Knowledge creation in patent ecosystems: insights from Singapore

Purpose This paper aims to better understand how codified knowledge that originates in organizations contributes to the generation of idiosyncratic knowledge embedded at a more expansive level, such as that of an ecosystem. In doing so, the authors introduce the concept of patent ecosystems – conceived as configurations of codified knowledge advancements protected via patents. Design/methodology/approach Using a patent co-classification method and introducing a novel validated software, the authors map and visualize the patent ecosystem of Singapore and examine 173,597 patents published from 1995 to 2020. Findings Results reveal the prominent growth of Singapore’s patenting activities, capturing a patent ecosystem shift, from a more diverse knowledge configuration to a more specialized one. The codified knowledge mainly generated deals with pharmaceuticals and high-tech knowledge domains; further, newly emerging technologies such as blockchain are also noted. Research limitations/implications The research investigates Singapore’s context, a country in which research directions and focus areas are influenced by government interventions and leadership. Thus, future studies might examine other patent ecosystems to draw comparisons with more laissez-faire policies or ecosystems with more pronounced organic development. Originality/value The novelty of this research is the introduction of the concept of a patent ecosystem for advancing a more fine-grained understanding of the aggregated knowledge generated at the ecosystem level and its specific features, composition and development. The authors consider patents as “carriers” of different codified pieces of knowledge and patent ecosystems represent the configuration that emerges from connections of these elements. The novel approach can aid both researchers, practitioners and policymakers with future examinations in the field

Antropomorphic Chatbots’ for Future Healthcare Services: Effects of Personality, Gender, and Roles on Source Credibility, User Satisfaction, and Intention to Use

In healthcare, chatbots are used to automate interactions between healthcare professionals and patients. To make these conversations realistic, designers anthropomorphized chatbots (e.g., attributed human characteristics to chatbot) by equipping them with personality (warmth/competence), attributable gender (male/female), and role (prevention/diagnosis/therapy). Notwithstanding, scholarly inquiry has predominantly disregarded these factors when ascertaining the proclivity of individuals to utilize chatbots in healthcare. Based on human-machine interactions and counter-stereotypes theories, the aim of this research is to evaluate the conditions under which chatbot anthropomorphism can increase users' satisfaction and intention of using related services. Analyses conducted on a sample of 1147 users show that chatbots' personality does not directly influence intention of being used in healthcare. Instead, this relationship is mediated by chatbots' perceived credibility and user satisfaction, and moderated by chatbots' anthropomorphism, gender, and role. Specifically, when there is a mismatch between chatbot's gender and its stereotypical descriptive property (i.e., competence for female chatbots; warmth for male chatbots), the chatbot is more credible, satisfying, and inviting to use. Moreover, chatbots with female anthropomorphic characteristics or with a low level of anthropomorphism are better suited for prevention roles such as counseling, while chatbots with male characteristics are more appropriate for therapeutic roles

A recognizable gender bias on user’s satisfaction and intention to use healthcare chatbots

Recently, healthcare companies have delegated certain services offered to patients (e.g. the provision of information, the booking of medical visits, the payment of bills) to electronic conversation agents (chatbots) installed in virtual touchpoints. In order to make communications realistic, the designers endowed the communication interfaces with anthropomorphic characteristics such as faces, voices, and natural languages. In this study, the existence of a difference in terms of patient satisfaction and intention to use chatbots is assessed when the gender recognizable and attributable to the chatbot is male or female. Through an empirical study conducted on a sample of potential users, two stimuli (i.e., graphical interfaces of a chatbot) that simulated the booking of a medical examination were tested. The first stimulus was endowed with masculine characteristics and the second one with feminine characteristics. A mediation analysis showed a recognizable gender bias since a higher satisfaction was attributed to the stimulus with female characteristics that, in turn, led to a higher intention to use the service. Although this result has important theoretical and practical implications, further research should be conducted in order to identify the reasons and contexts in which this bias is most evident

Sinergie Italian Journal of Management

Lo Scientific Advisory Committee è composto da esponenti della comunità scientifica nazionale ed internazionale in servizio presso atenei italiani e stranieri. Il ruolo dei componenti di tale comitato è di consulto scientifico e di supervisione. In particolare, lo Scientific Advisory Committee contribuisce alla programmazione editoriale, valutando e proponendo temi di interesse e linee di sviluppo della rivista e dialoga costruttivamente con Editor in Chief, Co-Editor ed Associate Editors sulla qualità, sulla relevance e sulla diffusione della rivista