Reasoning about Discontinuance of Information System Use

While many studies have explored conditions and consequences of information systems adoption and use, few have focused on the final stages of the information system lifecycle. In this paper, I develop a theoretical and an initial empirical contribution to understanding individuals’ intentions to discontinue the use of an information system. This understanding is important because it yields implications about maintenance, retirement, and users’ switching decisions, which ultimately can affect work performance, system effectiveness, and return on technology investments. In this paper, I offer a new conceptualization of factors determining users’ intentions to discontinue the use of information systems. I then report on a preliminary empirical test of the model using data from a field study of information system users in a promotional planning routine in a large retail organization. Results from the empirical analysis provide first empirical support for the theoretical model. I discuss the work’s implications for theory on information systems continuance and dual-factor logic in information system use. I also provide suggestions for managers dealing with cessation of information systems and broader work routine change in organizations due to information system end-of-life decisions

INSIGHTS INTO PERSONAL ICT USE: UNDERSTANDING CONTINUANCE AND DISCONTINUANCE OF WEARABLE SELF-TRACKING DEVICES

Wearable self-tracking devices become increasingly common in our society and reflect the trend towards the digitized individual. However, little is known what drives the continuance and dis-continuance usage of such devices. To empirically analyze factors leading to continuance and discontinuance of wearable self-tracking device usage, we develop a conceptual model based on established post-adoption concepts and the dual-factor theory. We validate it by applying structural equation modeling on collected survey data among 357 self-tracking users. Whereas previous research focuses on predicting continuance intentions, our results reveal discontinu-ance to be another decisive determinant of usage behavior. Additionally, we provide insights into factors driving continuance and discontinuance intentions and derive practical implications for producers. Our results advance the theoretical discourse on IS post-adoption behavior in a personal ICT context

The We in Me : considering terrorist desistance from a social identity perspective

At present, the issue of leaving terrorism behind is a widely discussed but poorly understood subject. When compared to the extensive body of literature on the process of radicalization, research on terrorist desistance is both theoretically and conceptually lagging behind. As a consequence, policy makers and practitioners are currently operating in a theoretical vacuum. This article aims to address the pressing need for a better understanding of the discontinuance of terrorism by introducing a social identity perspective to the existing field of re-search. Social identity can be understood as the part of an individual’s self-concept that is derived from membership within personally relevant social groups. As such, the concept of social identity is vital to making sense of the identity transformation intrinsic to walking away from terrorism. Exploring the role of social identity in terrorist desistance gives prominence to the intersection between the individual and the social group. Framing terrorist dis-continuance as a process that emanates from the interface between individual and group-level mechanisms corresponds to the interactive nature of rebuilding a life after terrorism. Additionally, the explanatory value of a social identity perspective has already been demonstrated in the field of radicalisation research. Extending this theoretical framework to the subject of terrorist desistance enables us to connect the dots between two processes that are inherently linked, though frequently analysed as isolated entities

Towards Explaining the Use of Self-Tracking Devices: Conceptual Development of a Continuance and Discontinuance Model

Users of digital self-tracking devices benefit from information about themselves. Thereby, the explanatory power of this information heavily depends on post-adoption continued usage of these devices. Thus, the aim of our research is to empirically analyze the factors that lead to continuous use of self-tracking devices. So far, research has largely focused on phases until IS adoption in a work environment and little on post-adoption use in a consumer context which centers on either continuance or discontinuance. To advance research in this area, we develop a conceptual model that combines both in one comprehensive model by building on established post-adoption theories. We will continue our research with a quantitative-empirical evaluation of the developed model. With our research, we aim at contributing to both a better theoretical understanding in the field of IS post-adoption in a consumer context and giving practical implications for producers of self-tracking devices

Interpreting Performance in Small Business Research

For obvious reasons, researchers and policy-makers alike have an interest in assessing the performance of small firms as well as in understanding the factors that contribute to it. Attaining such knowledge is not a trivial undertaking. Researchers have pointed out that the performance of small firms can be difficult to assess (Brush & Vanderwerf, 1992)—e.g., because reliable data cannot be obtained—and also difficult to predict (Cooper, 1995). In this paper I will discuss the equally important and difficult issue of how research results regarding small business performance and its predictors can or should be interpreted. In particular, I will discuss whether commonly used performance indicators like survival vs. non-survival and growth vs. non-growth really reflect ‘good’ vs. ‘bad’ performance, as is commonly assumed. Although theory and other researchers’ findings will also be used to some extent, my exposition will rely primarily on experiences and illustrations from a number of research projects I have been directly involved in during the last 20 years. The paper proceeds as follows. I will first question the assumption that business discontinuance—often called ‘failure’—is a ‘bad’ outcome that best should be avoided from the aggregate perspective of the economic system. I will then continue to discuss ‘failure’ from more of a micro-perspective, arguing that most instances of discontinuation of new or emerging firms are not associated with substantial financial losses and do not necessarily represent efforts that should have been avoided. Staying at the micro level I will then turn to the issue of firm growth and the conditions under which growth represents a ‘good’ outcome from the perspective of the firm’s principal stakeholders. I will then return to the aggregate level and discuss the extent to which firm level employment growth translates to net increases of employment in the economy. Finally, the implications of the issues raised in the paper will be restated and discussed in the concluding section of the paper

Examining Discontinuers\u27 Word-of-Mouth Behaviour in the Context of Mobile Location-based Services

Previous information systems (IS) research has paid little attention to the determinants of users’ discontinuance and the consequences of that behaviour. This study investigates the influence of different discontinuance reasons on post-discontinuance word-of-mouth (WOM) communication in the context of mobile location-based services (LBS). Based on existing literature, a theoretical framework is developed representing three general reasons for IS discontinuance: 1) decline in service quality, 2) change in user needs, and 3) attractive alternatives. Their effect on post-discontinuance satisfaction and WOM is empirically tested through a quantitative survey study with German LBS users. Results indicate that a decline in service quality significantly affects negative customer WOM about the service, while a superior alternative mobile service as the main discontinuance reason leads to post-discontinuance dissatisfaction, which may in turn influence negative WOM behaviour. In contrast, discontinuance due to a change in user needs is associated with a slightly elevated level of post-discontinuance satisfaction

Building an innovation discontinuance model : the case of twitter

This dissertation seeks to extend Everett Rogers’s Diffusion of Innovations theory by examining social media users’ post-adoption behavior. Despite the rapid growth of social networking sites (SNSs), the rate of user discontinuance is staggering. Keeping users active and engaged has always been a crucial issue for SNSs. Prior diffusion research has largely focused on innovation adoption, whereas innovation discontinuance is overlooked. However, innovation discontinuance is a vital facet of the diffusion process. In the real world, only a few innovations become institutionalized while most end up being fads that most users discontinue quickly. While early studies approached discontinuance as a one-time, complete abandonment of an innovation, this study extends the concept by examining two types of discontinuance: intermittent and permanent. Intermittent discontinuers are users who leave an innovation for a break but resume the use at a later time; permanent discontinuers are those who have no intentions to return. This study takes a mixed-methods approach—combining a user survey with computational analyses of “big data” drawn from Twitter—to explore the differences between intermittent and permanent discontinuers in three dimensions: (1) their distinctive characteristics (demographic, behavioral, and psychographic), (2) reasons for discontinuance, and (3) decision processes. The concept of intermittent discontinuance leads to the development of a new post-adoption decision-making model, which accounts for discontinuers’ planned and unplanned readoption behavior. This cyclical, multi-stage model also provides a systematic framework to compare the behavior and cognitive reasoning between intermittent and permanent discontinuers at each phase of the post-adoption cycle. While prior studies employed both qualitative and quantitative research methods to examine discontinuance, few came up with clear and reliable ways to measure the timeframe of discontinuance and users’ reasons for discontinuance. To address the arbitrariness of determining what length of inactivity constitutes intermittent and permanent discontinuance, this study introduces a mathematical approach based on an innovation’s life cycle and its user base. To examine users’ reasons for discontinuance, this study refines and expands Rogers and Shoemaker’s replacement-disenchantment typology—by factors and by discontinuance typologies. While Rogers conceptualized the innovation-diffusion process as an uncertainty reduction process, this study suggests that post-adoption decision-making process is a disturbance-coping mechanism—a temporal settlement of the constant interplay between an innovation’s utilitarian performance and social media exhaustion. Intermittent discontinuance usually occurs due to information overloads. Permanent discontinuance tends to occur due to perceived innovation shortcomings and innovation replacement. This dissertation provides theoretical insights into the temporal instability of an innovation, and why and how an innovation is discarded or discredited. The findings contribute to an adequate comprehension of the entire innovation diffusion process, which also helps SNS providers develop tailor-made retention solutions to re-engage SNS users.Journalis

Dual Process, Buffering/Coping Effects, and Reciprocal Dynamics: A Social Demands-Resources Model of SNS Discontinuance

Prior studies on social networking sites (SNSs) discontinuance focus on the demand side (e.g., social overload) while neglect the resource side. To address this problem, drawing upon the job demands–resources (JD–R) model, we develop the social demands–resources (SD–R) model of SNS discontinuance. Specifically, social overload and social support, as social demands and social resources, are proposed to affect discontinuance through the energetic process and the motivational process respectively. The buffering effect and the coping effect are proposed to explain the cross-links between the dual processes. We also propose the mechanism of reciprocal dynamics to capture the relationship between social support and social overload. Through a study of 479 WeChat users, the results confirm the proposed SD–R model of SNS discontinuance. The implications for research and practice are also discussed