Institut für Marketing & Management

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Behind the scenes of emerging technologies – Opportunities, challenges, and solution approaches along a socio-technical continuum
(2021) Bayer, Sarah; Gimpel, Henner
Digitalization is a socio-technical phenomenon that shapes our lives as individuals, economies, and societies. The perceived complexity of technologies continues to increase, and technology convergence makes a clear separation between technologies impossible. A good example of this is the Internet of Things (IoT) with its embedded Artificial Intelligence (AI). Furthermore, a separation of the social and the technical component has become near enough impossible, for which there is increasing awareness in the Information Systems (IS) community. Overall, emerging technologies such as AI or IoT are becoming less understandable and transparent, which is evident for instance when AI is described in terms of a “black box”. This opacity undermines humans’ trust in emerging technologies, which, however, is crucial for both its usage and spread, especially as emerging technologies start to perform tasks that bear high risks for humans, such as autonomous driving. Critical perspectives on emerging technologies are often discussed in terms of ethics, including such aspects as the responsibility for decisions made by algorithms, the limited data privacy, and the moral values that are encoded in technology. In sum, the varied opportunities that come with digitalization are accompanied by significant challenges. Research on the negative ramifications of AI is crucial if we are to foster a human-centered technological development that is not simply driven by opportunities but by utility for humanity. As the IS community is positioned at the intersection of the technological and the social context, it plays a central role in finding answers to the question as to how the advantages outweigh the challenges that come with emerging technologies. Challenges are examined under the label of “dark side of IS”, a research area which receives considerably less attention in existing literature than the positive aspects (Gimpel & Schmied, 2019). With its focus on challenges, this dissertation aims to counterbalance this. Since the remit of IS research is the entire information system, rather than merely the technology, humanistic and instrumental goals ought to be considered in equal measure. This dissertation follows calls for research for a healthy distribution along the so-called socio-technical continuum (Sarker et al., 2019), that broadens its focus to include the social as well as the technical, rather than looking at one or the other. With that in mind, this dissertation aims to advance knowledge on IS with regard to opportunities, and in particular with a focus on challenges of two emerging technologies, IoT and AI, along the socio-technical continuum. This dissertation provides novel insights for individuals to better understand opportunities, but in particular possible negative side effects. It guides organizations on how to address these challenges and suggests not only the necessity of further research along the socio-technical continuum but also several ideas on where to take this future research. Chapter 2 contributes to research on opportunities and challenges of IoT. Section 2.1 identifies and structures opportunities that IoT devices provide for retail commerce customers. By conducting a structured literature review, affordances are identified, and by examining a sample of 337 IoT devices, completeness and parsimony are validated. Section 2.2 takes a close look at the ethical challenges posed by IoT, also known as IoT ethics. Based on a structured literature review, it first identifies and structures IoT ethics, then provides detailed guidance for further research in this important and yet under-appreciated field of study. Together, these two research articles underline that IoT has the potential to radically transform our lives, but they also illustrate the urgent need for further research on possible ethical issues that are associated with IoTs’ specific features. Chapter 3 contributes to research on AI along the socio-technical continuum. Section 3.1 examines algorithms underlying AI. Through a structured literature review and semi-structured interviews analyzed with a qualitative content analysis, this section identifies, structures and communicates concerns about algorithmic decision-making and is supposed to improve offers and services. Section 3.2 takes a deep dive into the concept of moral agency in AI to discuss whether responsibility in human-computer interaction can be grasped better with the concept of “agency”. In section 3.3, data from an online experiment with a self-developed AI system is used to examine the role of a user’s domain-specific expertise in trusting and following suggestions from AI decision support systems. Finally, section 3.4 draws on design science research to present a framework for ethical software development that considers ethical issues from the beginning of the design and development process. By looking at the multiple facets of this topic, these four research articles ought to guide practitioners in deciding which challenges to consider during product development. With a view to subsequent steps, they also offer first ideas on how these challenges could be addressed. Furthermore, the articles offer a basis for further, solution-oriented research on AI’s challenges and encourage users to form their own, informed, opinions.
Bringing light into the dark side of digitalization : consequences, antecedents, and mitigation mechanisms
(2023) Schmied, Fabian; Gimpel, Henner
As digital technologies permeate all aspects of our professional and private lives, digitalization causes profound changes for individuals, organizations, and societies. The use of digital technologies makes many activities easier, safer, faster, or more comfortable. In addition to many positive changes, digital technologies are also associated with numerous risks and side effects. The use of digital technologies might come along with severe negative consequences for individuals, organizations, and societies. The negative consequences can be triggered by various antecedents. In addition to identifying the negative consequences of digitalization and their antecedents, it is particularly important to develop appropriate mitigation mechanisms. This dissertation provides novel insights for IS researchers to better understand the negative consequences of using digital technologies. It contains a broad overview of the risks and side effects of digitalization and investigates related antecedents and mitigation mechanisms. To reach this goal, regarding research methods, this dissertation relies on the structured analysis of (scientific) literature and (expert) interviews as well as the analysis and interpretation of empirical data. Chapter 2 contributes to the research on the negative consequences of digitalization. Section 2.1 provides a comprehensive multi-level taxonomy of the risks and side effects of digitalization (RSEDs). Section 2.2 builds on Section 2.1 and is a substantial expansion and improvement of Section 2.1. The iterative taxonomy development process was complemented by four additional cycles. The final taxonomy comprises 11 RSEDs and their 39 subtypes. Both articles show that there is a wide range of risks and side effects of digitalization that need to be explored in more detail in the future. Chapter 3 focuses on the antecedents of digitalization’s negative consequences. Section 3.1 sheds light on individuals’ concerns towards automated decision-making. The concerns are derived from academic literature and semi-structured interviews with potential users of algorithm-based technologies. Section 3.2 focuses on the evaluation of specific mHealth app features by potential users in Germany and Denmark. The study draws on survey data from both countries analyzed using the Kano method. Further, it comprises a quartile-based sample split approach to identify the underlying relationships between users’ characteristics and their perceptions of the mHealth app features. The results show significant differences between Germans and Danes in the evaluation of the app features and demonstrate which of the user characteristics best explain these differences. Both articles shed light on possible antecedents of negative consequences (i.e., user dissatisfaction, non-use) and thus contribute to a better understanding of the occurrence of negative consequences. Chapter 4 shows exemplary mitigation mechanisms to cope with the negative consequences of digitalization. Section 4.1 takes an organizational perspective and identifies data privacy measures that can be implemented by organizations to protect the personal data of their customers and address their privacy concerns. These measures were evaluated by analyzing data from two independent online surveys with the help of the Kano method. Section 4.2 focuses on an individual perspective by presenting the concept of a privacy bot that contributes to strengthening the digital sovereignty of internet users. With the help of the privacy bot, page-long privacy statements can be checked against previously stored individual data protection preferences. Both articles provide appropriate mitigation mechanisms to cope with users’ privacy concerns. These two examples show that there are a variety of ways to counter the risks and side effects of digitalization. The research articles included in this dissertation identify various risks and side effects of digitalization that need to be explored in more detail in future research. The two articles on antecedents help to better understand the occurrence of negative consequences of digitalization. The development of appropriate countermeasures, two of which are exemplified in this dissertation, should result in the benefits of digital technologies outweighing their risks.
Collaborating in the digital age: On the design of collaboration support systems
(2024) Wöhl, Moritz; Gimpel, Henner
Collaboration is undergoing a transformation in the digital age. As digital technologies advance, individuals and organisations need to continuously adapt to the ever-changing circumstances in their mutual engagement, especially when these technologies form the nexus of interaction. Three major trends shape this evolving collaborative landscape. First, globalisation diminishes the significance of physical boundaries, fostering a globally distributed workforce. Second, propelled initially by the COVID-19 pandemic but now a lasting trend, there is a heightened value placed on the flexibility afforded by remote or hybrid work. Third, the ascendant capabilities of large language models hint at them becoming central to collaboration, which benefits both employees and organisations. Collectively, these trends not only shape collaboration as of today but also provide implications for its future trajectory. These shifts present interesting avenues for designing collaboration support via digital technologies. This dissertation delves into the design of Collaboration Support Systems in light of these developments. These systems encompass software, tools, and services to enhance outcomes from collaborative efforts. At their core, collaborators coordinate their actions. More specifically, they process and communicate information before taking a decision. Collaboration support in this dissertation explicitly targets these three facets to enhance collaborative endeavours. The structure of this dissertation is bifurcated into direct support to collaborators via technical systems (Part A) and indirect support through aiding facilitators of a collaborative endeavour (Part B). Part A (Chapter II) of this dissertation explores the facet of delivering support to collaborators engaged in direct collaboration, offering profound insights into how technological systems can be harnessed to augment collaborative endeavours across four distinct chapters. Each chapter elucidates strategies to support collaborators in information processing, communication, and decision-making. Chapter II.1 delves into the collaboration of multi-professional teams, spotlighting the work system in inpatient palliative care, characterised by frequent in-person interactions and noticeable reservations towards digital technologies, making it a relevant subject of investigation. This chapter discerns potential challenges and opportunities to overcome them with digital technologies by maintaining the relevance of in-person interactions. Building on this, Chapter II.2 articulates the design and prototype of a system tailored for multi-professional collaboration, addressing the specific challenges unearthed in the preceding chapter. Chapter II.3 targets virtual teams engaging synchronously in chats, facilitated by an automated facilitator to streamline their collaboration by fostering favourable patterns in collaboration to sidestep potential pitfalls. Chapter II.4 explores academic research collaboration, aiming to illuminate methods for assessing the current research landscape and signposting promising areas for future collaborative research. Part B (Chapter III) shifts its lens towards amplifying support mechanisms for facilitators, enhancing the support mechanisms available for facilitators, thereby aiming to amplify the effectiveness and efficiency of their roles within the collaborative structure – particularly within crowdsourcing environments. These environments are often geared towards addressing complex, wicked problems by pooling diverse knowledge resources. This part underscores the facilitator’s pivotal role in steering collaborative ventures, supporting them throughout the multifaceted processes, particularly in information processing, communication, and decision-making. Chapter III.1 presents an assessment model with five success dimensions, equipping facilitators with guidance on actions before, during, and after a crowdsourcing initiative. This framework helps in achieving high-quality results through a well-guided process. Subsequent chapters delve deeper into vital facets of crowdsourcing: Chapter III.2 advocates for fostering intellectual cross-fertilisation among collaborators, promoting a richer and potentially more innovative range of contributions. Chapter III.3 proposes a synthesis information system, utilising natural language processing to enhance the facilitator’s support in efficiently assessing discussion content and effectively disseminating it to a wider audience in diverse formats. In conclusion, this dissertation provides a comprehensive guide for collaboration support design. It concludes by consolidating and discussing both parts’ results, implications, limitations, and avenues for future research. The emergence of large-scale language models will blur the lines between the two parts of this dissertation. Today, these models automate only specific aspects of facilitation and support human moderators in their roles. As large language models continue to evolve and their capabilities improve, it is foreseeable that the distinction between the two parts will diminish. Hence, although distinct in their approach, both parts intertwine, providing a cohesive perspective on the potential and design of Collaboration Support Systems and creating a common body of knowledge that informs the future of collaborative endeavours. Key themes threading through the dissertation include seamless integration into daily-use systems, leveraging natural language processing, and guiding collaborators’ focus in their interactions. This dissertation’s insights contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the potential and design nuances of Collaboration Support Systems.
Communication and collaboration technology use at the digital workplace : antecedents, use processes, and consequences
(2021) Schoch, Manfred; Gimpel, Henner
Our world is becoming more and more digital and interconnected. Particularly new communication and collaboration technologies have changed the way we go about our daily life and work. Several technological and social developments are the driving forces for this change. On the one hand, technological advancements, such as portable devices, fast infrastructure, and constantly available software applications, transform the way employees communicate, collaborate, and transfer knowledge. On the other hand, social developments, such as an increase in knowledge-intense jobs and a workforce that has grown accustomed to increasingly modern and innovative technology from their private lives, contribute to the development. Further, during the COVID-19 pandemic, digital work and the use of communication and collaboration technology has increased unlike anything seen before. It is the organizations’ responsibility to care for their employees and leave no one behind in this transformation process of work as we know it. Yet, the management of increasingly complex portfolios of digital technologies, comprised of privately-owned and business-owned components, confronts individuals, IT departments, and management with challenges. To address them, organizations and individuals need to broaden their understanding of how and why employees use digital technologies and learn about the associated outcomes. Information Systems research has long been concerned with understanding digital technology use, which is among the most researched topics of the discipline. Research results on technology use have been summarized along the three categories antecedents, use process, and outcomes Antecedents describe factors that influence use. Insights into use processes provide us with details of how technology is used in practice. Use outcomes comprise different factors that can be positively or negatively affected by using technology, such as performance or stress. Within the field, a subset of studies has specifically focused on communication and collaboration technology. Yet, in light of the rise in ubiquitous digital work and the challenges that come with it, further investigation into this subject is necessary. This dissertation aims at providing novel insights into the use of communication and collaboration technology for organizations and individuals across the three categories: antecedents, use processes, and outcomes. In Chapter 2, this dissertation deals with important antecedents of use decisions of communication and collaboration technology. Chapter 2.1 does so by identifying factors that drive the choice of digital technologies in the context of knowledge transfer. Chapter 2.2 analyzes rationales for using privately-owned technology for business purposes based on a risk-benefit perspective. Chapter 3 analyzes individual use processes of communication and collaboration technology in more detail using digital trace data and user interviews. Different heterogeneous user roles are derived from the data in Chapter 3.1. Second, user behavior over time and the effect of external events on such behavior are examined (Chapter 3.2). Chapter 4 presents insights on outcomes of use behavior, particularly adverse outcomes. Insights are provided on the role of individual appraisal in the relationship between communication and collaboration technology use and associated stress (Chapter 4.1). Second, outcomes of the use of mixed IT portfolios comprised of privately-owned and business-owned components are investigated (Chapter 4.2). In summation, this dissertation contributes to the rich body of knowledge on technology use. It broadens our understanding of why communication and collaboration technologies are used, how they are used, and what consequences arise from their use. Thus, insights are provided to practitioners on how to manage technology use in a human-centered way while considering the risks of technology use and reaping its multifaceted benefits. The results of this dissertation may inspire future research on a topic that is potentially more relevant today than ever before.
Design and analysis of information systems for individual health and well-being
(2024) Bonenberger, Lukas; Gimpel, Henner
Information systems (IS) are ubiquitous in today’s world. Initially rooted in the business context, IS research within personal settings is steadily gaining momentum. An essential factor contributing to this phenomenon is the acknowledgment that IS and their design can improve the lives of individuals. Individuals encounter various challenges that adversely affect their health and well-being. However, IS present avenues to address some of these issues. Prominent examples of such challenges that prior research has identified as susceptible to mitigation through IS include stress, grief, home resource conservation, information technology (IT)-mediated interruptions, and social media harm. All these challenges negatively affect individuals’ health and well-being. IS are potent tools owing to their ubiquity and technological capabilities. Their designs shape their objectives and functionalities, which are crucial for addressing challenges and fostering individual health and well-being. The transition of IS research from business to more personal spheres has been conceptualized into a framework for the digitalization of the individual (DOTI [1]). The DOTI framework encompasses the digitalization of individuals across two dimensions. First, it delineates the different roles of individuals that IS research can explore, including their roles as employees, social beings, and customers. Second, the framework encompasses the research angles of IS design, individuals’ behavior, and the consequences of their digitalization. This dissertation aligns with the DOTI framework, focusing on developing and analyzing IS designs tailored to individuals in various roles to foster their health and well-being. The aim of this dissertation is twofold. First, it seeks to gain a comprehensive understanding of how IS can address the abovementioned challenges, which negatively impact individual health and well-being. Second, this dissertation aims to develop IS design knowledge and analyze IS design to establish a foundation for such knowledge development to mitigate challenges and foster individual health and well-being. This dissertation uses qualitative and quantitative research methods, including literature review, interviews, surveys, experiments, and field studies. Several methodological approaches are integrated into higher-level design science research. Further, one study adopts a mixed-methods approach, whereas another is fully quantitative. This dissertation is divided into two parts. Part A aims to develop design knowledge for IS to foster individual health and well-being, while considering individuals in the role as themselves according to the DOTI framework. Chapter 2 describes the design of mobile stress assessment systems that detect individuals’ stress levels to enable subsequent coping efforts. It improves the understanding of how mobile systems can better support individuals in coping with stress, and presents theoretical design knowledge, five prototypes, and a structured literature review. Chapter 3 introduces design knowledge for more empathetic recommender systems on social media sites to enhance users’ well-being. It broadens the understanding of social media harm in the context of social media recommender systems by presenting a conceptual framework, meta-requirements, and design principles. Chapter 4 expands on these results and presents design knowledge for sensitive social media recommender systems. This design knowledge advances Chapter 3 by incorporating specific design features and evaluating user appraisals by using the Kano customer satisfaction model. Part B of this dissertation focuses on considering individuals’ specific roles according to the DOTI framework in IS design aimed at fostering their health and well-being. Chapter 5 considers individuals as employees. It develops design knowledge for neuro-adaptive flow support systems to promote flow experiences and reduce IT-mediated interruptions in the workplace, with the aim of enhancing well-being and productivity. The chapter presents a neuro-adaptive interruption management mechanism. Chapter 6 investigates the effects of social norm messages as social media design elements in encouraging users to express sympathy toward online mourners, thereby enhancing their well-being. It considers individuals in specific roles as social beings. The chapter elucidates the design characteristics that contribute to the effectiveness of social norm messages in this domain. Chapter 7 explores the effects of the decision-making latitude of agentic IS artifacts on individuals’ psychological well-being and environmental friendliness perception in smart homes. Therefore, it considers individuals in their specific customer roles. The chapter provides insights into agentic IS artifact design regarding functional adaptivity, using the challenge of home resource conservation as an example. In summary, this dissertation advances design knowledge and offers insights into IS design aimed at mitigating the challenges that adversely affect individuals’ health and well-being, thereby fostering these outcomes. This enriches the existing literature on IS design and investigation of these challenges, providing practical insights for effective mitigation efforts. Moreover, the research activities included in this dissertation contribute to promoting responsible digitalization.
Digitalization of the individual : consequences, design, and behavior
(2021) Waldmann, Daniela; Gimpel, Henner
In the past decades, digitalization has increasingly influenced our daily lives and habits in almost all areas and has even become indispensable for individuals, organizations, and society. The interactions between individuals and organizations have changed significantly as digitalization extends the boundaries of organizations to the point at which it affects individuals. Consequently, new research efforts and better understanding are essential to understand how the behavior of individuals is affected by the use of digital technologies, how customers’ demands change, and how the purchasing process of organizations needs to be adapted. Currently, the literature on digital transformation is mainly treating the organizational perspective. Nevertheless, organizations should not neglect the individual perspective as it is essential to understand customer needs and their consequences affected by digital technologies. Matt et al. (2019)1 present a holistic research framework with three research perspectives for the digitalization of the individual. This framework encompasses the behavior of individuals, the design of information systems, and the consequences that digitalization entails. Additionally, this research framework suggests that a digitized individual can take on different roles. The dissertation uses this framework of Matt et al. (2019)1 to structure and classify the covered contents and research objectives. The aim of this dissertation is to contribute to a comprehensive overview for organizations to understand their customers’ concerns regarding digital technologies, which design options they have to address these concerns, and how it influences their behavior to realize the potential of the technologies or reduce their harms. Therefore, this work applies pluralistic methodological approaches (qualitative methods, e.g., semi-structured interviews and qualitative content analysis, and quantitative methods, e.g., quantitative decision models and data collection from online questionnaires). With that, the dissertation provides novel insights for organizations to better implement digital technologies by regarding the consequences for individuals and the behavior of individuals. First, to contribute to an understanding of the negative consequences digitalization can bring along for individuals, part A of this dissertation presents two research articles that focus on the concerns of individuals. The research papers P1 and P2 show in two different domains what individuals are concerned about when using digital technologies and what prevents individuals from using them. Therefore, this dissertation presents knowledge about the fears and concerns of the individuals have and offers starting points to develop responsible and transparent digital technologies that address the concerns of the individuals. Second, to contribute to design approaches for information systems that enable organizations to increase customer satisfaction with digital products and services, part B presents design approaches that organizations can use to address individuals’ perceived consequences and change their behavior using digital technologies. Both research papers in part B present quantitative decision models as decision support for organizations. This dissertation offers two design approaches that provide organizations with information on designing technologies to serve digitized individuals and foster them better to make well-founded decisions when introducing digital technologies. Third, to contribute to the understanding of why and how individuals behave in certain ways and how this behavior can be influenced, Part C examines the behavior of individuals when using digital technologies. Research paper P5 develops a metric to better explore the privacy paradox. With that, this dissertation offers a basis, especially to researchers and individuals, to prevent unwanted behavior when using digital technologies. To sum up, this dissertation contributes to scientific knowledge in research on the digitalization of the individual and thus addresses a subject of fundamental importance in this digital age. The models and approaches developed in this dissertation explore ways to improve conditions for the digitized individual at all three research perspectives with equal regard for the individual as itself and the individual as a customer.
Individual information systems : design, use, and a negative outcome in the business and private domain
(2021) Lanzl, Julia; Gimpel, Henner
Digitalization increasingly changes individuals’ business and private lives. Today, individuals build and use ever more complex individual information systems (IIS) composed of privately-owned and business-owned components. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated this development since individuals were forced to work from home due to the social distancing measures associated with the pandemic. The ongoing digitalization comes with great opportunities for individuals, such as higher mobility and flexibility, as well as for organizations, such as lower costs and increased productivity. However, the increased use of IIS at the workplace also bears risks for individuals. Such risks include technostress, which refers to stress that is caused by digital technologies. Technostress, in turn, can lead to health-related issues, reduced productivity, and higher turnover intentions. Thus, to leverage the positive opportunities of digitalization while reducing its associated risk of technostress, a better understanding of IIS, their use, and its effect on technostress, and of individual resources that may affect this relationship is needed. The aim of this dissertation is threefold: First, to contribute to a better understanding of layers of IIS and their different components. Second, since a negative outcome of IIS use can be technostress, this dissertation seeks to advance knowledge on technostress creators and how they can be influenced by IIS use and by various IIS characteristics. Third, this dissertation aims to reveal which resources of individuals may help mitigate technostress. This dissertation uses quantitative methods, such as online surveys and structural equation modeling, and qualitative methods, such as literature analyses and semi-structured interviews. Thereby, the methodological focus lies on quantitative data collection and analysis, while some papers use a mixed-methods approach as a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. Chapter 2 of this dissertation aims at providing a better understanding of IIS by investigating its various components. Therefore, Chapter 2.1 conceptualizes four layers of IIS: devices, digital identities, relationships, and information. It also considers that IIS have two more or less integrated subsystems: the business information systems with business-owned components and the private information systems with privately-owned components. An empirical validation supports this conceptualization as well as the definition of integration between the two sub-systems on each of the four layers. Chapter 2.2 studies IT consumerization, which refers to the use of private IIS components in the business domain and applies a risk-benefit consideration. The results imply that benefits of consumerization of IT services, such as better functionalities of a private IT service outweigh risks, such as the threat of sanctions for the use of private IT services. Chapter 3 focuses on technostress as a negative outcome of the increased IIS use. Chapter 3.1 analyzes how IT consumerization is related to the technostress creator unreliability of digital technologies. The results reveal a positive relationship between IT consumerization and unreliability and show that unreliability is perceived higher when the IT portfolio integration and the individual’s computer self-efficacy are low. Chapter 3.2 proceeds with studying characteristics of digital technologies and how these are related to technostress. It presents ten characteristics that are associated with at least one technostress creator. Chapter 3.3 extends the concept of technostress and introduces a framework of twelve different technostress creators, reveals four second-order factors underlying the twelve technostress creators, and brings them into relation with work- and health-related effects. Chapter 4 also deals with technostress and investigates resources to mitigate technostress. Chapter 4.1 focuses on organizational measures and finds different relationships of the investigated measures with different technostress creators. While some of the technostress creators can be inhibited by the implementation of organizational measures, others are found to be even intensified by the organizational measures. Chapter 4.2 focuses on social mechanisms that function as technostress inhibitors. Findings differ between technostress creators and the investigated social support dimensions. Furthermore, the results highlight the fact that some of the social support dimensions gain even greater importance in light of increasing telework. In summary, this dissertation provides new insights into IIS and their use, the emergence of technostress in digitalized workplaces, and organizational as well as social mechanisms that help mitigate technostress. Hence, this dissertation supports current efforts in both research and practice to reduce technostress while leveraging the positive opportunities of workplace digitalization.
Navigating the digitalization of individuals as employees, customers, and themselves
(2022) Nüske, Niclas; Gimpel, Henner
Digitalization has long since entered and transformed our professional lives, our interaction with companies, and our private lives. With the progress in digitalization in general and of individuals in particular, both opportunities and challenges arise. Digitalization represents a double-edged sword, with its vast potential on the one end and a number of risks and detrimental effects for individuals, such as technostress, on the other. Individuals need to navigate the opportunities provided by digitalization, as well as its risks, in all areas of their lives. Addressing digitalization in a way that is in the best interest of individuals requires a thorough understanding of developments, challenges, and possible interventions and solutions. Matt et al. (2019) propose a framework for studying the digitalization of individuals, which represents a holistic approach to structure, classify, and position research along different roles of individuals from a comprehensive set of research angles. By applying this framework as a guiding structure, this dissertation aims to advance knowledge for an improved, safer, and more deliberate navigation of digitalization for individuals in their roles as employees, customers, and themselves from the research angles design, behavior, and consequences. While building on and integrating qualitative research methods such as literature analysis and expert interviews, this dissertation mainly relies on the collection of empirical data and their quantitative analysis. This comprises several small- and large-scale surveys and field experiments, as well as analytical methods such as structural equation modeling, regression analysis, and cluster analysis. Chapter 2 of this dissertation discusses the digitalization of individuals in their role as employees. Chapter 2.1 covers workplace design in terms of equipment with digital workplace technologies (DWTs) and the user behavior of employees. It determines which DWTs exist and are used by individual employees in a comprehensive and structured fashion. Contributing to a deeper understanding of workplace digitalization, chapter 2.1 also demonstrates and elaborates how this overview of DWTs represents a basis for individualized digital work design as well as adequate interventions. Chapter 2.2 deals with the consequences of DWT user behavior. It focuses on the relationship between workplace digitalization, the negative consequence technostress, and possible countermeasures termed “technostress inhibitors.” By enabling a more detailed understanding of the underlying mechanisms as well as evaluating the effects of countermeasures, chapter 2.2 discusses the overall finding that workplace digitalization increases technostress. The dynamics of its different components and technostress inhibitors, however, require individual consideration at a more detailed level, as the interrelationships are not consistently intuitive. In chapter 3, the focus changes to individuals in their role as customers. As a response to increasing data collection by companies as well as increasing data privacy concerns of customers, chapter 3.1 focuses on the identification of a comprehensive list of data privacy measures that address these concerns. Furthermore, it is identified that the implementation of some of these measures would lead to increased customer satisfaction, demonstrating that there is an upside to data privacy for companies and that mutually beneficial outcomes for both involved parties are conceivable. Chapter 3.2 analyzes whether and how digital nudging can be applied to influence customers’ online shopping behavior towards the selection of more environmentally sustainable products in online supermarkets and how this influence differs with respect to individual customer characteristics. It determines the digital nudging element “default rules” to be generally effective and “simplification” to be effective among environmentally conscious customers. On a macro level, the findings contribute to a safer environment in which individuals live their lives, while at the individual level, they foster decision-making quality and health. Chapter 4 highlights the digitalization of individuals themselves. Chapter 4.1 deals with the design of a habit-tracking app that offers users autonomy in their goal-directed behavior. It is found that the provision of autonomy enhances well-being. Its exercise improves performance, which in turn positively affects well-being. Chapter 4.1 thus contributes insights into how digital technologies can foster the flourishing of users. As a summary, this dissertation aims to provide research and practice with contributions to a deeper understanding of how individuals as employees, customers, and themselves can successfully navigate digitalization.
Navigating the information landscape: uncovering links between information perception, processing, and behavior
(2023) Utz, Lena; Gimpel, Henner
Digitalization has transformed how individuals access and share information, making some of it available anytime and anywhere through the internet, mobile devices, and social media. Digitalization has also changed how information is created and disseminated, enabling individuals to actively participate in the Information Age by creating user-generated content. The exponential growth of digital content presents both opportunities and challenges. While individuals can access information quickly and easily regarding a wide range of topics, it is essential to distinguish between truthful and false information. Fake news, especially from social media, has political and societal consequences, eroding trust in traditional media and institutions. Additionally, even if the information is true, individuals can be intentionally or unintentionally manipulated by specific characteristics of the information. Cognitive biases, such as the negativity effect and confirmation bias, influence how people perceive and process information. Individuals’ social environments, platform design, and individual characteristics also shape how they deal with information. To navigate the information landscape, it is essential to understand how individuals perceive and process information and how it can influence their behavior. This topic is a subject of the study of Human Information Behavior. To better understand the links, this dissertation builds on the Stimulus-Organism-Response model. This psychological model explains how stimuli (such as information) influence an individual’s cognitive and emotional state (organism), leading to observable behaviors (responses). Thereby, the dissertation distinguishes between primary and context stimuli, between cognitive and affective processes as part of the organism, and between psychological and behavioral responses. This cumulative dissertation aims to contribute to the understanding of how individuals perceive and process information and how information influences their behavior. For this purpose, it relies on literature-based theorizing and the analysis and interpretation of empirical data obtained from online experiments and surveys. Because false information tremendously influences society, politics, and every individual, this dissertation focuses on fake news. The first three chapters examine socio-technical interventions to combat fake news. Chapter 2 provides an approach to improving reporting behavior. It analyzes the influence of injunctive and descriptive social norms (SNs) on social media users’ reporting of fake news. The findings revealed that SN messages influence users’ re-porting behavior. While injunctive SN messages can serve as motivational tools and affect user reporting behavior in social media environments, the empirical results demonstrated no significant effect from the sole application of descriptive SN messages. However, combining both types of SN messages proved to be the most effective approach. Chapter 3 addresses the influence of the order of intervention on the short- and long-term perception of fake news. The findings showed that the order in which the intervention, consisting of warning messages and verified information, is displayed impacts the perception of fake news. When delivered after fake news exposure, such interventions can decrease the believability of fake news more effectively than interventions delivered before exposure. Chapter 4 examines how the fake news reader’s emotions influence the believability of fake news and whether warning labels can mitigate these effects. The results revealed that while low-arousal emotions in the reader could decrease the believability of fake news, high-arousal emotions did not affect believability compared to the control group. However, the presence of a warning label before reading the fake news could reduce its believability, regardless of the level of emotional arousal. Chapter 5 broadens the perspective beyond fake news. Using the example of online product reviews and information, it examines how different characteristics of information influence the user evaluation of digital products. The findings revealed that there is a “placebo effect.” This placebo effect depends on the source of information and negative placebo information has a stronger effect than positive placebo information. Furthermore, the timing of the presentation of the placebo information is important. Placebo information provided after physical sensory input had a stronger effect than information provided before it. In summary, this dissertation contributes to the understanding of how individuals perceive and process information and how information influences their behavior. The insights from this dissertation can support individuals and society in the fight against fake news. Furthermore, it uncovered the manipulative power of specific characteristics of information. The insights from this dissertation provide a foundation for future research and practical applications in the realm of human information behavior.
Sustainable interaction with digital technologies : fostering pro-environmental behavior and maintaining mental health
(2023) Berger, Michelle; Gimpel, Henner
One of the most essential challenges of the twenty-first century is to realize sustainability in everyday behavior. Daily, partly unconscious decisions influence environmental sustainability. Such everyday choices are increasingly shifted toward digital environments, as digital technologies are ubiquitous in a wide variety of everyday contexts. This yields the great potential to positively influence the users’ behavior toward more environmental sustainability when interacting with digital technologies, for example, through the use of digital nudging. But besides these benefits, research indicates that interacting with digital technologies can lead to a specific form of stress, also known as technostress, that can cause adverse health outcomes. Individuals increasingly suffer from – or are at risk of – mental health issues like depression or burnout. This demonstrates that it is essential to ensure a sustainable interaction with digital technologies that is both environmentally friendly and healthy, especially for the mind. Addressing individuals’ interaction with digital technologies requires a broad understanding from all perspectives. The Human-Computer-Interaction (HCI) framework represents a guiding structure for studying the interaction of humans with digital technologies. Along with the guiding structure of the HCI framework, the seven research articles included in this dissertation aim to contribute to sustainable interaction with digital technologies. The focus is on two outcomes resulting from the interaction: First, fostering pro-environmental behavior and, second, maintaining mental health. After an introductory first chapter, Chapter 2 focuses on the outcome of fostering pro-environmental behavior when interacting with digital technologies using digital nudging. Chapter 2.1 contributes to a deeper understanding of the effectiveness of DNEs in different behavioral contexts (HCI perspective context) that influence the individuals’ pro-environmental behavior (e.g., e-commerce shopping behavior). Chapters 2.2 and 2.3 zoom in on two of the behavioral contexts described in Chapter 2.1 to investigate and test the design and effectiveness of specific DNEs in an e-commerce shop and a smart home app (HCI perspective technology) through online experiments. While prior research concentrated on the effectiveness of different “feedback nudge features” (FNFs) (e.g., different update frequencies), Chapter 2.4 investigates the influence of 25 identified FNFs on user satisfaction in a smart home app through a card sorting approach followed by an online survey based on the Kano model (HCI perspective human). Chapter 3 puts focuses on the outcome of maintaining mental health when interacting with digital technologies, thus avoiding technostress. Chapter 3.1 concentrates on the role of the organization in preventing technostress among their employees (HCI perspective context). It introduces and characterizes 24 primary and secondary technostress prevention measures and determines the relevance of primary prevention measures in reducing different sources of technostress (technostress creators). Out of the 24 technostress prevention measures, two specific measures (“adopt a stress-sensitive digital workplace design” and “use gamification”) are addressed in Chapters 3.2 and 3.3. Through a large-scale online survey, Chapter 3.2 derives an understanding of the characteristic profiles of technologies used at the digital workplace, their interplay, and how they influence technostress (HCI perspective technology). Chapter 3.3 focuses on the individual’s appraisal (HCI perspective human) of a demanding situation when interacting with digital technologies. After conducting an online experiment, Chapter 3.3 finds that the integration of gamification elements (e.g., points or levels) in digital technologies can reduce the individual’s threat appraisal. Lastly, Chapter 4 discusses the results of the seven included research articles and provides an outlook for future research. In summary, this dissertation aims to provide research and practice with new insights into creating a sustainable interaction with digital technologies to foster pro-environmental behavior and maintain mental health.
Unlocking the power of generative AI models and systems such asGPT-4 and ChatGPT for higher education
(2023) Vandrik, Steffen; Urbach, Nils; Gimpel, Henner; Hall, Kristina; Decker, Stefan; Eymann, Torsten; Lämmermann, Luis; Mädche, Alexander; Röglinger, Maximilian; Ruiner, Caroline; Schoch, Manfred; Schoop, Mareike
Generative AI technologies, such as large language models, have the potential to revolutionize much of our higher education teaching and learning. ChatGPT is an impressive, easy-to-use, publicly accessible system demonstrating the power of large language models such as GPT-4. Other compa- rable generative models are available for text processing, images, audio, video, and other outputs – and we expect a massive further performance increase, integration in larger software systems, and diffusion in the coming years. This technological development triggers substantial uncertainty and change in university-level teaching and learning. Students ask questions like: How can ChatGPT or other artificial intelligence tools support me? Am I allowed to use ChatGPT for a seminar or final paper, or is that cheating? How exactly do I use ChatGPT best? Are there other ways to access models such as GPT-4? Given that such tools are here to stay, what skills should I acquire, and what is obsolete? Lecturers ask similar questions from a different perspective: What skills should I teach? How can I test students’ competencies rather than their ability to prompt generative AI models? How can I use ChatGPT and other systems based on generative AI to increase my efficiency or even improve my students’ learning experience and outcomes? Even if the current discussion revolves around ChatGPT and GPT-4, these are only the forerunners of what we can expect from future generative AI-based models and tools. So even if you think ChatGPT is not yet technically mature, it is worth looking into its impact on higher education. This is where this whitepaper comes in. It looks at ChatGPT as a contemporary example of a conversational user interface that leverages large language models. The whitepaper looks at ChatGPT from the perspective of students and lecturers. It focuses on everyday areas of higher education: teaching courses, learning for an exam, crafting seminar papers and theses, and assessing students’ learning outcomes and performance. For this purpose, we consider the chances and concrete application possibilities, the limits and risks of ChatGPT, and the underlying large language models. This serves two purposes: • First, we aim to provide concrete examples and guidance for individual students and lecturers to find their way of dealing with ChatGPT and similar tools. • Second, this whitepaper shall inform the more extensive organizational sensemaking processes on embracing and enclosing large language models or related tools in higher education. We wrote this whitepaper based on our experience in information systems, computer science, management, and sociology. We have hands-on experience in using generative AI tools. As professors, postdocs, doctoral candidates, and students, we constantly innovate our teaching and learning. Fully embracing the chances and challenges of generative AI requires adding further perspectives from scholars in various other disciplines (focusing on didactics of higher education and legal aspects), university administrations, and broader student groups. Overall, we have a positive picture of generative AI models and tools such as GPT-4 and ChatGPT. As always, there is light and dark, and change is difficult. However, if we issue clear guidelines on the part of the universities, faculties, and individual lecturers, and if lecturers and students use such systems efficiently and responsibly, our higher education system may improve. We see a greatchance for that if we embrace and manage the change appropriately.

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