This study explores officials’ perspectives on Swedish policies for rural digital transformation (RDT). Through the lens of Social Acceleration and systems thinking, employing Critical Systems ...Heuristics collecting empirical data, we explore how officials perceive that Swedish digitalisation policies impacts inclusive RDT. We investigate whether the possibility to implement Swedish digitalisation policies support or hinder inclusive RDT. Our results emphasize the importance of Social Acceleration based on the aspirations of rural residents, encompassing technical acceleration, social change, and the pace of life. The rapid societal acceleration driven by digitalisation impacts the implementation of digital services in rural areas. Policies do not address the needs of tailored digital services; officials strive to manage this through creative methods despite inherent challenges.
Digital transformation (DT) has received increasing attention in recent years. Up until now, most of the current studies focus on digital transformation in advanced and dense societies, especially ...urban areas and technologies. Hence, the phenomenon of DT is under-researched in the context of rural and sparsely populated contexts. This study aims at exploring how a rural living lab (RLL) can be shaped and how this approach can be designed to support digital transformation processes in rural contexts. In so doing, following a design science research methodology (DSRM) approach, we have made an artefact (that is, RLL framework) that is an instantiation that supports user centric digitalization of rural areas. The designed framework is developed based on the key components of traditional and urban living labs, as well as empirical data which was collected within the context of the DigiBy project. The DigiBy project aims at conducting DT pilots in rural areas to elevate peoples understanding of digitalization and the application of digitalization opportunities for service development in rural areas in the north of Sweden. As a result of these studies, five key components that guide the design of digital transformation pilots in rural areas emerged, namely: 1) rural context, 2) digitalization, 3) governance, control, and business mode, 4) methods facilitating DT processes, and 5) quintuple helix actors. We also offer an empirically derived definition of the rural living lab concept, followed by avenues for future research.
This research investigates user awareness and attitudes toward potential inferences of information posted on social network sites (SNSs). The study reports how user attitudes change after exposure to ...inferences made based upon information they have disclosed on an SNS, namely, on Facebook. To demonstrate this, two sub-studies involving three focus group sessions were conducted with Facebook users. In the first sub-study, the users received a general introduction to information that can be inferred from posts by using a prototypical privacy-enhancement tool called DataBait. Then, the second sub-study allowed the users to witness the potential inferences of their own Facebook photos and posts by using the DataBait tool. Next, qualitative content analysis was conducted to analyze the results, and these showed that the participants’ attitudes toward privacy on SNSs changed from affective to cognitive when they became aware of potential inferences from actual information posted on their own Facebook accounts. The results imply that end users require more cognitive awareness regarding their genres of disclosure and the effect of their disclosures on their privacy. Moreover, as privacy awareness is contextual, there is a need for more research and development of online tools that will allow users to manage and educate themselves.
The concept of Living Labs (LLs) has evolved to support the creation of experience‐based development of innovations in real‐life, user‐driven and open environments. Two types of consumer product ...tests used generally are central location tests (CLT) and home use tests (HUT) where the acceptability or liking of a product or group of products is determined together with the view of whether one product is preferred over other products. This article explores the similarities and differences between CLT and HUT test results in a LL context. In both settings, the acceptance of five flavoured chocolate bars was evaluated for appearance, odour, taste/flavour, texture and overall liking. Apart from the mean values of liking in the two tests, data were analysed to identify consumer segments. Qualitative data were also collected by asking for consumer comments on the tested samples. The results show that independent of test method the bars were evaluated equally and all accepted by the consumers. A clear difference between CLT and HUT testing was that CLT consumers significantly differed from the HUT consumers, giving the test samples lower scores. For example, the mean values of the overall acceptance scores given by HUT consumers varied between 6.0 and 6.6, while for CLT consumers the corresponding values varied from 5.4 to 5.9. Another difference was the number of comments from consumers. CLT consumers richly commented on the products in a verbose way, while HUT consumers used the opportunity to comment very sparingly. Considering the cluster analysis as yet another difference between the testing methods, clusters from the CLT were more distinct and the number was higher with five clusters in CLT and four in HUT. Clusters where consumers liked all the products in both test settings were twice as many for HUT than in CLT. Applying the LL approach, there is a need for methods and approaches that capture a rich picture of consumers during test performance without being intrusive or obstructive of activities and context. The approach offers the opportunity for companies to have consumers not only test products but also offer input that can stimulate new innovations and give consumers more power and influence.
The pervasive connectivity of devices enabled by Internet of Things (IoT) technologies is leading the way in various innovative services and applications. This increasing connectivity comes with its ...own complexity. Thus, large scale pilots (LSPs) are designed to develop, test and use IoT innovations in various domains in conditions very similar to their operational scalable setting. One of the key challenges facing the diffusion of such innovations within the course of an LSP is understanding the conditions in which their respective users decide to adopt them (or not). Accordingly, in this study we explore IoT adoption barriers in four LSPs in Europe from the following domains: smart cities, autonomous driving, wearables and smart agriculture and farming. By applying Roger’s Diffusion of Innovation as a theoretical lens and using empirical data from workshops and expert interviews, we identify a set of common and domain specific adoption barriers. Our results reveal that trust, cost, perceived value, privacy and security are common concerns, yet shape differently across domains. In order to overcome various barriers, the relative advantage or value of using the innovation needs to be clearly communicated and related to the users’ situational use; while this value can be economic in some domains, it is more hedonic in others. LSPs were particularly challenged in applying established strategies to overcome some of those barriers (e.g., co-creation with end-users) due to the immaturity of the technology as well as the scale of pilots. Accordingly, we reflect on the theoretical choice in the discussion as well as the implications of this study on research and practice. We conclude with providing practical recommendations to LSPs and avenues for future research.
The relationship between big data analytics (BDA) and smart cities (SCs) has been addressed in several articles. However, few articles have investigated the influence of exploiting BDA in data-driven ...decision-making from an empirical perspective in a case study context. Accordingly, we aim to tackle this scarcity of case-study research addressing the interrelationships between SCs, BDA, and decision-making. Filling this gap will shed light on the challenges and design principles that should be considered in designing a BDA artifact in the domain of smart cities. We analyze a case study of a digital transformation project in Egypt. Results show a tangible positive effect of utilizing data analytics in support of the decision-making process.
The need to innovate is increasingly important for all types and sizes of organisations, but the opportunities for innovation differ substantially between them. For micro-, small,- and medium-sized ...enterprises, innovation activities are both crucial and demanding because of limited resources, competencies, or vision to innovate their offerings. To support these organizations, the concept of living labs as a service has started to emerge. This concept refers to living labs offering services such as designing the idea-generation processes, planning or carrying out real-world tests of innovations, and pre-market launch assessments. In this article, we will present the findings from a study of micro-enterprises operating in the information technology development sector, including the experienced value of services provided to the companies by a research-based living lab. We share experiences from our own living lab, Botnia living lab located in the northern parts of Sweden, where the endeavour to create value for customers is of key importance. Our study shows that using a living lab as a service can generate three different types of value: improved innovations, the role the living lab can play, and the support the living lab offers.
The aim of this article is to critically situate co-production methods such as that of the urban living lab within contemporary planning theory and in particular to the ideas of 'agonistic planning' ...and the 'trading zone'. By critically review relevant literature and discussing the results of an ongoing interdisciplinary project, we will show a number of potentials and issues when translating the urban living lab idea to planning contexts. Potentially our urban living labs have opened up opportunities for local planners to discuss controversial issues by using the idea of nature based solution as a boundary-object/trading-zone. On the other hand, planners' positivistic and incremental understanding of city making hinders a transformative understanding of the urban living lab and nature based solution in favour of more fashionable technological fixes.
In today's ongoing urbanization and escalating climate change, there is an increasing demand on cities to be innovative and inclusive to handle these emerging issues. As an answer to these ...challenges, and in order to generate and adopt sustainable innovations and naturebased solutions in the urban areas, the concept of urban living labs has emerged. However, to date, there is confusion concerning the concept of the urban living lab and its key components. Some interpret the urban living lab as an approach, others as a single project, and some as a specific place - and some just do not know. In order to unravel this complexity and better understand this concept, we sought to identify the key components of an urban living lab by discussing the perspective of city representatives in the context of an urban living lab project. To achieve this goal, we reviewed previous literature on this topic and carried out two workshops with city representatives, followed by an open-ended questionnaire. In this article, we identify and discuss seven key components of an urban living lab: governance and management structure; financing models; urban context; nature-based solutions; partners and users (including citizens); approach; and ICT and infrastructure. We also offer an empirically derived definition of the urban living lab concept.
The opening up of public sector data has provided a new data resource for the citizens. However, the use of open data and its consequent societal value has proved not to be as extensive as initially ...hoped for, although multiple innovations have emerged; rather it is still considered problematic, and knowledge about open data use is scarce. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to clarify open data use and engagement by people outside the public sector, especially what motives exists and how different user types align to these motives. To achieve this, a document analysis has been carried out of reported use cases identified in EU topic reports between 2014 and 2016. By applying the theory of Relevant Social Groups (RSG), which focuses on the people's interpretation of the purpose with the technology, we identified five RSGs representing overall motives for open data use: 1) Exploring for creativity, 2) Creating business value, 3) Enabling local citizen value, 4) Addressing global societal challenges, and 5) Advocating the open data agenda. We also discuss differences between the relevant social groups and the included user types, issues and implications for understanding the evolvement of the open data field, and suggests research ahead.
•Five relevant social groups for open data use and engagement was identified.•The use of open data is seen to be highly heterogeneous and to cut across sectors.•Four metadirections for the evolvement of open data was identified and discussed.•Multiple forms of participation and engagement for the public task was seen.•Problem contextualization can potentially lead to more innovative open data use.
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