Development and evaluation of a behavior change support system targeting learning behavior: a technology-based approach to complement the education of future executives using persuasive systems in higher education

Learning is crucial in today's information societies, and the need for comprehensive and accessible support systems to enhance learning competencies is increasingly evident. In this context, this dissertation provides descriptive knowledge about the demands for such a system, aiming to train higher education students and equip them with learning competencies. Drawing on design science research, the dissertation addresses the identified demands, considers technical frameworks and psychological models to design technology-based artifacts. Against this background, the dissertation provides a pragmatic contribution through novel artifacts in form of Behavior Change Support Systems targeting self-regulated learning in higher education. The evaluation of these artifacts extends prior design knowledge through specific recommendations, including design principles, that can guide the implementation of Behavior Change Support Systems and further technology-based interventions in higher education. These recommendations aim to promote the development of necessary competencies within the higher education context

Development of a Behavior Change Support System that Targets Learning Behavior: Examining the Effect of Rewards and Social Comparison

The increasing prevalence of digital and blended learning scenarios in higher education fosters the need for students to have strong self-regulated learning competencies. However, in particular, in digital learning environments, many students struggle to develop effective learning behaviors but often avoid seeking support. To address this issue, Behavior Change Support Systems (BCSS) in form of smartphone apps can provide valuable guidance towards self-regulated learning. While BCSS have been successfully implemented in the health context, research in the educational context is limited. This study addresses this research gap by presenting the development of a BCSS targeting self-regulated learning and investigating its ability to promote students\u27 use continuance through two motivational design principles (rewards vs. social comparison). Using the Perceived Persuasiveness Questionnaire, significant differences are found in students\u27 perceived effectiveness and perceived social support of the BCSS versions. Social comparison is identified as more effective than rewards for high use continuance

Leadership education in a technology-enhanced learning environment

Our increasingly complex and dynamic environment demands comprehensive self-regulatory skills from university graduates. Self-regulation summarizes the ability to set goals, monitor progress, and adopt behavior purposefully. In an increasingly technology-enhanced learning environment, IS research has already explored approaches to promote self-regulation in students' learning activities. However, it is unclear whether this self-regulated learning (SRL) prepares students for leadership roles. To address this research gap, we gather survey data and apply multiple regression analysis to examine how SRL strategy usage is linked to self-leadership (SL) strategy usage. Our results suggest that behavioral SL strategies are related to the usage of SRL strategies, e.g., the SL strategy “self-rewarding” to the SRL strategy “repeating”. In contrast, SL strategies such as “mental imagery” are unrelated to SRL. Based on these findings, we suggest a target-oriented use of digital technologies to foster SL and reveal the need to promote SL strategies like “mental imagery” separately

Personal Skills in the BISE Curriculum: An Integrative Approach

In an increasingly complex and dynamic world, young executives need certain soft skills to be forearmed for the challenges of their job. The need for training of these personal skills in higher education is recognized among the business and information systems engineering (BISE) society. Yet, existing approaches often integrate the development of soft skills implicitly, usually without quantitively measuring the impact on students. However, an initial literature review identified a demand for an explicit and systematic integration of personal skills in basic lectures. We present an approach that systematically integrates the training of personal skills in a basic BISE lecture for first-semester students. To exemplify this approach, we describe the integration of the selfleadership strategy self-observation in a lecture on process modeling. Our research project follows the Design Science Research methodology. The outlook previews the completion of the first design cycle by describing the planned evaluation and further research ideas

LEADERSHIP EDUCATION IN A TECHNOLOGY-ENHANCED LEARNING ENVIRONMENT: THE RELATION BETWEEN SELF-REGULATED LEARNING AND SELF-LEADERSHIP

Our increasingly complex and dynamic environment demands comprehensive self-regulatory skills from university graduates. Self-regulation summarizes the ability to set goals, monitor progress, and adopt behavior purposefully. In an increasingly technology-enhanced learning environment, IS research has already explored approaches to promote self-regulation in students\u27 learning activities. However, it is unclear whether this self-regulated learning (SRL) prepares students for leadership roles. To address this research gap, we gather survey data and apply multiple regression analysis to examine how SRL strategy usage is linked to self-leadership (SL) strategy usage. Our results suggest that behavioral SL strategies are related to the usage of SRL strategies, e.g., the SL strategy “self-rewarding” to the SRL strategy “repeating”. In contrast, SL strategies such as “mental imagery” are unrelated to SRL. Based on these findings, we suggest a target-oriented use of digital technologies to foster SL and reveal the need to promote SL strategies like “mental imagery” separately

Process-based Guidance for Designing Behavior Change Support Systems: Marrying the Persuasive Systems Design Model to the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change

Behavior change is a highly relevant and studied topic in the psychology discipline. Through integrating technologies into everyday life, behavior change support systems (BCSS) have gained attention in information systems discipline. Oinas-Kukkonen and Harjumaa (2009) have offered a persuasive systems design (PSD) model, a leading framework to provide a generic technical design process including 28 design principles. However, the model lacks a clear picture about which among these 28 design principles one should select for specific implementations. Consequently, researchers and developers who implement BCSS lack structured and evidence-based guidance. They need to invest time and cognitive resources to analyze different design principles. Because the influence of persuasive systems links strongly to processual state of behavior change, we combine the PSD model with Prochaska and DiClemente’s (1983) transtheoretical model (TTM) and posit a model that recommends appropriate design principles for the five transitions along the behavior-change stages. We refined the model using a systematic literature review. The results specify the PSD model and guidelines to select effective design principles for developing BCSS

LANA – A Behavior Change Support System towards Self-regulated Learning

The measures to counter the COVID-19 pandemic add pressure on students to meet the challenges of digitized courses in higher education. Many suffer from these demands and fail to regulate their learning effectively. Behavior Change Support Systems (BCSSs) are a promising approach to guide students towards a successful learning behavior. Nevertheless, successful integration of the systems requires users’ acceptance and intention to use. While BCSSs have been well studied in several research areas, there is insufficient evidence on the design features that promote the acceptance of BCSSs in educational contexts. This study presents LANA, a BCSS towards self-regulated learning that is designed following the Persuasive System Design Model by Oinas-Kukkonen and Harjumaa (2009). The evaluation using the Technology Acceptance Model by Davis (1986) shows that perceived usefulness has a significant impact on students\u27 intention to use LANA and highlights the importance of considering the design of the user interface

Using Hexad User Types to Identify Motivational Preferences among Learners

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the long-standing problem that many students struggle to regu-late their motivation in digital learning settings. There is a demand for a framework that provides con-crete and tangible strategies on how to foster students’ individual motivation. One framework that ad-dresses these demands is the Hexad framework (Marczewski 2013). It defines six user types and corre-sponding motivational preferences. Research reports positive effects on motivation when considering the framework in information systems. This study initially investigates its context shift towards digital learn-ing. By analyzing the fit of students’ motivational preferences of their identified user types and their mo-tivational preferences as learners, a high identification rate appears. However, while Hexad user types are clearly separable, the analysis identified an underlying group- and task-orientation among all students. Overall, the findings suggest that the Hexad framework can function as a guidance for students when selecting effective strategies to promote self-regulated motivation