Elizabeth Fife

Field Research Methods

Our field research consisted interviews with 12 companies known for their innovativeness and four case studies.

The Privacy Calculus: Mobile Apps and User Perceptions of Privacy and Security

A continuing stream of new mobile data services are being released that rely upon the collection of personal data to support a business model. New technologies including facial recognition, sensors and Near Field Communications (NFC) will increasingly become a part of everyday services and applications that challenge traditional concepts of individual privacy. The average person as well as the “tech-savvy” mobile phone user may not yet be fully aware of the extent to which their privacy and security are being affected through their mobile activities and how comparable this situation is to personal computer usage. We investigate perceptions and usage of mobile data services that appear to have specific privacy and security sensitivities, specifically social networking, banking/payments and health-related activities. Our annual survey of smartphone users in the U.S. and Japan is presented from 2011. This nationally representative survey data is used to show demographic and cultural differences, and substantiate our hypotheses about the links between use and privacy concerns.

Digital home health and mHealth: Prospects and challenges for adoption in the U.S

The burgeoning costs of healthcare and growth in consumer use of the Internet to attain health-related information to better manage their health-care, coupled with demographic changes in the industrialized countries, strongly argues for the use of tele-health applications that can lower costs and improve the quality of healthcare delivery. Despite its potential, telehealth and digital home-health, has not progressed as rapidly as anticipated, and there are very few deployments to date. Much discussion has focused on the technology challenges associated with mobile healthcare. This paper however also explores the social, regulatory, and market forces that will affect adoption of mobile telehealth. Using the VISOR business model framework, we examine the value proposition of telehealth and adoption factors. We find that while the value proposition for mobile healthcare is substantial, significant obstacles in the organizational structures and service platforms exist which must be addressed to accelerate adoption in the U.S.

The Diffusion of Mobile Data Services in the United States and Korea

This paper examines the adoption of mobile data services in the United States and Korea. We use the Global Acceptance of Technology model to analyze consumer behavior according to cultural and socio- demographic factors, mediated by the influence of technology-related factors. Using primary data collected from a recent survey of U.S. and Korean users, we find that higher rates of usage for a variety of mobile data services in Korea compared to usage in the United States can be partially explained by social and cultural differences between the two countries. Interestingly, despite identifiable differences in cultural and social norms we find many similarities in perceptions and preferences for mobile data services in the two markets. From this data we also analyze willingness to pay for mobile data services and again find marked similarities between U.S. and Korean consumers.

Activating the Tools of Social Media for Innovative Collaboration in the Enterprise

The use of social media tools in the enterprise is expanding rapidly and yet, firms are still unclear about the overall value of this activity and how best to facilitate useful outcomes. The focus of this book is, from a managerial standpoint, the control of information, the extent to which such tools can enhance employee satisfaction and how best to use social media tools to attain specific outcomes including innovative collaboration. As companies turn to IT solutions as substitutes for face-to-face engagements, an understanding of the social dynamics how employees can best communicate, find and use information and generate motivation through computer-mediated activities is fundamental. Lingering questions relate to the strategic use of these tools; many large companies are using Facebook-like applications due to employee demand, but are not studying outcomes comprehensively or managing processes to create desired outcomes. This book fills this knowledge gap through examining the process and results of a controlled study in two companies, one in the US and the other in China. In each company wiki challenges were introduced to employees who were provided guidelines to produce goal-oriented outcomes. The bookexamine the results in each case and suggest guidelines for firms to achieve wiki-readiness to support innovation and co-creation.

A study of the loyalty-building process for Mobile Data Service usage in Korea

This paper examines the elements that support customer loyalty for Mobile Data Service (MDS) use in Korea, namely customer assessment of specific services and attachment to the mobile handset device. The first part of our study employs the model of Customer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE) to understand the influence of rational and emotional assessment in the loyalty-building process. Next, brand attachment theory is used to investigate the influence of personal and social attachment to the mobile handset and augment our understanding of the MDS loyalty-building process. Using survey data collected in Korea and the USA, this study provides several interesting strategic implications not only for Korean telecom companies that are dealing with subscriber churn issues, but also for foreign counterparts seeking to compete in Korean markets.

Introduction: Background Literature Review

Wikis are defined as “collaboratively created and iteratively improved set of web pages” (Wagner 2004). Wiki technology allows multiple people to work on the same document without overwriting each other’s changes, and has the advantage of keeping track of each person’s contributions.

Tools for Use of Social Media for Collaborative Innovation

Based on our eight findings, we developed two tools intended to help companies considering the use of social media for collaborative innovation within their firms.

Content Analysis of Mobile Applications from the Top 100 Global Brands

Across multiple sectors firms are developing a variety of mobile applications for smart phones. Well-developed mobile applications have the potential to help companies build and maintain deeper relationships with consumers. We conducted content analysis of the mobile applications provided by some of the top 100 global brands to examine the overall current trend of mobile applications in terms of content and presentation.