Ethical implications of digital advertising automation: The case of programmatic advertising in Spain

La falta de eficacia de los métodos tradicionales de planificación en la publicidad tradicional, la creciente saturación publicitaria de los medios digitales y la influencia transformadora de los actores digitales en el sector han motivado la necesidad de desarrollar nuevos métodos y herramientas de publicidad para explotar de forma viable los recursos digitales que ofrece la Internet ubicua. La publicidad programática es actualmente considerada una de las formas más eficientes de automatización en este nuevo entorno de la publicidad digital, destacando su implantación en mercados publicitarios como los de EUA y Reino Unido. En el caso de España quedan aún importantes cuestiones por dilucidar, especialmente en lo relativo al grado de implementación tanto a escala nacional como regional y a las implicaciones éticas derivadas de la implementación de esta tecnología. Para arrojar luz sobre estos interrogantes hemos desarrollado una investigación cualitativa en un panel sobre una muestra de expertos con experiencia contrastada en el uso cotidiano profesional de esta tecnología. Los resultados subrayan la necesidad de capacidades de adaptación en un entorno rápidamente cambiante como el de la publicidad online, en el que las tecnologías posibilitan nuevos procesos con importantes implicaciones éticas y de reputación. A partir de la delimitación de una contradicción relevante entre las percepciones de los profesionales y los usuarios, el uso responsable de estas herramientas y la capacidad de observar las consecuencias derivadas de este uso se perfilan como un importante desafío profesional y funcional. Abstract Ineffective traditional advertising planning methods, the growing advertising saturation of digital media, and the disrupting influence of the digital players in the advertising sector have created a need for new methods and tools for advertising in today’s ubiquitous Internet. Programmatic advertising is currently considered one of the most efficient forms of automation the new online advertising environment and is excelling in major advertising markets like the US and United Kingdom. In Spain, however, there are still some important unaddressed questions regarding the level of implementation on a national and regional scale and the ethical implications derived from the implementation of this new technology. To address these points we have carried out qualitative research using a panel of experts with relevant background on the use of programmatic buying technology on a daily basis. The results stress the need for adapting capabilities in a rapidly evolving advertising sector, in which new technologies give rise to new complex processes with important ethical and reputational implications. We have identified a major contradiction between professionals’ views and users’ perceptions; the responsible use of these tools and the ability to identify the consequences of them appear to be a professional and functional challenge

The future of online fashion retail: a case study of Zalando SE

The pedagogical case study at hand pivots on Zalando SE, a German online retailer for fashion and accessories, that put innovation and user experience at the core of its business values. In pursuit of European market leadership, Zalando looks at improving the customers’ digital experience through implementing technological features of the next generation. Qualitative and quantitative analyses, which included the online fashion retail market and Zalando’s business performance, were applied in order to gain a holistic understanding of the European e-commerce industry. In a second step, industry trends and critical success factors were analysed and ranked. To answer the guiding question of this case study (How can Zalando SE leverage on its strong market position and technological progress in order to become Europe’s number one online fashion retailer?), future trends and critical success factors are paired with Zalando’s strengths, core values and business model. The case resolution shows that the online retail market is undergoing a shift from a sector where offerings are decided by its merchants to one with offerings dictated by consumers. The tech-savvy e-commerce consumers demand to play an active role in building the consumer-brand-relationship. For consumers, Zalando should become the go-to stylist offering sophisticated fashion products and services through its digital as well as physical channels. For partners and suppliers, Zalando should develop into the go-to advisor for online retail by providing a holistic spectrum of services, such as marketing, logistics and, business development. With this two-track approach, long-term sustainable competitive advantage can be achieved.Este caso pedagógico trata a Zalando SE, um retalhista online de moda, alemão. Esta empresa tem uma visão muito aplicada na inovação e na conveniência para o utilizador, os seus principais valores de negócio. Com vista à liderança, a empresa procura melhorar a experiência digital dos seus clientes. Análises qualitativas e quantitativas foram adotadas de forma a obter uma compreensão holística da indústria Europeia de comércio de moda online, bem como do histórico de negócio e desempenho da Zalando. Numa segunda etapa, tendências do setor e fatores chave de sucesso foram analisados e classificados, sendo alinhados com os pontos fortes da empresa e respetivo modelo de negócio de modo a responder à questão principal deste caso (Como pode a Zalando SE alavancar o seu posicionamento de mercado e progresso tecnológico de forma a tornar-se o retalhista de moda online número um da Europa?). O caso demonstra que o mercado de moda online passa por uma profunda alteração, evoluindo de um setor cuja oferta é determinada pelos retalhistas, para um novo paradigma onde a oferta é ditada pelos consumidores. A Zalando precisa compreender que o futuro e-consumidor deseja desempenhar um papel ativo na relação com as marcas que segue. Para os consumidores, a Zalando deverá tornar-se um ávido consultor no que toca ao retalho online, que oferece um conjunto holístico de serviços, entre os quais o marketing, logística, desenvolvimento do negócio. Assim, e com esta abordagem de duas vias, a vantagem competitiva, sustentável, e a longo prazo poderá, efetivamente, ser alcançada

BlockELM A Public Blockchain Freight Exchange Protocol

Freight exchanges are central to the logistics industry, as they reduce empty runs and meet spot demands. To improve their efficiency in terms of automation and enhance trust between the participants, we propose a decentralized freight exchange implemented using public blockchains. With our solution, we also address shortcomings of public blockchains, such as scalability and privacy. We present two artifacts: a general architecture for an electronic logistics marketplace (ELM) and a concrete implementation as the proof of concept for a freight exchange. The solution is implemented using two off-the-shelf public blockchains and a public distributed file system. Additionally, we investigate the implications for the general ELM model and show that an ELM based on a blockchain can be viewed as infrastructure rather than a market participant

Essays on Experimental Economics for the Environment and Economics of Privacy

Im 21. Jahrhundert bestehen zwei Hauptherausforderungen der ökonomischen Forschung darin, effektive Lösung für die Gestaltung der digitalen Transformation und für die Eindämmung des menschengemachten Klimawandels aufzuzeigen. Die Forschung zur digitalen Transformationen ist eng mit verschiedenen Datenschutz- (oder Privatsphäre-)relevanten Fragestellungen verbunden, die sich vorwiegend auf die Präferenzen und Entscheidungen von Einzelpersonen beziehen. Im Gegensatz dazu befasst sich die Forschung zum Klimawandel damit, welche Faktoren eine effektive Kooperation zwischen mehreren Individuen erschweren und wie gemeinsame Ziele, wie die Begrenzung des Klimawandels, erreicht werden können. Die Verbindung zwischen Datenschutz- und Umweltökonomie besteht darin, dass viele digitale Technologien das Potential haben, positive externe Effekte zu erzeugen, die zur Bereitstellung oder Erhaltung öffentlicher Güter beitragen können. Oftmals sind diese digitalen Technologien jedoch dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass ihre Nutzung die Offenlegung persönlicher Informationen erfordert. Der potentielle Erfolg dieser Technologien und institutionellen Mechanismen hängt daher weitgehend von der gesellschaftlichen Akzeptanz gegenüber diesen Technologien und institutionellen Mechanismen ab. Jeder Artikel in dieser kumulativen Dissertation leistet einen Beitrag zu der übergeordneten Fragestellung, inwiefern ökonomische Experimente dazu beitragen können, die Effizienz von Institutionen und Technologien, die öffentliche Güter bereitstellen oder erhalten können, zu evaluieren und potentiell zu steigern. Im ersten Artikel wird untersucht, ob der Publikationsprozess von Fachzeitschriften im Bereich der experimentellen Ökonomik verbessert werden kann. Die weiteren fünf Artikel befassen sich direkt oder indirekt mit unterschiedlichen, aber miteinander verbundenen Problemstellungen zu öffentlichen Gütern, die eng mit Fragen zum Datenschutz oder Umweltfragen verbunden sind. Methodisch sind die sechs Artikel dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass sie die experimentelle Methode entweder direkt für ihre individuellen Forschungsfragen anwenden oder die Ergebnisse der experimentellen Literatur nutzen, um Hypothesen abzuleiten und empirische Ergebnisse in spezifischen Datenschutz-relevanten Kontexten zu erklären. Im Bereich des Datenschutzes werden in der Dissertation Faktoren identifiziert, die die Weitergabe von Daten in verschiedenen Smartphone-Apps aus Schlüsselindustrien der digitalen Transformation und auf Arbeitgeberbewertungsplattformen beeinflussen. Im Bereich der Umweltökonomie wird im ersten Artikel ein institutioneller Mechanismus vorgeschlagen, IV der die Bereitschaft erhöhen kann, zu Recyclingsystemen beizutragen und im zweiten Artikel wird gezeigt, dass die Möglichkeit, ein öffentliches Gut auszubeuten, die Kooperation zur Eindämmung des Klimawandels erschweren kann.In the 21st century, two main challenges for economic research are to propose effective solutions to shape the digital transformation and mitigate human-induced climate change. Research on digital transformation is closely linked to various privacy-related issues, which mostly relate to the preferences and decisions of individuals. In contrast, climate change research examines which factors impede effective cooperation among multiple individuals and investigates how common goals, such as limiting climate change, can be achieved. The link between economics of privacy and environmental economics is that many digital technologies have the potential to generate positive externalities that can contribute to the provision or maintenance of public goods. However, in many cases these digital technologies are characterized by the fact that their use requires the disclosure of personal information. The potential success of these technologies and institutional mechanisms therefore largely depends on social acceptance towards these technologies and institutional mechanisms. Each paper in this cumulative dissertation contributes to the broader question of how economic experiments can contribute to evaluate and potentially increase the efficiency of institutions and technologies that can provide or maintain public goods. The first paper investigates whether the publication process of journals in the field of experimental economics can potentially be improved. The remaining five papers focus directly or indirectly on different but related public goods problems which are closely linked to privacy or environmental issues. Methodologically, the six papers share the feature that they either directly apply the experimental method for their individual research questions or use the results of experimental literature to derive hypotheses and explain empirical outcomes in specific privacy-related contexts. In the field of privacy, the dissertation identifies factors that influence data sharing in several smartphone apps from key industries of the digital transformation and on employer review platforms. In the area of environmental economics, the first paper proposes an institutional mechanism that can increase the willingness to contribute to recycling systems, and the second paper shows that the ability to exploit a public good can impede cooperation to mitigate climate change

Semantic discovery and reuse of business process patterns

Patterns currently play an important role in modern information systems (IS) development and their use has mainly been restricted to the design and implementation phases of the development lifecycle. Given the increasing significance of business modelling in IS development, patterns have the potential of providing a viable solution for promoting reusability of recurrent generalized models in the very early stages of development. As a statement of research-in-progress this paper focuses on business process patterns and proposes an initial methodological framework for the discovery and reuse of business process patterns within the IS development lifecycle. The framework borrows ideas from the domain engineering literature and proposes the use of semantics to drive both the discovery of patterns as well as their reuse

E-Commerce

E-commerce is a business model that allows organizations to explore global markets. The objective of this study is to identify all the key points involved in e-commerce business, along with several sub-themes related to e-commerce, namely the concept of e-business and e-marketing. Next, it was noted that e commerce could express the connections between many purchase actors but is mainly used through the B2C model. The adoption of e-commerce is linked to different internet techniques and tools, which has several advantages and risks. This study also highlights the connections of e-commerce with globaliza tion, e-marketplaces, and platforms. Finally, the authors present the KPIs in terms of sales, marketing, and customer service that the e-sellers should take into account when they are defining the e-commerce strategy and the age segmentation criteria that must be used to create homogeneous groups of e-buyers.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio