Christian V. Baccarella

ORGANISATIONAL AND INDIVIDUAL UNLEARNING IN IDENTIFICATION AND EVALUATION OF TECHNOLOGIES

The ability of an organisation to recognise and evaluate technologically relevant information can be impeded by outdated processes, structures and knowledge. Organisations need therefore a capacity for “intended memory loss”, which has been labelled as unlearning. Although a number of scholars have examined unlearning, research is still only beginning to understand unlearning especially in the area of technology identification and evaluation. The goal of this study is therefore to examine unlearning on an organisational and individual level in this context. Unlearning on an organisational level comprises team composition strategies and directives as well as the implementation of unlearning mechanisms. On an individual level, unlearning highlights cognitive prototypes which exert an influence on the perception of technologies and their evaluation. A qualitative approach has been chosen to examine those aspects, in which technological gatekeepers serve as sample subjects. Technological gatekeepers take a crucial role in the technology identification and evaluation as decision makers and due to their influence on organisational structures and processes. The results of this study suggest that unlearning plays currently only a minor role on an organisational and individual level, which is mainly caused by existing rigidities and in the missing understanding of the necessity to unlearn.

Cruel Intentions? – The Role of Moral Awareness, Moral Disengagement, and Regulatory Focus in the Unethical Use of Social Media by Entrepreneurs

Unethical behavior of entrepreneurs in the use of social media can have detrimental effects, both for the own entrepreneurial firm and also on competitors. In order to understand why entrepreneurs show unethical behavior a conceptual framework is developed in this paper, linking motives for financial gains, moral awareness, moral disengagement, and the tendency to make unethical decisions in the use of social media. This paper offers therewith insights into the cognitive processes of entrepreneurial decision-makers with respect to moral reasoning and ethical decision-making.

PARTICIPATION MOTIVES, MORAL DISENGAGEMENT, AND UNETHICAL BEHAVIOUR IN IDEA COMPETITIONS

Idea competitions are becoming increasingly used as a resource for supporting the front end and downstream acceleration of innovation. But unethical behaviour of participants in such competitions can be detrimental, both for the organiser and for the motivation of the participating community. We assume that unethical behaviour can be explained by examining personal motives for participation and their influence on moral disengagement (MD) in which people are able to disengage from the self-regulatory process that normally impedes individuals from acting in a way inconsistent with their own moral standards. We hypothesise that monetary motives as representative for extrinsic motives for participation are positively related to MD while hedonic motives as representative of intrinsic motives are negatively related to MD. Our findings offer support for the positive relationship between MD and the tendency to make unethical decisions. Moreover, our results confirm a negative relationship between hedonic benefits and unethical behaviour. In addition, MD mediates the relationship between participants’ motivation for hedonic benefits and the tendency to make unethical decisions.

This Is How We Do It: Untangling Patterns of Super Successful Social Media Activities

Online social media plays an important role in the marketing communications mix of many companies. Thus, scholars have recently tried to uncover patterns that have a positive impact on the effectiveness of social media communication, predominantly focusing on message characteristics. Although a lot of valuable insights have been generated, it remains unclear what the drivers of ‘super successful posts’ (SSP) are. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to reveal why a very small proportion of social media posts significantly outperform the majority of other posts. For this purpose, we employed case evidence from the automotive industry and collected 2,000 Facebook posts. In regard to the numbers of likes, comments, and shares, the 20 most successful posts each were selected. After removing the duplicates, a final sample of 42 SSP remained. With an explorative multi-level approach, including two focus group sessions, an in-depth analysis was conducted for every post. Aiming to capture a comprehensive picture, we also investigated the context of each post beyond the online environment. With our analysis, we reveal five typical patterns of social media excellence (co-branding, wow effect, cognitive task, timing, and campaign). In addition, we further elaborate on four selected SSP to enhance the understanding of underlying mechanisms. Among other things, our findings encourage practitioners to employ a broader view when planning social media posts. Thus, the understanding about the five patterns of SSP may support practitioners in enhancing the popularity of their future posts.

Communicating technological innovations: The role of technical complexity and product involvement

Purpose Consumers’ perceptions of new technologies are vital for the adoption of innovations. However, due to the complexity of technological innovations and associated consumer concerns, marketing communications play a crucial role in shaping attitudes. In this context, the level of technical complexity presented in advertisements can be a critical determinant of communication effectiveness. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach By conducting an experiment in the context of plug-in hybrid electric cars, this study examines the impact of technical complexity on communication effectiveness. The authors also include consumers’ product involvement as a potential moderator of this relationship. Findings This paper reveals that individuals with low product involvement respond more favourably to technically simple ads. However, medium-involved consumers show the best responses towards ads with a high level of technical complexity. Interestingly, the authors could not find significant attitude differences for high-involvement individuals in terms of the level of technical complexity. Practical implications The results support the notion that the advice “keep it short and simple” is not always appropriate. In particular, when marketers want to communicate technological innovations, a more complex presentation can provoke positive reactions, when the audience has at least a medium level of product involvement. Originality/value There is little evidence concerning how technical complexity within marketing communications affects consumer attitudes. This study significantly contributes to the understanding of how advertisements of technological innovations are perceived by consumers.

Technology Adoption with Reference to Embedded Systems

Embedded Systems (ES) are information processing systems consisting of a hybrid combination of hardware and software components integrated into a technical environment. Controlling, regulating and monitoring a system under real-time requirements to achieve efficiency, reliability and specificity is their primary object. The employment of ES in a wide-ranging application field, e.g. automotive, aviation, telecommunications as well as machinery and plant engineering, underlines their essential technological importance. Enterprises operating in such a competitive high tech market have to cope with the establishment of new technologies to gain and maintain competitive advantage. This is principally related to two main tasks: the adoption and diffusion of new technologies. Consequently, our paper analyses the process of how new technologies are approved and rejected in companies operating within an ES-oriented environment. The research method chosen for our study are semistructured interviews which have been conducted with 48 experts from several industries in the European Metropolitan Area of Nuremberg (EMN), Germany. The compiled data has been subject to a qualitative content analysis, which is an appropriate method to extract relevant information from text material following a predefined scheme. The results show that technology adoption as well as diffusion play an important role for ES-oriented enterprises. Regarding information diffusion, seven methods constituting both onand offline channels are employed. Moreover, it is significantly influenced by persons, networks, suppliers and customers, whereas conflicts between individuals, contrary to theory, play a minor role. In addition, there exists a range of eleven different reasons for technology rejection, e.g. costs, own developments and a missing customer value. The findings of this study are highly relevant for the analysis of technology adoption processes as part of innovation, technology and knowledge management which are critical for being competitively successful in a high tech market. This study concerning technology adoption with reference to ES serves as a basis to further analyse the transformation of ES-technologies into marketable products and/or services, all associated management decisions as well as the transferability of our results to other technological fields. Keywords—Embedded Systems, Technology adoption, Technology diffusion, Qualitative content analysis, Technology and knowledge management, Innovation management C. Arnold, D. Kiel, C. Baccarella, K.-I. Voigt, D. Hoffmann Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nurnberg (FAU) Industrial Management Germany I. Problem outline Globalisation and subsequent increase of competition, innovation in telecommunications, increasing and changing customer expectations as well as technological changes are revolutionising markets [1][2][3][4]. Among others, these factors trigger new technological developments in companies serving as a basis for competitiveness and competitive advantage [5]. Consequently, the implementation of new developments is crucial for the long term continuity and strategic orientation of a company [6]. When it comes to technological change, Embedded Systems (ES) play an important role. The ES market experiences steady growth and is considered to be the most important application area of information and communication technology in the upcoming years. Its global volume is estimated at 60 billion euros, in other words about 100 times the desktop market [7][8][9]. ES are “information processing systems embedded into enclosing products” [10], i.e. microcontrollers to monitor, control or assist the operation of equipment, machinery or plant [11]. By this means, they interact either directly with their environment via communication devices or indirectly via sensors that capture data such as temperature or movement, as well as with actors that transform those data into action [7]. The number of ES integrated in a product varies from at least one to ten in simple consumer products to several hundreds in complex professional systems so that an average household utilises easily 50 ES [8]. Their importance manifests in a considerably increasing number of fields of technological applications, e.g. automotive, electronics, avionics, railways, telecommunications, health sector, security, consumer electronics, fabrication equipment, smart buildings, logistics, robotics and military applications [9]. To give a concrete example, airbags, braking systems or power locks are nowadays inconceivable without ES [7]. In the following section, the theoretical basis concerning the adoption of technologies, the diffusion of knowledge and information as well as reasons for the rejection of technologies is provided as well as the research questions are derived. After that, the methodology applied, i.e. expert interviews and qualitative content analysis, is outlined. It is followed by the constitution of the (ES-specific) empirical findings in terms of methods and the influence of persons, networks, suppliers, customers and conflicts with reference to knowledge spreading as well as reasons for the rejection of novel ES. Finally, the paper is topped off with concluding statements.

Advertising for high-technology products in the product launch phase - a content-analysis

Marketing activities during the phase of product launch have an effect on the success of new products. This is especially important in a high-technology context, since customers face high risk when purchasing these products. This uncertainty can be reduced with the right marketing strategy. One part of this marketing strategy includes the usage of print advertisements, where the choice of information content given in these advertisements is crucial. This work compares advertisements of high-technology products in the launch phase and later product life cycle phases on basis of a content-analysis of 110 advertisements of the German consumer electronics market. The results show that adverts for products in the launch phase follow a functional marketing strategy. In comparison to established products, they are more informative and have more often a rational appeal. Furthermore, these adverts more often refer to the incorporated technology and stress the technological superiority.