Capability demands of digital service innovation

This chapter explores the demands that digital service innovation places on those stakeholders who use the digital service through three lenses: workers and workplace, digital literacy, and, finally, digital education. The chapter includes an overview of digital service innovation. The impact of digital services generally is explored from the perspective of the workforce and the future of work developing an argument for the need for ongoing upskilling in the digital space. The skills required in the age of digital disruption are explored, and a definition and general understanding of what digital literacy entails is presented. Finally, the opportunities for education in digital environments are explored through three vignettes which illustrate different opportunities for upskilling and retraining. The chapter highlights adaptations required in socio-political environments, education and training, and curricula to allow digital service innovations to achieve the expected benefits

Smart Home Technology Effect on Behavior, Cognition, and Wellbeing of Individuals Aging In Place

As many older adults prefer to age in place, there is a possibility of elevating the Quality of Life (QoL) via implementing smart home technologies, specifically Voice-Controlled Intelligent Personal Assistants (VIPA). This study explores the acceptance and user behavior of older adults who utilize such devices and how it affects caregivers in providing care and peace of mind for caregivers and older adults. The research method adopted for this study consisted of a qualitative thematic analysis of verified Amazon Echo Dot 3rd Generation reviews, posted on Amazon's website, that involved the keywords senior, elderly, grandparents, and caregiver. The reviews were extracted via a web scraping software, ParseHub, that helped organize and export the reviews into a Microsoft Excel workbook to prepare for coding that data. The reviews provided insight into how seniors and caregivers utilize the VIPA device to age in place, helping determine relevant themes. The dataset was obtained after filtering through 1,048,808 online reviews by keywords and set the search criteria concerning the reviews type set to verified only. The datasets included 414 verified online reviews that contained the keywords senior, elderly, grandparents, and caregiver. The process resulted in forming eight themes, which are entertainment, communication, companionship, learning and news, emergency and security, reminders and alarms, home automation, and shopping. The users, seniors, and caregivers gave insight into how they utilize the VIPA device, which helped understand the most common uses of VIPA devices among older adults. Moreover, some of the reviews included additional information that indicated an elevated Quality of Life after acquiring and using the VIPA device, such as a senior with visual impairment using the smart speaker to control their home lights via voice commands

Digital transformation in the manufacturing industry : business models and smart service systems

The digital transformation enables innovative business models and smart services, i.e. individual services that are based on data analyses in real-time as well as information and communications technology. Smart services are not only a theoretical construct but are also highly relevant in practice. Nine research questions are answered, all related to aspects of smart services and corresponding business models. The dissertation proceeds from a general overview, over the topic of installed base management as precondition for many smart services in the manufacturing industry, towards exemplary applications in form of predictive maintenance activities. A comprehensive overview is provided about smart service research and research gaps are presented that are not yet closed. It is shown how a business model can be developed in practice. A closer look is taken on installed base management. Installed base data combined with condition monitoring data leads to digital twins, i.e. dynamic models of machines including all components, their current conditions, applications and interaction with the environment. Design principles for an information architecture for installed base management and its application within a use case in the manufacturing industry indicate how digital twins can be structured. In this context, predictive maintenance services are taken for the purpose of concretization. It is looked at state oriented maintenance planning and optimized spare parts inventory as exemplary approaches for smart services that contribute to high machine availability. Taxonomy of predictive maintenance business models shows their diversity. It is viewed on the named topics both from theoretical and practical viewpoints, focusing on the manufacturing industry. Established research methods are used to ensure academic rigor. Practical problems are considered to guarantee practical relevance. A research project as background and the resulting collaboration with different experts from several companies also contribute to that. The dissertation provides a comprehensive overview of smart service topics and innovative business models for the manufacturing industry, enabled by the digital transformation. It contributes to a better understanding of smart services in theory and practice and emphasizes the importance of innovative business models in the manufacturing industry