Research outline

This dissertation includes three articles in which the influence of MIS on users and user behavior is examined. Overall, the articles investigate both user-beneficial and firm-beneficial behavior while considering psychological processes which are triggered during MIS use.⁴ Thus, the dissertation contributes to answering the questions of whether MIS support the achievement of user and firm goals as well as how MIS drive user behavior. Figure 1 provides an overview of the dissertation’s framework. First, the framework shows that MIS are examined by considering the system design as well as their user perceptions. Second, it displays the consideration of opposing and simultaneously triggered psychological processes and third, the framework incorporates the investigation of user-beneficial as well as firm-beneficial behavior and outcomes.

Article 1 examines the effect of MIS on user-beneficial and firm-beneficial behavior. The article includes two studies which complement each other to investigate the impact of MIS on continued user engagement. More precisely, while the first study examines whether MIS is able to increase user engagement more than non-MIS (i.e., information systems with no game or social network features), the second provides insight into how MIS achieves this effect by focusing on the facilitated user experiences during MIS use. Furthermore, drawing on self-determination theory allows for the consideration of opposing but simultaneously triggered psychological paths that explain the relationship between MIS and engagement. The studies contribute to previous literature by examining continued engagement over several weeks instead of merely focusing on the intention. In this way, the article can overcome the concerns about non-recurring effects and

4 The individual articles do not always refer directly to MIS, but rather to gamified services (Article 2) or self-improvement technologies (Article 3). However, these terms can be combined under the umbrella term MIS and the use of the different terms can be explained by the time of origin and the different positioning of the articles in the existing marketing literature.

Figure 1. Dissertation Framework

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manages to show the diversity of MIS effects by investigating those effects in terms of a user-centered perspective (i.e., facilitated experiences). Hence, the article reveals which MIS-facilitated user experiences trigger the opposing psychological paths and thus, different behavior.

Therefore, the article addresses both questions, whether MIS support the achievement of user and firm goals as well as how MIS do so.

Article 2 focuses on the effect of MIS on firm-beneficial user behavior. Following the service-dominant logic, the article incorporates a value co-creation perspective between firms and users under consideration of the unique characteristics of MIS. In the same vein as Article 1, MIS are investigated in terms of MIS-facilitated user experiences while theoretical tenets of self-determination theory are applied. However, the study not only considers the influence of the individual experiences on user behavior but also their interactions. By focusing on firm-beneficial behavior that reflects customer value (i.e., commitment, willingness to pay, referrals) the article broadens the understanding of MIS’s implications for user behavior. Also, the findings complement the scarce literature on unintended and negative effects of MIS by isolating distinct experiences which lead to those undesirable effects. In sum, this article addresses the question of whether MIS support the achievement of firm goals and how MIS drive user behavior in terms of which MIS-facilitated experiences trigger the different manifestations of firm-beneficial behavior.

Article 3 centers on the influence of MIS on users and user-beneficial behavior. More precisely, it draws on the findings of Article 1 and 2, which show that specific MIS-facilitated user experiences have both negative and positive effects on user behavior. Therefore, this article relates to social interdependence theory to compare two specific MIS structures that facilitate these experiences. Furthermore, based on the achievement goal theory, two studies reveal that both structures trigger two opposing psychological paths which are specific to social interdependence contexts and influence user behavior and outcomes differently. The article is one of the first to

reveal the influence of MIS on user well-being and additionally contributes to transformative service research by showing that subjective and psychological well-being is affected differently by MIS design. Thus, this article addresses the questions of whether MIS support the achievement of user goals as well as how MIS drive user behavior.

Overall, the three articles provide a broad understanding of the impact of MIS on users and user behavior and thus their capability of supporting user and firm goals. While Article 1 focuses on user engagement as a goal of both users and firms, Article 2 concentrates on firm-beneficial behavior and Article 3 on user goals in terms of engagement, performance, and well-being.

Furthermore, each article draws on different theories to elaborate on the unique aspects of each perspective on MIS and their effects on downstream consequences. Table 4 summarizes the research goals, theories, key findings, and contributions of the respective articles.

Table 4. Overview of the articles

Article Research goal Theories Key findings Key contributions

Article 1: The Effects of

• Examining the effects of MIS on actual engagement.

• Comparing the effects of MIS with competitive and

Table 5 gives an overview of the data, sample, and analysis approach of the articles. Common to all articles is that they rely on primary data. Thus, for gathering data to test the conceptual models of the three articles, experiments and surveys have been conducted. First, Article 1 combines a field experiment and a field study. The field experiment offers high internal validity by randomization of treatments, prevention of self-selection, and endogeneity as well as high external validity by accounting for a real-life environment. The field study establishes an even higher external validity by including a variety of MIS users across various contexts. Both studies have been conducted over a four-week period which also increase the reliability and validity of the data.

Second, Article 2 includes a survey which collected data from experienced users of ten MIS across four contexts, leading to high external validity. Last, Article 3 includes an experiment and a field study. The experiment provides high internal validity by randomization, prevention of self-selection, and avoidance of confounding factors. The field study complements the findings by including user data of several MIS across different contexts, leading to high external validity.

Although each study poses different analytical challenges, seemingly unrelated regressions (SUR) could be conducted to test all research models due to the advantages and high flexibility of this approach. SUR accounts for correlated error terms across different equations (Wallace &

Silver, 1988; Zellner, 1962) which is needed in all studies as they include multiple dependent variables which are potentially correlated (e.g., different user and firm goals). Further, it allows estimating direct and indirect effects simultaneously in order to assess mediation effects (i.e., psychological processes; Preacher & Hayes, 2008). Moreover, SUR can account for various distributions in data (e.g., continuous and skewed data) by providing the opportunity to specify different density functions across equations (Cameron & Trivedi, 2013). Therefore, SUR is an appropriate approach to test the research models of the studies with the obtained primary data.

Additionally, various analytical methods were used, such as bootstrapped mediated analysis,

confirmatory factor analysis, and methods to address self-selection. Detailed descriptions of the analysis approaches are provided in the methods and results sections of the studies.

Table 5. Data, sample, and analysis approach of the articles

Article Research

approach Data source Sample size Contexts Validity Further analytical considerations Article 1: The Effects of

External • Tau-equivalent reliability test

• Confirmatory factor analysis