Self-Regulation and External Influence: The Relative Efficacy of Mobile Apps and Offline Channels for Personal Weight Management

2023 | Information Systems Research | Citations: 0

Authors: Kwon, Hyeokkoo Eric; Dewan, Sanjeev; Oh, Wonseok; Kim, Taekyung

Abstract: This study contributes to the information systems literature on mobile health in ... Expand

Abstract: This study contributes to the information systems literature on mobile health interventions and omnichannel management by examining the relative effectiveness of mobile and offline channels in facilitating personal weight management. Drawing on the social cognitive theory of self-regulation, our empirical analysis utilizes a system generalized method of moments approach applied to panel data on customers enrolled in a weight loss program that delivers services through multiple channels, including a mobile app and offline office visits. Our results show that the use of the mobile app is positively associated with weight management by both free and paid users. For paid users, who have access to the mobile app and office visits, usage of both channels is associated with increased short-term weight loss. Furthermore, the two channels function as substitutes for one another, with users able to compensate for infrequent offline store visits through more intense mobile app usage. In the long term, however, only mobile app usage (and not offline store visits) contributes to the sustainability of weight loss, as reflected in reduced weight variability and lower overall failure rate. Qualitative evidence gleaned from interviews with actual customers substantiated the self-regulation mechanism enabled by mobile app usage. Additional empirical analyses further revealed that frequency and granularity of mobile app usage are positively associated with weight loss. We also found that individuals exposed to low performance pressure benefit more fully from mobile app usage. The results are robust to endogeneity concerns and alternative measures of the key variables. Overall, our analysis sheds light on the important role of a self-regulatory mobile app in a multichannel setting of personal weight management, as compared with the external influence stemming from human experts in offline channels, with useful implications for research and practice. History: Anandasivam Gopal, Senior Editor; Jianqing Chen, Associate Editor. Collapse

Topics: mobile application mobile channel mobile health ease of use individual characteristic

Methods: qualitative interview longitudinal research survey design artifact experimental group

Theories: social cognitive theory

Where is IT in Information Security? The Interrelationship among IT Investment, Security Awareness, and Data Breaches

2023 | Management Information Systems Quarterly | Citations: 1

Authors: Li, Wilson Weixun; Leung, Alvin; Yue, Wei

Abstract: Data breaches can severely damage a firm's reputation and its customers' confid ... Expand

Abstract: Data breaches can severely damage a firm's reputation and its customers' confidence. Firms must therefore continuously invest in security measures to prevent such breaches. However, the effectiveness of security investment has been questioned by both practitioners and academics. We illustrate the bidirectional dynamic relationship between information technology (IT) investment and data breaches moderated by threat and countermeasure security awareness using an eight-year panel of 311 U.S.-listed firms to provide empirical evidence that threat awareness broadens firms' scope for addressing databreach issues by investing more in IT than in security. Countermeasure awareness equips firms with sufficient knowledge and experience to ensure effective implementation of IT, which provides more comprehensive protection than security investment alone. Our results suggest that firms should evolve beyond the reactive mindset of solely upgrading security and begin nurturing both threat awareness and countermeasure awareness to address the underlying IT system issues that are the cause of data breaches. Collapse

Topics: IT investment data breach IT security defense data security IT security threat

Methods: longitudinal research robustness check autocorrelation analysis survey literature study

Theories: institutional theory protection motivation theory

Should I Buy Now, Pay Later? An Empirical Study of Consumer Behavior in E-Commerce

2023 | International Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Maeng, Junghyun; Goh, Khim Yong; Ge, Chunmian

Abstract: The Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) payment service in FinTech has rapidly gained pop ... Expand

Abstract: The Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) payment service in FinTech has rapidly gained popularity as a new payment option for consumers. However, its effect on consumer behavior remains unclear. This study investigates the effect of BNPL adoption on consumer purchase behaviors using a proprietary dataset from a large e-commerce platform. We find that BNPL adoption increases monthly spending by 11.2%, leads to a shift in purchase channel usage towards the mobile channel, and has a cannibalization effect on cash, debit cards, and credit cards payment methods. Our further analyses shed light on the mechanisms behind these effects. We find that the increased consumer spending as a result of BNPL adoption is driven by increased credit accessibility, mobile device ubiquity, and induced consumption effects. Our findings contribute to the growing body of literature on BNPL in FinTech and provide various practical implications for ecommerce and FinTech service operators. Collapse

Topics: mobile channel consumer behavior electronic commerce mobile system electronic finance

Methods: computational algorithm experimental group propensity score method theoretical contribution robustness check

Digitalization of Loyalty: Impacts of Mobile Technology on Reward Redemption and Engagement Level

2023 | Journal of Management Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Son, Yoonseock; Oh, Wonseok

Abstract: Although digitalization is a prevalent strategy in reward programs, a minimal am ... Expand

Abstract: Although digitalization is a prevalent strategy in reward programs, a minimal amount is known regarding the relationship between reward app usage and reward redemption behaviors. The enhanced availability and accessibility of information via mobile app can alter customers' reward-redemption patterns and engagement level, highlighting the need for firms to adjust their reward-based service strategies. Using unique datasets that reflect individual consumers' transactional and reward redemption behaviors, we conducted a series of analyses to capture the dynamics in the latent engagement state transitions of customers according to the type of reward program used. Results show that although reward app usage, on average, induces a more active engagement state, it polarizes the volatility of engagement state transitions. Furthermore, we find that greater volatility of engagement state transitions is significantly associated with a higher likelihood of churn. Finally, a follow-up survey and panel vector autoregression analyses are conducted to uncover the mechanisms that underlie the relationship. The results provide insights into how retailers can strategically design their reward programs in the emerging mobile-based omnichannel environment. Collapse

Topics: mobile application logistics management marketing management innovation management strategic management

Methods: survey longitudinal research descriptive statistic structural equation modeling vector autoregression

Theories: transaction cost economics

Peer Priming? A Large-Scale Field Experiment Studying the Impact of Popular Rankings on Demand in Mobile Retail

2023 | International Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Zheng, Shuang; Tong, Jack; Fang, Sihan; Gopal, Anand; Li, Xianneng; Jiang, Qiancheng

Abstract: Consumers on mobile retail apps face significant search costs due to the small ... Expand

Abstract: Consumers on mobile retail apps face significant search costs due to the small screen size of devices. One of the search aid features to improve the search convenience is to show consumers a small set of frequently used searches conducted by peer consumers on the platform as a prime cue. We refer to this feature as the popular ranking search aid (PRSA). Collaborating with Meituan, a leading services mobile app in China, we implement a large-scale field experiment to explore how PRSA affects consumer search activities and purchases. Our analyses generate three key findings. First, PRSA leads to an increase of 18.6% in page views and a 6.4% increase in purchases. Second, the change in shopping behavior emerges through a change in search behavior with more nondirected searches and fewer directed searches. Third, our mediation analysis supports that search behavior mediates the business outcomes. We offer theoretical and managerial implications. Collapse

Topics: mobile application recommender system crowdsourcing mobile business systems design

Methods: experimental group experiment field experiment mediation analysis BERT

Heterogeneous Demand Effects of Recommendation Strategies in a Mobile Application: Evidence from Econometric Models and Machine-Learning Instruments

2022 | Management Information Systems Quarterly | Citations: 0

Authors: Adamopoulos, Panagiotis; Ghose, Anindya; Tuzhilin, Alexander

Abstract: In this paper, we examine the effectiveness of various recommendation strategies ... Expand

Abstract: In this paper, we examine the effectiveness of various recommendation strategies in the mobile channel and their impact on consumers’ utility and demand levels for individual products. We find significant differences in effectiveness among various recommendation strategies. Interestingly, recommendation strategies that directly embed social proofs for the recommended alternatives outperform other recommendations. In addition, recommendation strategies combining social proofs with higher levels of induced awareness due to the prescribed temporal diversity have an even stronger effect on the mobile channel. We also examine the heterogeneity of the demand effect across items, users, and contextual settings, further verifying empirically the aforementioned information and persuasion mechanisms and generating rich insights. We also facilitate the estimation of causal effects in the presence of endogeneity using machine-learning methods. Specifically, we develop novel econometric instruments that capture product differentiation (isolation) based on deeplearning models of user-generated reviews. Our empirical findings extend the current knowledge regarding the heterogeneous impact of recommender systems, reconcile contradictory prior results in the related literature, and have significant business implications. Collapse

Topics: mobile system broadband cellular network mobile channel online review mobile application

Methods: econometric modeling instrumental variables estimation machine learning robustness check computational algorithm

Theories: symbolic interaction theory social network theory cognitive theory consumer search theory trust theory

Bypassing Performance Optimizers of Real Time Bidding Systems in Display Ad Valuation

2022 | Information Systems Research | Citations: 1

Authors: Christopher, Ranjit M.; Park, Sungho; Han, Sang Pil; Kim, Min-Kyu

Abstract: Demand-side platforms (DSPs) that purchase digital ad space using real-time bidd ... Expand

Abstract: Demand-side platforms (DSPs) that purchase digital ad space using real-time bidding (RTB) systems employ “black-box” performance optimizers to adjust bids at run time. Advertisers using field experiments to estimate the marginal value of display ads need to contend with the selective targeting of users by optimizers that adjust bids to target users with a greater propensity to respond favorably (i.e., click or conversion). In this paper, we propose an alternative approach for advertisers who choose to bypass their DSP’s performance optimizers for the purpose of assessing the value of their ads. We show that external frequency caps that set upper limits on the number of ad impressions outside the purview of bidding algorithms can serve as a suitable instrumental variable. Eliminating performance optimizers allows the advertiser to value ads without relying on the support services of the DSP with the added benefit of a broader customer reach and a markedly lower cost. As the focal advertiser disables performance optimizers, any overbidding or underbidding vis-à-vis competition that employs them results in a negative correlation between the numbers of ad impressions won and their underlying quality in real time. Using two large-scale randomized field experiments in different geographies (United States and Asia) and different devices (PC and mobile), we validate the proposed approach and report a positive effect of ad impression count after adjusting for net negative bias. Collapse

Topics: Tencent QQ marketing management online advertising electronic commerce mobile application

Methods: experiment experimental design instrumental variables estimation field experiment regression analysis method

Digital Rule of Thumb: A Natural Experiment on Autocomplete in Search Engines

2022 | International Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Kim, Kitae; Lee, Dongwon; Park, Sunghyuk; Sim, Jaeung

Abstract: Search engines are an essential part of our lives. However, we do not fully und ... Expand

Abstract: Search engines are an essential part of our lives. However, we do not fully understand what affects users' search "inputs." One of the most notable features affecting search inputs is autocomplete, an intelligent agent suggesting queries while typing. Understanding the impact of autocomplete helps eCommerce companies retain customers; examining its impact is difficult since all search engines have adopted it, and experiments are risky for firms. We overcome the challenges by leveraging a novel natural experiment of an eCommerce company. Our preliminary results suggest that the deactivation of autocomplete for the incorrect keyword led to a substantial drop in website visits in the PC channel compared to the mobile channel. In addition, website visits substantially shifted from the incorrect keyword to the correct keyword in the mobile channel but not in the PC environment. This short paper is expected to shed new light on our understanding of autocomplete's impact. Collapse

Topics: search engine mobile channel website user behavior electronic commerce

Methods: longitudinal research difference in differences natural experiment

Introduction to “Digital Transformations of Business Operations” Minitrack

2022 | HICSS | Citations: 0

Authors: Seidmann, Abraham; Jiang, Yabing; Zhang, Jie

Abstract: ... Expand

Abstract: Collapse

Topics: health information system criminality mobile application mobile channel

Methods: hidden Markov model

Adoption and Performance of Mobile Sales Channel for e-Retailers: Fit with M-Retail Characteristics and Dependency on e-Retailing

2021 | Information Systems Frontiers | Citations: 0

Authors: Chou, Yen-Chun; Shao, Benjamin B. M.

Abstract: While the Internet drives the first transition of sales channels from physical s ... Expand

Abstract: While the Internet drives the first transition of sales channels from physical stores to web storefronts, it is mobile devices like smartphones that provide the mobility and ubiquity wired desktop computers lack and that enable the second transition from e-retailing to m-retailing. Unlike the first transition that has been well studied in the literature, the follow-up transition from e-retailing to m-retailing has been under-explored. In this paper, we examine this transition by studying the timing of e-retailers’ initiation of m-retail sales channels (as years of adoption) and the performance of such adoption (as business value). We employ a theoretical contingency framework that classifies firms by the fit between characteristics of merchants and capabilities of the mobile sales channel (i.e., ubiquitous access capability and limited information search capability). We find that firms which sell time critical products and hence benefit from ubiquitous access are inclined to adopt m-retailing early. Interestingly, those firms that adopt early do not necessarily show the greatest values at all times. Instead, the type of performance metrics used matters. Apart from the distinct capabilities of the mobile sales channel, our finding suggests that dependency on existing e-retailing also has a positive effect on a firm’s m-retailing performance. Especially, the influence of e-retailing varies with the fit of a merchant with the mobile sales channel as well as the type of performance metric used. Collapse

Topics: electronic commerce mobile channel mobile business Apple iPhone internet technology

Methods: regression analysis method Wald test F-test product review likelihood-ratio test