End-user Empowerment in the Digital Age

End-user empowerment (or human empowerment) may be seen as an important aspect of a human-centric approach towards the digital economy. Despite the role of end-users has been recognized as a key element in information systems and end-user computing, empowering end-users may be seen as a next evolutionary step. This minitrack aims at advancing the understanding of what end-user empowerment really is, what the main challenges to develop end-user empowering systems are, and how end-user empowerment may be achieved in specific domains

The Effectiveness of Customer-Centric Approach in Understanding Tourist Behaviour: Selected Tour Companies in Arusha, Tanzania

Experience shows that the best way to attract and keep customers is by responding positively to their preferences. The best solution is to understand customer needs and behaviour. Customer-centric approach is predicted on successful understanding and management of customer preferences. However, there is no credible information on the effectiveness of this approach, especially in the East African tourist market. This study examined effectiveness of the approach in understanding tourist behaviour. It specifically assessed influence of customer preferences management and customer-business alignment on tourist behaviour. Out of 446 tour companies licensed in 2018 in Arusha, Tanzania, 210 were randomly selected and studied. Key respondents were sales/marketing managers purposively selected from the samples. The study adopted a quantitative research approach where a semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis and multiple regression for hypothesis testing Findings show that the approach was significantly effective in understanding tourist behaviour (p < 0.001; r = 0.984) through customer preferences management (r = 0.334) as well as customer-business alignment both internally (r = 0.464) and externally (r = 0.318). This study recommends automation of tour operators’ business practices focusing on understanding and addressing new tourist expectation

Appliance to Predict the Quality of Hypothetically Modified Products

Customizing the quality of the product to change customer expectations is a necessary action in good, prospering organizations. In enterprises, the most beneficial solutions consider the future satisfaction of customer with the product. This issue is not easy and is not resolved; therefore, integration of different techniques was proposed as part of a single, coherent appliance. Therefore, the aim is to propose the appliance to predict the quality of hypothetically modified products. The appliance was developed by adequately selected and combined techniques, i.e., survey research with the Likert scale, AHP method (Analytic Hierarchy Process), Pareto rule (20/80), WSM method (Weighted Sum Model) and Naive Classifier Bayes. The concept of the proposed appliance concerns the possibility of determining important product attributes and possible combinations of feature states. Based on this, the quality levels were estimated, and then satisfaction with the hypothetical modifications of the product was predicted. The test was carried out on the vacuum cleaner. As a result, four combinations of product modifications were determined, which have been created based on hypothetical and actual attributes. Each modification was satisfying for the customer. Therefore, the proposed apparatus turned out to be effective in predicting customer satisfaction for the modified quality levels. Originality is to propose a new integration of different techniques to predict levels of quality product modification based on current product quality

A Conceptual Model for Assistant Platforms

Assistant platforms are becoming a key element for the business model of many companies. They have evolved from assistance systems that provide support when using information (or other) systems to platforms in their own. Alexa, Cortana or Siri may be used with literally thousands of services. From this background, this paper develops the notion of assistant platforms and elaborates a conceptual model that supports businesses in developing appropriate strategies. The model consists of three main building blocks, an architecture that depicts the components as well as the possible layers of an assistant platform, the mechanism that determines the value creation on assistant platforms, and the ecosystem with its network effects, which emerge from the multi-sided nature of assistant platforms. The model has been derived from a litera-ture review and is illustrated with examples of existing assistant platforms. Its main purpose is to advance the understanding of assistant platforms and to trigger future research

Componentes de la Lógica Dominante del Servicio que influyen en la generación de engagement en bandas de rock peruano. Estudio de caso aplicado a la banda Zen

La presente investigación busca responder cuáles son los componentes de la Lógica Dominante del Servicio que influyen en la generación de engagement, motivo por el cual se optó por emplear un modelo conceptual adaptado de Niklas Välimaa (2016), y presentar como sujeto de estudio a la comunidad que se encuentra presente en las redes sociales de la banda de rock peruano Zen. Este modelo considera los componentes de la Lógica Dominante del Servicio (LDS) propuestos por Vargo y Lusch (2004; 2008), los cuales son la co-creación, la orientación al cliente y la perspectiva relacional. Además, considera la manifestación del customer engagement en las dimensiones conductual, emocional y cognitiva del mismo, planteadas por Brodie, Hollebeek, Jurić y Ilić (2011). Para los fines de la presente investigación, se ha optado por un estudio cualitativo, además de utilizar a la netnografía como herramienta para el recojo de información, pues esta permite estudiar el comportamiento real que manifiestan los usuarios en las redes sociales. Adicionalmente, se emplearon entrevistas semiestructuradas para complementar la información obtenida mediante la netnografía. Así, este estudio recopiló datos de las redes sociales, tanto de la banda Zen como de las de su vocalista, Jhovan Tomasevich, durante un período de 6 meses; asimismo, se obtuvo información, con el permiso del administrador del grupo y sus integrantes, del chat privado de WhatsApp del club de fans de Zen llamado “DōjōZEN”. Toda la información obtenida durante este periodo fue codificada mediante el programa Atlas.ti 9 y, con ello, se pudo responder a la pregunta general y a las preguntas específicas de esta investigación. Finalmente, se plantean tanto las conclusiones como las recomendaciones correspondientes de esta investigación. En las conclusiones, se brinda una breve respuesta a cada una de las preguntas de investigación planteadas. Por otro lado, las recomendaciones van dirigidas a los esfuerzos que se sugieren realizar a la banda Zen para incrementar el engagement en sus seguidores, a otras bandas del medio para poder hacer crecer sus comunidades, y a futuros investigadores que deseen continuar con esta línea de estudio

Empowering Information Systems Users: The Role of Timely and Customizable Information for User Engagement and Selection Behavior

Information systems (IS) increasingly empower their users by strengthening users’ capability and autonomy to make their own decisions how to use and engage with IS. Specifically, users are empowered when they have sufficient knowledge to make rational decisions within IS and sufficient control to shape their experience with IS. In line with these pillars of empowerment, technological advancements unlock new possibilities for IS providers to empower users with access to high quality information (e.g., by providing timely updates of dynamically changing information) and with the ability to control the information stream (e.g., by implementing interfaces to customize websites). As a result, users have greater autonomy to actively shape their user experience to their likening, making them less dependent on having to identify IS that match their needs. At the same time, empowering users pays off for IS providers, as empowered users are known to form more positive attitudes and intentions to engage with the empowering IS. This thesis addresses the two aforementioned pillars of empowerment through knowledge and empowerment through control. Four studies shed light on how the increasingly prevalent practice of empowering users with timely and customizable information affects user engagement as well as users’ selection behavior. The first strand of this thesis investigates user empowerment through timely information in the context of decision support systems (DSS) that aid users in their selection of which (physical) location to visit. To avoid congestion at locations, such DSS communicate how busy each location is by displaying crowding information (CI), accompanied by timeliness cues indicating when this CI was retrieved (e.g., “updated just now” vs. “average over the last year”). Helping users avoid crowded locations becomes all the more important during periods of extraordinary pathogenic risk, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, where physical distancing is imperative for the containment of the pathogen. Against this background, the first study in this thesis investigates how CI with different levels of timeliness affects how users select between differently crowded medical practices. The results demonstrate that while the display of CI is generally useful for users to avoid crowded locations, providing particularly timely CI (i.e., updated close to real-time) leads users to select less crowded locations even more effectively. Moreover, this effect is strongest for individuals who exhibit low levels of health anxiety – an important contextual variable influencing user behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. The second study extends the findings of the first study by investigating a context in which hedonic motives may encourage users to seek instead of avoid crowds. Specifically, the study examines how timely CI affects users’ choice between differently crowded bars. Despite users longing for the presence of others as part of their visit experience, the results show that particularly timely CI makes users more aware of potential costs of congestion (e.g., prolonged wait times) and consequently leads users to select less crowded locations – thereby corroborating the previous findings in the utilitarian context of selecting a medical practice. Importantly, timelier CI also increases user engagement in that users express a greater intention to reuse the DSS providing the CI. This finding indicates that timely CI not only contributes to the containment of congestion, but also allows DSS providers to retain users more effectively and thereby achieve recurring impact on the reduction of crowding. The second strand of this thesis investigates user empowerment through customizable information in the context of (banner) ads on websites. As ads oftentimes cause irritation and stifle user engagement with the website, first website providers have begun to empower users to customize how many ads they agree to have displayed. Despite website providers hoping to thereby enhance user engagement, it is unclear how users respond to the ability to customize ads they never asked for. Against this backdrop, the third study investigates how the provision of ad quantity customization (AQC) affects user engagement and which ad quantity levels users opt for. The results demonstrate that offering AQC consistently enhances user engagement in that users with access to AQC stay longer on the website and visit more sub-pages than users who cannot customize ad quantity. Counter-intuitively, a website with ads that offers AQC elicits even greater user engagement than a website that is entirely free of ads by default. In addition, the effect on user engagement is strongest for users accessing the website with a mobile (vs. stationary) device. Interestingly, users do not configure AQC to eliminate ads altogether, but instead opt for 29.0% of the default amount of ads to be displayed. The fourth study seeks to extend the previous findings by shedding light on the underlying mechanism that drives the effect of providing AQC on user engagement. The findings suggest that offering AQC elicits perceived empowerment as a pivotal stimulant with two important outcomes: First, users pay closer attention to the website, thereby discovering more information useful to them and consequently experiencing a greater fit between the website’s information and their own needs. Second, the feeling of being in control over ads, as typically immutable and irritating website elements, elicits a sense of enjoyment. Both informational fit and perceived enjoyment then lead users to engage more intensely with the website. Overall, this thesis showcases the role and importance of IS-enabled user empowerment by providing a more comprehensive understanding of how empowering users with timely and customizable information affects user engagement and users’ selection behavior. In doing so, this thesis answers calls for research that urge scholars to not only shed light on emerging phenomena, but also to enable and empower IS users. The studies in this thesis contribute to IS research on empowerment by (1) revealing the importance of timeliness of information as a thus far under-investigated source of empowerment and by (2) uncovering ad customization as a hitherto largely neglected, yet important piece of web customization that complements our understanding of empowerment mechanisms. In addition, this thesis also offers valuable insights and actionable recommendations how DSS providers and policy makers can harness empowerment through timely CI to recurringly reduce crowding without infringing on users’ freedom. Likewise, this thesis guides website providers how to leverage ads as website elements that users enjoy to customize to boost user engagement with the website as a whole