinal, technical, and strat…

How is social capital formed across the digital-physical servicescape?

This study examines how consumers create social capital in interactions with other customers and service personnel while shopping in retail stores that consist of both physical and digital locations. We draw on servicescape literature to explore the role of social capital in determining the social realm in digital-physical servicescapes using data from focus group discussions. We demonstrate how customers utilize both the digital and physical servicescapes in a convergent manner to form the social realm of the servicescape with the other people in service encounters. The implications provide guidelines on how the integration of digital and physical channels facilitates trust, human contact,…

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…

Customer-Brand Relationships in the Context of Digital Brands

This qualitative study investigates customer-brand relationships between customers and digital brands. This study aims to describe different digital brand relationship types, and their manifestations among young adult customers. The data collection was conducted in 2021 by interviewing fourteen Finnish adults aged 22-31 years. The findings categorize the customer-brand relationships into four relationship types, according to the relationship strength from weak to strong. Brand liking lacks emotions and is characterized by low commitment towards a digital brand. Brand attachment includes having a slight barrier of digital brand replacement, and emotions towards the brand are weak. Brand lovi…

Barriers to Responsible Consumption in e-Commerce : Evidence from Fashion Shoppers

This qualitative study investigates the barriers to responsible consumption in e-commerce from the online shoppers’ viewpoint. The purpose of the study is to increase our understanding of what prevents young adults from making responsible purchases in online stores in the context of fashion retail. The data were collected by interviewing ten Finnish fashion shoppers aged 23-27 years. The findings show that responsible consumption is perceived as complex and challenging. The study identified barriers related to online stores and consumers themselves. Online store implementation (product availability, information and transparency, and pricing) is vital in facilitating online shoppers’ respons…

Ideal types of online shoppers : a qualitative analysis of online shopping behavior

Due to the growing popularity of online shopping, there is a growing demand for understanding the motives and behaviour of online shoppers. This study aims to increase this understanding by examining online shopping behaviour from the perspective of UTAUT2 theory integrated with self-efficacy and risk avoidance components. The thematically analysed data from 31 participants highlights the unique aspects of online shoppers by grouping them into ideal types, presenting the data as extensively as possible. An ideal type is an analytical construct used to ascertain similarities and deviations to concrete cases in an individual phenomenon. This study discovered five ideal types of online shopper…

The Effects of Consumer Demographics and Payment Method Preference on Product Return Frequency and Reasons in Online ShoppingEffects of Consumer Demographics and Payment Method Preference on Product Return Frequency and Reasons in Online Shopping

In online shopping, product returns are very common. In order to reduce them, one must first understand who are making them and why are they being made. In this study, we aim to address these questions by examining product return behaviour from a consumer-centric rather than the more traditional product-centric, retailer-centric, and order-centric perspectives. More specifically, we focus on the effects of four demographic characteristics of consumers (i.e., gender, age, education, and income) as well as their payment method preference on their product return frequency and product return reasons. As the data, we use the responses from 560 Finnish online consumers, which were collected with …

Scenarios on Adoption of Open Source Software in the Communications Software Industry

We examine the trends and developments affecting the adoption of open source software in the communications software industry. Based on expert interviews and scenario analysis, four alternative and possibly co-existing scenarios are derived. The analysis suggests that communication service providers will mostly deploy open source software in infrastructure software. Alternative developments include use of open source software in launching new services and in cloud computing. The present study is relevant particularly for technology managers considering open source strategies.

Using a Physical Activity Application to Promote Physical Activity Levels Among Aged People : A Follow-Up Study

The share and life expectancy of the ageing population are increasing. However, aged people are threatened by insufficient physical activity. Therefore, finding ways to support people to live a physically active life in older age is imperative. Digital wellness technologies represent a potential solution, but in order for such technologies to be effective, research is needed to gain a better understanding on their use among aged people. To address this need, this study investigated whether the use of a physical activity application can promote physical activity among aged people. The physical activity levels were measured at three different time points: before taking the application into us…

The Effects of General and Mobile Online Shopping Skilfulness and Multichannel Self-Efficacy on Consumer Showrooming Behaviour

Although showrooming behaviour is a characteristic aspect of modern omnichannel retailing, our understanding of its antecedents remains limited. In this study, we aim to address this gap in prior research by examining how showrooming behaviour is affected by three different kinds of perceived consumer capabilities: general online shopping skilfulness, mobile online shopping skilfulness, and multichannel self-efficacy. The examination is done by utilising data from 1,024 Finnish consumers, which was collected with an online survey in 2021 and is analysed with structural equation modelling (SEM). In summary, we find mobile online shopping skilfulness to have a strong positive effect on showro…

Learnings from the Finnish Game Industry

The motivation behind our research was the rapid growth and business wins of world-class Finnish game companies, like Supercell, as well as the success of other game companies in Finland. In particular, Supercell's growth is something that has not been heard of before and this raised the interest to research what game companies have been doing right. Supercell is not the only Finnish success. Rovio is also well known and has the roots for success from few years before. There are also other game companies in Finland that have succeeded and this motivated us to investigate what is happening behind the game industry and what could be learned from there that could be applied to other software i…

What Prevents Consumers from Making Responsible Online Purchases?

The objective of this qualitative study is to examine and describe what prevents consumers from making responsible online purchases. The data were collected during February and March 2023 with an online survey. The data comprises the respondents' (N=245) free-form written responses, in which they articulated and explained the factors that prevent their responsible online purchases. The findings indicate that external and internal factors can prevent consumers' responsible online purchases. While external factors – online stores – are mainly blamed for promoting irresponsible buying behavior, internal factors –consumers' individual characteristics – are also recognized to have an important r…

User Perspective on the Adoption of Mobile Augmented Reality Based Applications

Mobile augmented reality (AR) based applications enable digital content to be connected with the user’s real world surroundings. To begin with, the current types of consumer-level applications are introduced. The main purpose of the chapter is to study the adoption and perceived strengths and weaknesses of mobile AR-based applications by analyzing quantitative and qualitative responses of 90 actual users. Diffusion of innovations (DOI) theory is adopted with structural equation modeling (SEM) to investigate the intention to use such applications. Perceived strengths and weaknesses, mentioned by the users, are analyzed by qualitative coding. Results indicate that the constructs of diffusion …

User behaviours after critical mobile application incidents: the relationship with situational context

Users occasionally have critical incidents with information systems IS. A critical IS incident is an IS product or service experience that a user considers to be unusually positive or negative. Critical IS incidents are highly influential in terms of users' overall perceptions and customer relationships; thus, they are crucial for IS product and service providers. Therefore, it is important to study user behaviours after such incidents. Within IS, the relationships between the situational context and user behaviours after critical incidents have not been addressed at all. Prior studies on general mobile use as a related research area have recognized the influence of the situational context,…

Digital Coaching Motivating Towards Physical Activity in Japan During the Covid-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 influenced peoples lives enormously and its impact was also seen in physical activity and exercising. This mixed methods intervention study highlights some of the impact the pandemic had on the physical activity and exercising behaviors of 10 Japanese information systems employees and students. This study also focuses on the influence that using sport and wellness technology digital coaching had on peoples’ physical activity, exercise motivation and exercise self-efficacy during the pandemic. Based on the findings digital coaching can have motivational elements to support people towards a more physically active lifestyle for example by making users more aware of their own physical …

An Ethical Perspective on Loot Box Purchasing : Examining Psychosocial Antecedents and the Association with Indebtedness

Loot boxes are popular random reward mechanisms in digital games, attracting players to invest real money to enhance their gaming experiences. Loot boxes share striking similarities to gambling and might contribute to one’s economic strain, but more research is needed on the underlying vulnerabilities and motivational traits in loot box purchasing. This paper examines associations with self-reported increase in loot box purchasing and debt problems during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. International survey data were collected in 2021, consisting of Finnish, Swedish, and British respondents (N = 2,991) aged 18 to 75. Partial least squares modeling was used as an analytical techniqu…

Digital Coaching Motivating Young Elderly People towards Physical Activity

The share of the elderly population is increasing globally, and it is important to help them to maintain their physical activity levels and ability to function to as late an age as possible. This qualitative intervention study focused on the experiences of young elderly on the ability of a sport and wellness technology digital coach to motivate them towards physical activity as well as on what needs and wishes this group has concerning digital coaching solutions. The findings of the study show that young elderly perceive digital coaching as potential in motivating them towards physical activity by providing instructive information and motivational feedback. It was also perceived to have pos…

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…

How Are Negative Customer Experiences Formed? A Qualitative Study of Customers’ Online Shopping Journeys

This study investigates how negative customer experiences are formed during customers’ online shopping journeys. A qualitative, in-depth dataset collected from 34 participants was employed to identify negatively perceived touchpoints that contribute to the customer experience in a negative way. The findings reveal that negative touchpoints are experienced during customers’ entire journeys, particularly after a purchase is completed. We identified 152 negative touchpoints from the data, of which 53 were experienced during search and consideration, 35 when finalizing a purchase, 33 during delivery, and 31 during after-sales interactions with the company. Within these four main categories, 20 …

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…

Diffusion Models in Analysing Emerging Technology-based Services

In this article we discuss the problems of utilizing innovation diffusion (or, adoption) models in developing scenarios for mobile commerce services in three European countries: Finland, Germany, and Greece. We are not to test the various diffusion models as such, but rather to utilise the fundamental ideas of the models in determining the prerequisites for, the status of, and the pace of diffusion of mobile services in these different market areas. The estimates would serve as a starting point and as a validity check for scenario development. The early experience at the research design phase show that the ‘mainstream’ diffusion approach is vulnerable to three factors specific to the adopti…

Varttuneet kuluttajat, digitalisoituva arki ja kulutusympäristöjen muutos : digi 50+ -hankkeen loppuraportti

Väestön ikääntymisen ja palveluympäristöjen digitalisoitumisen seurauksena varttuneista kuluttajista on tullut yhä tärkeämpi kohderyhmä digitaalisille palveluille ja tuotteille. Ikääntyvien kuluttajien tarpeita, toiveita ja palveluiden käyttötottumuksia ei kuitenkaan usein oteta huomioon yritysten liiketoiminnassa, markkinoinnin suunnittelussa tai palvelumuotoilussa. Tässä tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan varttuneiden, noin 50–65-vuotiaiden, kuluttajien kokemuksia digitaalisissa palveluympäristöissä. Tutkimustulokset osoittavat, että varttuneet kuluttajat kohtaavat erityisiä haasteita mutta myös uusia mahdollisuuksia digitaalisten palveluympäristöjen käyttäjinä. Vaikka yli 50- vuotiaat kuluttaja…

The Effect of Using Noise Cancellation Earplugs in Open-plan Offices of the Work Well-being and Work Performance of Software Professionals

The popularity of open-plan offices has been on the rise recently and expanded to all sectors of working life. While moving to open-plan offices brings savings to companies, open-plan offices have been connected with various different negative consequences, such as noise. Noise has been found to be a central cause of dissatisfaction towards working in an open-plan office and lead to subsequent negative outcomes, such as decreased self-perceived health and weakened cognitive performance. Therefore, it is important to study the ways and technologies that could possibly mitigate the negative effects of noise on work well-being and work performance. This explorative study investigates both the …

Sustainable Physical Activity Programs for Young Elderly : A Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process Approach

Physical activity (PA) programs are useful to help young elderly stay in good shape for their senior years. These programs should be sustainable, as this would keep the users active for months and years. A PA program should build on activities that users find meaningful and/or best suited for their history of sports and exercise as well as their present physical capacity. The challenge is to make the best selection from a (long) list of possible activities. We worked out a method to help young elderly to build a sustainable PA program from a set of activities that experts have identified as contributing to health and fitness among young elderly. The method builds on the Analytical Hierarchy…

Age Differences in Technology Readiness and Its Effects on Information System Acceptance and Use : The Case of Online Electricity Services in Finland

Although technology readiness (TR) has been found to influence the acceptance and use of information systems (IS), little is known about how TR varies in terms of different demographic variables and how these demographic variables moderate the effects of TR on IS acceptance and use. In this study, we aim to address this gap in prior research by examining the potential age differences in the four technology readiness index (TRI) constructs as well as their effects on IS use intention and its two main antecedents hypothesised in the technology acceptance model (TAM): perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. The examination is conducted in the context of online electricity services and …

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…

The Effects of Positive and Negative Emotions During Online Shopping Episodes on Consumer Satisfaction, Repurchase Intention, and Recommendation Intention

The aim of this study is to examine the emotions that consumers experience during their online shopping episodes as well as their effects on consumer satisfaction and two types of post-purchase behavioural intentions: repurchase and recommendation intentions. By hypothesising a research model and testing it with the data from 1,786 Finnish online shoppers, which was collected in co-operation with 18 Finnish online stores between September 2018 and December 2018 and is analysed by using structural equation modelling (SEM), the study makes several interesting findings. First, we find positive emotions to have stronger effects in comparison to negative emotions. Second, we also find that where…

The Effects of Individual Values on Online Shopping Spending

Although individual values have been found as important antecedents of human behaviour, their effects on online shopping behaviour remain poorly understood. In this study, we aim to address this gap in prior research by examining the effects of individual values on both total online shopping spending and the specific types of online shopping spending in terms of orders made (1) with traditional computers versus mobile devices, (2) from businesses versus other consumers, and (3) from domestic versus foreign online stores. The examination is based on the data from 565 Finnish online shoppers, which was collected via an online survey between February 2019 and March 2019 and is analysed by usin…

The Continued Innovation-Decision Process : A Case Study of Continued Adoption of Robotic Process Automation

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) originally entered the field of information systems as one of those disruptive innovations that will, among other automation solutions, have a profound effect on job descriptions and work itself in near future. One of the sectors that will be revolutionized – and are in fact already changing – are financial and human resource (HR) services, such as accounting, billing, and payroll services. According to statistics, Finnish companies operating on the administrative and support services sector make little use of service robots. Companies that have initially adopted the technology do not necessary reach its full potential. We explore what factors create challen…

Inhibitors, enablers and social side winds Explaining the use of exercise tracking systems

There has been a vast research interest in exercise tracking systems as they are hoped to boost motivation for exercise and thus improve users’ health. However, research activity on actual use and experiences on using such systems has been mild: one has been more interested in the consequences of use than the use itself. To address this gap, we report a study, in which we examined the use of exercise tracking systems (i.e. physical devices with connected services and information systems) in their contexts of use. The study was based on diary data collected in Finland. Analysis of the data was based on a framework describing various techno-determinant inhibitors and enablers of technology us…

Market scope of vendors in the OSS software market

This paper studies the market scope of vendors that produce software for telecommunications operators, i.e. the Operations Support Systems (OSS) market. The aim is to find out the strategies used by vendors in the OSS market. The market scope is studied on two dimensions: 1) the breadth of the scope in the OSS market; and 2) focus on the telecommunications industry. The breadth of market scope is divided into four categories: niche, vertical, layer and broad scope. We examine empirical vendor data from the years 2002 and 2005. Results show that all hypothesized strategies are present in the market. Most of the firms have either a niche, a vertical or a broad market scope, and they are speci…

A Follow-Up On The Changes in the Changes in the Use Intention of Digital Wellness Technologies and Its Antecedents Over Time : The Use of Physical Activity Logger Applications Among Young Elderly in Finland

This study aims to further promote the understanding of the antecedents of the acceptance and use of digital wellness technologies among elderly people through a follow-up to our two prior studies, one which examines the potential longer-term temporal changes in the use intention of digital wellness technologies and its antecedents in the case of the young elderly segment and physical activity logger applications. We base this examination theoretically on UTAUT2 and empirically on survey data that is collected from 92 Finnish young elderly users of a physical activity logger application in three subsequent time points and analysed with partial least squares structural equation modelling (PL…

The role of sustainability in online customer experiences : a qualitative study on female fashion shoppers

This qualitative study aims to understand sustainability’s role in responsible consumers’ Online Customer Experiences (OCEs). In this study, we focus on female fashion shoppers, and study three dimensions of their OCE: cognitive, affective, and social. Although online shopping and responsible consumer behaviour have increased tremendously, sustainability’s role in OCE has not been studied before from the customer’s perspective. The data consists of nine semi-structural interviews of Finnish female self-proclaimed responsible consumers and is analyzed with qualitative content analysis. The findings show that sustainability issues are present in all OCE dimensions, which are also all intercon…

Forming Sustainable Physical Activity Programs Among Young Elderly : A Combined ELM & UTAUT Approach

There is consensus in health studies that regular physical activities of sufficient intensity and duration contribute to better health both in the short and long term. In an ongoing research program, we focus on getting the young elderly, the 60-75 years age group, to adopt and include physical activities as part of their daily routines. One reason for addressing young elderly is large numbers – in Finland health care costs for the elderly was 3.7 B€ in 2019 and will increase dramatically if the young elderly group is in bad shape when they reach the 75+ age group. We are finding out that systematic physical activities can serve as preventive health care for the young elderly. We are also l…

Consumer value of camera-based mobile interaction with the real world

Camera-based mobile interaction with the real world allows consumers to connect digital information with the real-world environment, and furthermore, to interact with real-world objects and places. To explore and understand the types of consumer value in the context of such consumer-level applications, we applied the critical incident technique to reflect actual use experiences from 107 application users with a recognized consumer value framework by Holbrook. The findings of the study suggest that at the current state value is heavily based on utilitarian efficiency and excellence. Although the applications enable a diverse value, they have yet to fulfill their potential in providing hedoni…

Software Business in the Telecommunications Sector