Technology Adoption vs. Continuous Usage Intention: do Decision Criteria Change when Using a Technology?

Various models in Information Systems (IS) research seek to understand why individuals embrace or resist the adoption or use of a technology. Different models analyze the factors shaping user intentions at different stages of technology adoption and use. Yet, less is known how the factors shaping adoption intention subsequently evolve into continuous usage intention as users become (more) familiar with the technology. This paper investigates participants’ (N=549) adoption and continuous usage intention of a smartphone application for energy efficiency twice: at two different stages of experience, but for the same technology, in the same setting, and in particular with the same sample. In both cases, we use the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT1&2). While UTAUT explains adoption intention well, we find only moderate support for continuous usage intention. In line with prior research, our data suggests that beliefs are updated from adoption to continuous usage stage

Peer-to-Peer Energy Trading in the Real World: Market Design and Evaluation of the User Value Proposition

Electricity markets are experiencing a shift to a more decentralized structure with small distributed renewable generation sources like residential photovoltaic systems. Simultaneously, information systems have driven the development of a “sharing economy” also in the electricity sector and can enable previously passive consumers to directly trade solar electricity in local communities. However, it is unclear how such peer-to-peer (P2P) markets should be designed to create value for the user. In a framed field experiment, we design and implement Switzerland’s first real-world P2P electricity market in a local community. We examine its value proposition for the users and elicit user preferences by enabling the participants to directly influence buy and sell prices for local solar energy. The collected empirical evidence suggests that the P2P exchange is beneficial for users and provides incentives for generation of renewable energy. The results create valuable insights for the design and diffusion of future energy markets

Information Systems to Empower Individuals in Realizing the Energy Transition: Design, Engagement, and Impact

Our modern lifestyle is highly dependent upon energy supplied still primarily by fossil fuels, which cause environmental harm in the form of CO2 emissions. The increasing amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, in turn, is the main driver of climate change and endangers the overall balance of our ecosystem. Climate experts agree that in order to prevent irreversible damage to our natural environment, it is of utmost urgency to reduce the carbon footprint of human activity. Two key levers have been identified in the residential sector, which accounts for roughly a quarter of worldwide energy demand, to reduce household-related CO2 emissions as part of the energy transition: 1) households can reduce their energy demand (e.g., by lowering the thermostat when nobody is at home, improving building insulation), and 2) can engage in energy generation through renewable energies (e.g., by installing a photovoltaic system on the roof). In fact, households (and homeowners in particular) play a key role in the diffusion of renewable energies: technological advancements at falling costs have made installing photovoltaic systems an increasingly attractive option for decarbonizing energy demand, both from the standpoint of economics and convenience. Homeowners thus become prosumers, both consuming and generating electricity, and tend to develop new needs around energy (e.g., sustainable production, being self-sufficient). For the vast majority of households, however, the topic of energy is still doesn’t seem particularly relevant in their everyday lives, and often individuals lack knowledge of effective means to contribute to the energy transition. Information systems can help to overcome these issues. By making energy data visible, these systems can draw attention to the topic and help individuals take concrete action. Such approaches are scalable to the general population at comparably low cost, at least from technical and economic perspectives, because most of the required hardware (smart meters, communication networks, smart phones etc.), which is the more expensive component compared to software, is already deployed in the field. Yet, in order to successfully contribute to climate change mitigation on a large scale, these technologies first need to prove their effectiveness in the real world. In that regard, researchers have explicitly called for studies that empirically evaluate the design and impact of such technologies. With respect to the repeatedly observed lack of user engagement in energy topics, real-world trials should also focus on the end users and their willingness to realize the energy transition. After all, in the context of household-related CO2 emissions, end users are the ones who must adopt these technologies (purchase and install them) and ideally use them in the long term. This thesis studies the design, user engagement, and impact of an exemplary technology a) for reducing residential energy consumption, and of another technology b) for diffusing renewable energies among the population. The first technology is a mature product in the domain of feedback interventions (i.e., providing information about one’s energy consumption): a shower meter. This technology yielded large energy conservation effects in previous studies, with participants reducing their energy use by 22%. In four follow-up studies with a few hundred participants each, this thesis provides insights into users’ motivations for using such technologies and into the user experience that the technology offers. Additionally, the thesis examines the attention users paid to different feedback elements integrated into the user interface of the technology, and empirically quantifies the impact of the individual elements on actual energy reduction. With a mean conservation effect of 18.4% in the most successful treatment, the thesis confirms the large conservation potential of the technology. More importantly, the findings indicate that small design choices may affect user behavior in considerably different ways: the mean conservation effect in the three treatment groups that had access to different feedback elements varied by 9.7 percentage points, or a factor of 2.1 between the treatments. Two of the four field experiments were carried out in Swiss and Dutch households; the other two in German hotels for which the thesis considers consumer behavior of more than 1,000 hotel guests. The second technology studied is an example of a peer-to-peer energy market that allows households to trade self-generated electricity directly with their neighbors. The thesis examines whether the concept of peer-to-peer energy markets meets newly evolving user needs around electricity and whether these markets could drive the adoption of renewable energies. To that end, the thesis first empirically identified user needs in focus groups with consumers and prosumers. Based on these, I designed and implemented a web application as the user interface of a peer-to-peer energy market. In an explorative field study with 37 households, the thesis empirically investigates user behavior in a peer-to-peer energy market, and thus represents one of the first studies worldwide that evaluates the topic in an empirical setting. The findings are threefold. First, the peer-to-peer energy market was well received among the users who were mainly early adopters of renewable energies, indicated by comparably high and stable usage activity of the web application throughout the course of the study (4.5 months). Second, users in the sample are heterogeneous; based on their engagement with the web application and their stated preferences, they can be categorized into those that want to set prices for peer-to-peer energy themselves (30%), those that prefer the system to define prices (35%), and non-users or non-respondents to surveys (35%). Third, while the long-term impact (e.g., on the diffusion of renewable energies) and scalability of the peer-to-peer energy market still need to be evaluated, the analysis of interviews with nine households suggests that peer-to-peer energy markets may increase the saliency of renewable energies and may promote load-shifting activities. With its six studies, the thesis provides real-world evidence of the impact of information systems on sustainable practices that the research community has been calling for. In that regard, the thesis shows that feedback interventions can effectively curb household energy demand and suggests that peer-to-peer energy markets increase the saliency of renewable energy, which in turn may foster its sustainable use (load-shifting was a central theme frequently raised by the participants in the interviews). Furthermore, based on the assumption that user engagement is a driver for impact on sustainability, the thesis also focuses on the users’ interactions with two exemplary technologies. By highlighting how small design changes to the user interfaces of information systems can have a considerable impact on both user behavior and user satisfaction, the findings emphasize the importance of conducting field research with real users and actual energy data, rather than relying on self-reported technology usage intentions or energy savings. Moreover, the thesis derives design guidelines for the visualization of energy data, which researchers and practitioners can take up in the development of future end-user energy products. To that end, the findings also generate insights into considerations users take into account when making decisions about whether to adopt or continue to use technologies. With all of that, the thesis presents effective and user-targeted means of contributing to the energy transition

Eco-Feedback Interventions: Selective Attention and Actual Behavior Change

The right information can foster behavior change towards energy conservation – given that the receiving individuals pay attention to the feedback provided and integrate the information in their decision making. As human information processing capabilities are limited, intervention designers need to choose content carefully to avoid information overload. Based on energy consumption and survey data collected in field trial, this article investigates the attention paid to different elements of the user interface (N=426) and establishes a relationship to actual energy conservation. We find that self-reported attention paid to content explains only very little of the measured behavior change (explanatory power of approx. 3%). The article is a first step towards better understanding the black box of feedback interventions in the energy sector. The results highlight the importance of collecting real-world data on behavior – rather than relying on self-reported user perceptions – in the resource consumption context and beyond

Peer-to-Peer Energy Trading in the Real World: Market Design and Evaluation of the User Value Proposition

Electricity markets are experiencing a shift to a more decentralized structure with small distributed renewable generation sources like residential photovoltaic systems. Simultaneously, information systems have driven the development of a “sharing economy” also in the electricity sector and can enable previously passive consumers to directly trade solar electricity in local communities. However, it is unclear how such peer-to-peer (P2P) markets should be designed to create value for the user. In a framed field experiment, we design and implement Switzerland’s first real-world P2P electricity market in a local community. We examine its value proposition for the users and elicit user preferences by enabling the participants to directly influence buy and sell prices for local solar energy. The collected empirical evidence suggests that the P2P exchange is beneficial for users and provides incentives for generation of renewable energy. The results create valuable insights for the design and diffusion of future energy markets

Real-world impact of information systems: the effect of seemingly small design choices

Information system (IS) have not only become indispensable in professional contexts, but can also serve as a platform for data-based interventions targeting issues for humanity. Providing individuals with concrete feedback on their current behavior has been shown to foster sustainable behavior. So far, research on the real-world impact and nderlying mechanisms of such IS-enabled interventions is scarce. In a randomized controlled field experiment with 1,423 participants, we systematically test the effect of different intervention strategies regarding their impact on energy consumption and user experience. We find a onservation effect of over 18% for the best treatment. In particular, the results suggest that small, seemingly harmless variations of IS design choices regarding numerical, normative, or emotional feedback can considerably affect behavioral outcomes (energy use). Potential explanations of observed behavior are given based on theories from psychology. The study delivers design implications for innovative IS artifacts that highlight the importance and necessity of taking cognitive processes into account

Real-World Impact of Information Systems : The Effect of Seemingly Small Design Choices

Information system (IS) have not only become indispensable in professional contexts, but can also serve as a platform for data-based interventions targeting issues for humanity. Providing individuals with concrete feedback on their current behavior has been shown to foster sustainable behavior. So far, research on the real-world impact and nderlying mechanisms of such IS-enabled interventions is scarce. In a randomized controlled field experiment with 1,423 participants, we systematically test the effect of different intervention strategies regarding their impact on energy consumption and user experience. We find a onservation effect of over 18% for the best treatment. In particular, the results suggest that small, seemingly harmless variations of IS design choices regarding numerical, normative, or emotional feedback can considerably affect behavioral outcomes (energy use). Potential explanations of observed behavior are given based on theories from psychology. The study delivers design implications for innovative IS artifacts that highlight the importance and necessity of taking cognitive processes into account

Real-world impact of information systems: the effect of seemingly small design choices

Information system (IS) have not only become indispensable in professional contexts, but can also serve as a platform for data-based interventions targeting issues for humanity. Providing individuals with concrete feedback on their current behavior has been shown to foster sustainable behavior. So far, research on the real-world impact and nderlying mechanisms of such IS-enabled interventions is scarce. In a randomized controlled field experiment with 1,423 participants, we systematically test the effect of different intervention strategies regarding their impact on energy consumption and user experience. We find a onservation effect of over 18% for the best treatment. In particular, the results suggest that small, seemingly harmless variations of IS design choices regarding numerical, normative, or emotional feedback can considerably affect behavioral outcomes (energy use). Potential explanations of observed behavior are given based on theories from psychology. The study delivers design implications for innovative IS artifacts that highlight the importance and necessity of taking cognitive processes into account