Using interpretive structural modeling to uncover shared mental models in IS research

Today’s growth of the service sector as a whole has created demand for more efficient service production. Many services require interaction between customers and service personnel, whereas some can be automated into self-services. In this study, we focus on services, that are neither purely human facilitated, nor purely automated, and contain uncertainty in the production process. Based on resource centric theories of strategy and research on uncertainties in service production, we introduce a research framework to evaluate efficient solutions for service production. Our research framework looks at environmental and informational uncertainties, and how an organization can adapt to these by utilizing technology or skilled labour. Illustrated with a case company, we show how mobile information systems can be used to manage service production related uncertainties, which are also typically barriers to standardization. The case study demonstrates how informational uncertainty could be more easily controlled using the new system. The job satisfaction of the workers was increased and their turnover and training time was decreased. Additionally, customer complaints were reduced and invoicing became more efficient. These enabled the company to enhance the efficiency of the service production processes further, moving closer to standardizing and automating the service production process within an uncertain environment

Putting consumers' IT adoption in context : failed link between attitudes and behavior

New information technologies, such as electronic invoicing, have a potential to contribute to cost savings for organizations, if fully adopted by consumers. Due to resistance to new technological services, adoption rates remain smaller than expected. Understanding the underlying reasons for resistance is essential for being able to improve adoption rates. Within this dissertation I look into the underlying reasons and symptoms of consumer resistance to new technological services. Thus, I offer insights into the consumer adoption context that is characterized by it being voluntary, I look into contextual factors that are out of the scope of attitudes alone, and finally, look into the actual adoption or resistance process – instead of only intentions. The dissertation consists of four individual essays. The first two essays concentrate on adoption in two different contexts (mobile ticket and electronic invoice). More specifically the emphasis is on the failed adoption intention despite positive attitudes. The third essay looks into the symptoms of resistance, more specifically on the little investigated phenomenon of partial adoption. The fourth and final essay elaborates on the underlying reasons behind consumer resistance. The findings highlight the importance of factors related to the adoption context, rather than only those related to technology. It is found that even if the attitude towards the technology itself is positive, the adoption intention is often incompatible with actual adoption behavior. The behavior, rather than being a result of intentions or habit, adapts to the environment. While the companies provide information detailing the benefits and use of the service, consumers mostly wait passively for detailed plans of action rather than actively search for information about technologies that might help them in chores, such as paying the bills. This suggests that the issuer bears the responsibility for actual adoption. The findings also suggest that after the initial adoption of a technology, the positive experience is not automatically generalized to other potential use situations. Adoption may remain partial, both old and new technologies being used for similar tasks, as a symptom of consumer resistance. The situation is analogous to that of initial adoption. When investigating the underlying reasons behind consumer resistance, I found two paths: internal and external. The internal pattern refers to the internal drive for consistency that overcomes the perceived appeal of the new technology. The external pattern refers to contextual factors being emphasized within the adoption situation. Practitioners could take this into account when designing the offering for consumers by creating clearer steps for adoption that could increase the convenience of the adoption situation and adoption. Future research could build on these findings by shifting the emphasis more towards the adoption context, the adaptive nature of behavior and the importance of specific implementation plans for actual adoption to occur

Kuluttajien asenteiden ja käyttäytymisen välinen epäsuhta IT:n käyttöönotossa

New information technologies, such as electronic invoicing, have a potential to contribute to cost savings for organizations, if fully adopted by consumers. Due to resistance to new technological services, adoption rates remain smaller than expected. Understanding the underlying reasons for resistance is essential for being able to improve adoption rates. Within this dissertation I look into the underlying reasons and symptoms of consumer resistance to new technological services. Thus, I offer insights into the consumer adoption context that is characterized by it being voluntary, I look into contextual factors that are out of the scope of attitudes alone, and finally, look into the actual adoption or resistance process –instead of only intentions. The dissertation consists of four individual essays. The first two essays concentrate on adoption in two different contexts (mobile ticket and electronic invoice). More specifically the emphasis is on the failed adoption intention despite positive attitudes. The third essay looks into the symptoms of resistance, more specifically on the little investigated phenomenon of partial adoption. The fourth and final essay elaborates on the underlying reasons behind consumer resistance. The findings highlight the importance of factors related to the adoption context, rather than only those related to technology. It is found that even if the attitude towards the technology itself is positive, the adoption intention is often incompatible with actual adoption behavior. The behavior, rather than being a result of intentions or habit, adapts to the environment. While the companies provide information detailing the benefits and use of the service, consumers mostly wait passively for detailed plans of action rather than actively search for information about technologies that might help them in chores, such as paying the bills. This suggests that the issuer bears the responsibility for actual adoption. The findings also suggest that after the initial adoption of a technology, the positive experience is not automatically generalized to other potential use situations. Adoption may remain partial, both old and new technologies being used for similar tasks, as a symptom of consumer resistance. The situation is analogous to that of initial adoption. When investigating the underlying reasons behind consumer resistance, I found two paths: internal and external. The internal pattern refers to the internal drive for consistency that overcomes the perceived appeal of the new technology. The external pattern refers to contextual factors being emphasized within the adoption situation. Practitioners could take this into account when designing the offering for consumers by creating clearer steps for adoption that could increase the convenience of the adoption situation and adoption. Future research could build on these findings by shifting the emphasis more towards the adoption context, the adaptive nature of behavior and the importance of specific implementation plans for actual adoption to occur. Uudet tietotekniset ratkaisut, kuten sähköinen laskutus, voivat tuoda suuria kustannussäästöjä yrityksille, mikäli kuluttajat ottavat ne täysin käyttöönsä. Kuluttajien vastustuksen seurauksena käyttöönottoaste on kuitenkin usein odotuksia alhaisempi. Vastustuksen taustalla olevien syiden ymmärtäminen on tärkeää, koska se voi mahdollistaa käyttöönottoasteeseen vaikuttamisen. Tarkastelen tässä työssä kuluttajien vastustuksen taustalla olevia syitä ja seurauksia. Tarjoan näkemystä kuluttajien vapaaehtoiseen käyttöönottoon, tarkastelen tilannesidonnaisia tekijöitä sekä painotan todellista käyttäytymistä pelkkien käyttöaikomusten sijaan. Tutkimukseni koostuu neljästä esseestä. Kahdessa ensimmäisessä esseessä keskityn kahden erilaisen teknologisen palvelun käyttöönottoon. Painopiste on käyttöönottoaikomuksen ja myönteisen asenteen välisessä epäsuhdassa. Kolmannessa esseessä tarkastelen vastustuksen seurausta: vain vähän huomiota saanutta osittaista käyttöönottoa. Neljännessä esseessä tutkin kuluttajien vastustuksen taustalla vaikuttavia ilmiöitä. Löydökseni korostavat käyttöönottotilanteessa ilmeneviä tekijöitä enemmän kuin puhtaasti teknologisia ominaisuuksia. Vaikka kuluttajalla olisi myönteinen asenne kyseistä teknologiaa kohtaan, käyttöönottoaikomus ei välttämättä johda todelliseen käyttöönottoon Käyttäytyminen on suurelta osin tilanteeseen sopeutumista eikä välttämättä harkitun aikomuksen tai tavan seurausta. Vaikka yritykset tarjoavat usein tietoa uuden palvelun käytön hyödyistä, kuluttajat tyypillisesti odottavat tarkkaa toimintasuunnitelmaa passiivisina. He eivät ryhdy aktiivisesti etsimään tietoa teknologisista palveluista, jotka voisivat helpottaa heidän arkiaskareitaan, kuten laskujen maksua. Tämä viittaa siihen, että päävastuu käyttöönoton kasvattamisesta jää käytännössä yritysten harteille. Löydökset vahvistavat myös näkemystä, että käyttöönoton jälkeen myönteinen käyttökokemus ei automaattisesti yleisty kuluttajan mielessä vastaaviin tilanteisiin. Vastustuksen seurauksena käyttöönotto saattaa myös jäädä osittaiseksi: uutta ja vanhaa teknologiaa voidaan käyttää rinnakkain samanlaisen tehtävän suorittamiseen. Löysin kaksi keskeistä ilmiötä tarkastellessani vastustuksen taustaa: sisäinen ja ulkoinen. Sisäisesti toimiva vastustus tarkoittaa vahvaa tarvetta yhdenmukaiseen toimintaan, joka ylittää uuden teknologia näennäisen houkuttelevuuden. Ulkoinen vastustus taas viittaa käyttöönoton tilannetekijöiden suureen merkitykseen. Käytännön toimijat voivat hyötyä löydöksistä kiinnittämällä entistä enemmän huomiota käyttöönottotilanteen suunnitteluun kuluttajien kannalta houkuttelevaksi ja helpoksi. Aiheeseen liittyvässä tutkimuksessa taas painopistettä voitaisiin siirtää enemmän käyttöönottotilanteeseen, käyttäytymisen sopeutuvaisuuteen sekä selkeän käyttöönottosuunnitelman merkitykseen kuluttajille.

PIM APPLICATIONS -- An Explorative Study on Benefits and Barriers

In this exploratory study, we look into the emerging usage of Personal Information Management (PIM) applications on mobile devices. We collected data in two rounds of empirical investigation: first, with pilot users in an organization providing PIM services, then, in customer companies subscribing to these services. Our findings suggest that the benefits of PIM applications are mostly related to the users’ personal work: planning schedules and work tasks, making mobile communication even easier, and increasing flexibility, and that the benefits for companies are mainly realized through the users’ benefits. There are, however, still a range of barriers, ranging from difficulties in use and technical limitations to organizational level security concerns

Managing uncertainty in service production with mobile systems - Case waste management company

Today’s growth of the service sector as a whole has created demand for more efficient service production. Many services require interaction between customers and service personnel, whereas some can be automated into self-services. In this study, we focus on services, that are neither purely human facilitated, nor purely automated, and contain uncertainty in the production process. Based on resource centric theories of strategy and research on uncertainties in service production, we introduce a research framework to evaluate efficient solutions for service production. Our research framework looks at environmental and informational uncertainties, and how an organization can adapt to these by utilizing technology or skilled labour. Illustrated with a case company, we show how mobile information systems can be used to manage service production related uncertainties, which are also typically barriers to standardization. The case study demonstrates how informational uncertainty could be more easily controlled using the new system. The job satisfaction of the workers was increased and their turnover and training time was decreased. Additionally, customer complaints were reduced and invoicing became more efficient. These enabled the company to enhance the efficiency of the service production processes further, moving closer to standardizing and automating the service production process within an uncertain environment