Millennials\u27 Acceptance of Voice Activated Shopping

The rise of voice technologies has changed the way individuals complete tasks and interact with their devices. Retail companies are now offering voice features to shop for products, but there is a gap in literature about consumers’ acceptance of using voice technology to make purchases. Previous studies have compared the different brands of voice technologies, investigated privacy issues, or explained the acceptance of voice technology. Millennials’ acceptance and shopping through voice technologies have not been researched before. Kääriä (2017) calls for future studies to focus on voice technologies, since the technology is constantly improving, and new forms are entering the market. Millennials are known to adapt to new technologies quicker and make up a fourth of the spending power (Cutler, 2015; Lissitsa & Kol, 2016). A majority of the cohort has been found to use voice technology daily, but the use of the technology has yet to be studied (Moore, 2018). Thus, this study explains millennials’ acceptance of shopping through voice technologies by testing the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The TAM was the theoretical framework for this study (Davis, 1985). The TAM is found to be more accurate than other models in measuring the acceptance of technology and is widely used by researchers (Shamy & Hassanein, 2017). The TAM model includes two main variables, which are perceived ease of use (PEOU) and perceived usefulness (PU) (Davis, 1989). In addition, perceived enjoyment (PE) and perceived innovativeness (PI) were added by subsequent research (Davis, Bagozzi, & Warshaw, 1992). The relationship of gender, age, and experience to behavior intention (BI) were also added to the model (Venkatesh, Thong, & Xu, 2012), and were incorporated into the current study. The purpose of this thesis was to explain the relationships between PU, PEOU, PE, and PI to BI for millennials. Data was collected through an online survey created on Qualtrics and disseminated via Amazon Mechanical Turk. A total of 204 surveys were collected and coded for analysis through SPSS. A regression analysis was conducted to investigate the relationships between the TAM variables. Surprisingly, gender was found to influence BI, thus women were more likely to use the technology in the future. Age and level of experience did not influence BI. When testing age, gender, and level of experience against PU, PEOU, PE, and PI no significant relations were found, except for gender on PI. Women thought voice technology was more innovative than men, therefore, gender influenced PI. Respondents found shopping through voice to be useful, enjoyable, and innovative. However, millennials believed it was difficult to use, thus retailers should investigate how to make the technology more intuitive. The results of this study indicate that millennials are accepting of using voice technology to shop and retailers should consider offering the skills to do so. Advisor: Jennifer Johnson Jorgense

Websites Vs. Apps: A Comparison of Consumer Acceptance of Apparel Mass-Customization Across Channels

After 20 years of industrial practice, consumers now can shop for mass-customized apparel in various channels including websites and smart device applications (apps). Online apparel mass-customization (OAMC), which provides platforms and convenience for customers to communicate with retailers effectively, provides retailers with a growing opportunity in today’s evolving omni-channel environment. Meanwhile, product value and experiential value delivered to consumers will help increase customer satisfaction and lower the return rate. However, little is known about consumers’ beliefs, attitudes, and purchase intentions of mass-customized apparels when using different channels. Two studies were intended to fill the research gap. Study 1 is an exploratory, qualitative study with a focus on analyzing feedback from consumers who have had real experiences of purchasing online mass-customized apparel. Study 2 presents a comprehensive attempt to examine the factors that impact consumers’ attitude toward using OAMC and the willingness to purchase online mass-customized apparel (through an experiment) with the technology acceptance model applied as a theoretical foundation. An online self-administered questionnaire was utilized to collect participants’ responses including OAMC evaluations of usefulness, enjoyment, ease of use, choice variety, risks, attitude, and willingness to purchase after practicing OAMC in the experiment. A total of 388 responses were collected from a southeastern University in the United States. Factor analyses were conducted to test and confirm the measurement model with results showing that the reliability and validities were well achieved. Hypothesized relationships and moderating effects were tested using a structural equation modeling approach. Research results indicated that the proposed hypotheses were partially supported. A positive attitude predicted willingness to purchase. Ease of use, enjoyment, and choice variety significantly influenced customers’ attitude. Usefulness and risks did not influence attitude in this research model. The moderation effects of online mass-customization channels, consumers’ level of fashion involvement, and consumers’ need for uniqueness were tested separately through multi-group comparisons. The results showed that there was no significant difference among consumers with different levels of fashion involvement, or different levels of need for uniqueness, or consumers who shop online mass-customized apparel in different channels. Theoretical and practical implications were provided based on research findings

Robots in education and care of children with developmental disabilities : a study on acceptance by experienced and future professionals

Research in the area of robotics has made available numerous possibilities for further innovation in the education of children, especially in the rehabilitation of those with learning difficulties and/or intellectual disabilities. Despite the scientific evidence, there is still a strong scepticism against the use of robots in the fields of education and care of people. Here we present a study on the acceptance of robots by experienced practitioners (specialized in the treatment of intellectual disabilities) and university students in psychology and education sciences (as future professionals). The aim is to examine the factors, through the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model, that may influence the decision to use a robot as an instrument in the practice. The overall results confirm the applicability of the model in the context of education and care of children, and suggest a positive attitude towards the use of the robot. The comparison highlights some scepticism among the practitioners, who perceive the robot as an expensive and limited tool, while students show a positive perception and a significantly higher willingness to use the robot. From this experience, we formulate the hypothesis that robots may be accepted if more integrated with standard rehabilitation protocols in a way that benefits can outweigh the costs

Consumer Intentions to Accept and Use Mobile Advertising

Mobilne naprave se vse bolj vključujejo v življenja ljudi. S tem so oglaševalci pridobili nove priložnosti za komuniciranje s svojimi strankami, podjetja pa možnosti za oglaševanje svojih produktov in storitev na personaliziran način. Mobilno oglaševanje je tako pritegnilo pozornost oglaševalcev in raziskovalcev. Kljub dejstvu, da potrošniki že dolgo za svojimi mobilnimi napravami preživijo veliko časa, pa tržniki še vedno iščejo načine, kako bi v celoti izkoristili vse prednosti tega medija. Raziskovalci so v zadnjem času izvedli več študij na področju presoje in napovedovanja odnosa potrošnikov do mobilnega oglaševanja, toda nekatere nejasnosti še vedno obstajajo. Slednje še posebej velja za Pakistan, kjer je bilo opravljenih zelo malo raziskav na področju mobilnega oglaševanja. Pričujoča disertacija zato teoretsko obravnava presojo namer potrošnikov o sprejetju in uporabi mobilnega oglaševanja in vključuje empirično študijo v Pakistanu. Tema je relativno mlada in še premalo raziskana, zato prinaša številne priložnosti za razvoj novih in razširitev obstoječih teorij. Pričujoča disertacija želi razširiti obstoječo teorijo, to je Združeno teorijo o tehnološkem sprejetju in uporabi. Za to je bil oblikovan mešan raziskovalni pristop (ang. Mixed Methods Approach), v katerem se rezultati ustvarijo s kvantitativno in kvalitativno analizo podatkov, z namenom identifikacije ključnih dejavnikov, ki lahko vplivajo na namero potrošnikov o sprejetju mobilnega oglaševanja. Cilj disertacije je premostiti vrzel v znanju na področju presoje namere potrošnikov in njihovega odnosa do uporabe mobilnega oglaševanja. Teoretski in empirični rezultati so izpostavili nekaj ključnih dejavnikov (kot na primer pričakovan trud, pričakovani učinek, zaznan užitek, zaznana nadležnost in personalizacija), ki vplivajo na namero potrošnikov o sprejetju mobilnega oglaševanja. Poleg tega so rezultati razkrili tudi odnos med potrošnikovo namero sprejetja in sprejetjem mobilnega oglaševanja.The world has witnessed a high level of mobile device penetration in people’s lives. This has not only created an opportunity for marketers to communicate with their customers but has also enabled companies to advertise their products and services in personalized way. Due to this, mobile advertising has got the attention of both marketers and researchers. However, marketers have been struggling to fully exploit the benefits of this medium, even though consumers spend a considerable amount of their time on mobile devices. Recently, researchers have conducted various studies into ways to assess and predict consumer attitudes towards mobile advertising, but there is still ambiguity in this area. This is particularly the case in Pakistan, where very little research has been conducted in the area of mobile advertising. The current thesis is targeted towards assessing consumer intentions to accept and use mobile advertising. This under-researched topic is still in its infancy and there are lots of opportunities to not only come up with new theories but also extend the existing ones. The current thesis attempts to extend the existing unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). To do this, a mixed methodological approach was adopted where both quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques were applied to the data in order to uncover crucial factors that can affect consumer intentions to accept and use mobile advertising. The goal of the current thesis is to bridge the knowledge gap by assessing consumer intentions and actual behaviour towards mobile advertising. The results highlight some of the crucial factors (such as effort expectancy, performance expectancy, perceived enjoyment, perceived irritation, and personalization) that can affect consumer intentions to accept and use mobile advertising. In addition to this, the results also highlight the relationship between consumer intentions to accept and use mobile advertising

Analyzing the use of UTAUT model in explaining an online behaviour: Internet banking adoption

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Technology acceptance research is a constantly developing field. The disciplines that contributed to its development are either beliefs focused or system focused. The unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) combined both. The current research model proposes an extension to the UTAUT that accounts for online usage behaviour. The proposed research model is tested in two countries (UK and Jordan) to investigate the viability of the unified model of technology acceptance in different boundaries as a model of individuals’ discretionary usage of Internet banking. The study also questions the roles of other determinants and moderators in this context. Results found support for the effect of the proposed extension, website quality perceptions, on usage behaviour in both countries’ models; the total effect of this extension exhibited website quality perceptions the most influential determinant of usage behaviour in both models and performance expectancy construct was second in effect. Social influence had no impact on the usage behaviour in both models, which is consistent with previous research that advocates a declining role of social influence under discretionary usage and increased experience conditions. Furthermore, the moderating role of performance expectancy previously established in TAM’s research was supported in the UTAUT model in both countries’ models. Moreover, both models reported a non-moderating effect of gender, which, is also in line with recent research findings that suggest declining gender differences under voluntary usage conditions and advanced experience. Education and income were moderators only for the UK model. Although the research findings demonstrated that both countries’ models were “configurally” similar with respect to model specifications, the models’ explanatory power for usage behaviour was dissimilar: the UK’s model explanatory power exceeded that of Jordan’s model presenting an opportunity for future research. The current research contributes to knowledge in the field of technology acceptance research. It demonstrated that website quality perceptions, as a multidimensional concept, play an important role in the online usage context. It also demonstrated that the unified model of technology acceptance established in the western culture can be transferred to a non-western culture although with varying degrees of explanation power

Transforming pre-service teacher curriculum: observation through a TPACK lens

This paper will discuss an international online collaborative learning experience through the lens of the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework. The teacher knowledge required to effectively provide transformative learning experiences for 21st century learners in a digital world is complex, situated and changing. The discussion looks beyond the opportunity for knowledge development of content, pedagogy and technology as components of TPACK towards the interaction between those three components. Implications for practice are also discussed. In today’s technology infused classrooms it is within the realms of teacher educators, practising teaching and pre-service teachers explore and address effective practices using technology to enhance learning

Teaching and learning in virtual worlds: is it worth the effort?

Educators have been quick to spot the enormous potential afforded by virtual worlds for situated and authentic learning, practising tasks with potentially serious consequences in the real world and for bringing geographically dispersed faculty and students together in the same space (Gee, 2007; Johnson and Levine, 2008). Though this potential has largely been realised, it generally isn’t without cost in terms of lack of institutional buy-in, steep learning curves for all participants, and lack of a sound theoretical framework to support learning activities (Campbell, 2009; Cheal, 2007; Kluge & Riley, 2008). This symposium will explore the affordances and issues associated with teaching and learning in virtual worlds, all the time considering the question: is it worth the effort

Evaluating embodied conversational agents in multimodal interfaces

Based on cross-disciplinary approaches to Embodied Conversational Agents, evaluation methods for such human-computer interfaces are structured and presented. An introductory systematisation of evaluation topics from a conversational perspective is followed by an explanation of social-psychological phenomena studied in interaction with Embodied Conversational Agents, and how these can be used for evaluation purposes. Major evaluation concepts and appropriate assessment instruments – established and new ones – are presented, including questionnaires, annotations and log-files. An exemplary evaluation and guidelines provide hands-on information on planning and preparing such endeavours

Perceived Quality of Mobile Services

The book investigates user satisfaction with mobile services, the perceived quality of m-commerce products, and the loyalty towards service providers. After introducing the m-commerce value chain and emerging mobile services, the first part examines relevant theories from diffusion of innovations and service quality to mobile services, and identifies new trends in the mobile communication market. The book demonstrates to what extent service quality and adoption theories of consumer behavior literature explain the (repeated) usage of mobile services, and how the results differ by user segments. A-priori and a-posteriori segmentations provide detailed insights. The results indicate that it is important to consider (un)observed heterogeneity in explanatory models