Class Activity: Gamification and the Online Retail Experience

Saturday, August 1, 2020

Class Activity: Gamification and the Online Retail Experience

While Online shopping and retailing has become more popular over the years, retailers barely pay attention to how customer experiences are created and  managed. Converting from a brick and mortar store to an online business definitely comes with its own challenges most especially handling the customer experience journey.

This is why online retailers have attempted to incorporate gamification into the online shopping experience. Gamification can be defined as applying game design principles in non gaming contexts. Social networks and brands like Facebook, twitter, linkedin etc have employed these methods to keep their community engaged and also make them come back for more which is what every online retailing business needs. (Insley and Nunan, 2013). 

For example in the fashion retail industry, business owners are faced with the challenge of giving online customers that experiential feel of trying on the clothes when they go to the store (Hansen and Jensen, 2009) where they are able to feel the fabric, test product fit and quality  and have an overall sensory experience.  This goes to show that it’s harder to convert to sales online than in the store therefore other processes have to be adopted to make shoppers more interested in buying products online. 

The question of how games can be incorporated into the online shopping experience still remains prominent. (Insley and Nunan, 2013) In their paper on Gamification and the online retail experience give a few examples of online retailers that are incorporating gamification into their online shopping experience to further engage customers. ASOS, Fashionova  and other online fashion retailers use gaming processes like online flash sales, pinterest games, early bird sales and discounts. For my fashion brand, I incorporate the gaming experience into the social network Instagram where we do Instagram live giveaways and competitions. 

All the above processes suggest that the gamification process has been introduced into the online retail industry as another form of promotional content done to only push sales without carrying the customer along through the journey that is why (Roger Callois , 1959) in his study of games identifies that for the games to be implemented in the online retail sector,  people must play it out of choice and not out of necessity (cited in Insley and Nunan, 2013). This way it doesn’t seem forced and the role of the consumer in creating and adapting games is not missed. The  whole idea is that consumers have to feel like they are having fun as they would if they were playing regular games while shopping. 

Conclusion

A study conducted by (Insley and Nunan, 2013) show that  there has been criticism against the use of gamification in the online retail industry. First is that it is some sort of manipulation process to generate sales (Gopaladesikan, 2013), another is that it is a digital snake oil that makes little to no difference in the online shopping experience.(Robertson, 2010) While I agree with these critics, it doesn't take away the fact that it’s still a fun experience to incorporate into the customer journey. However other methods such as 3D modelling of clothes, 3D videos of the clothes and fabric can be incorporated together with the gamification process to give the customer a wholesome shopping experience.

References

Gopaladesikan, S., 2013. Where does gambling fit in gamification: legal issues and a success story.

Insley, V. and Nunan, D. (2014). Gamification and the online retail experience. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 42(5), pp.340–351.

Robson, K., Plangger, K., Kietzmann, J.H., McCarthy, I. and Pitt, L. (2015). Is it all a game? Understanding the principles of gamification. Business Horizons, [online] 58(4), pp.411–420. Available at: https://beedie.sfu.ca/sms/admin/_DocLibrary/_ic/61976d8138b1836b54c39934144147da.pdf [Accessed 19 Jan. 2019].

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Evidence of Class Contribution

Friday, July 31, 2020

Evidence of Class Contribution

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Marketing Information System (A BANKING SYSTEM CASE STUDY)

Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Marketing Information System (A BANKING SYSTEM CASE STUDY)

A Marketing Information system (MkIS) is a branch of Management information system used to make marketing decisions and strategies for the business. It was also first defined by (Cox and Good, 1967) as a set of procedures and methods for the regular planned analysis and presentation of information for use in the making of marketing decisions. In the past, traditional marketing methods were carried out through billboards, newspapers, radios and television and the data with the number of converted leads or the ads that converted to sales could not be properly collected.

However in the age of information technology and digital marketing, a lot of things have changed and the processes have become more seamless. Brienn and Stafford recognised the impact of MkIS on the marketing department and how they are now able to make informed decisions and strategies based on information that the MkIS provides. ( cited in Colgate, 1998)

Marketing Information systems can be used in various organizations and industries; in this paper, the focus will be on the financial and banking industry. 

The use of information systems in the banking industry spreads wide across different platforms like the automated teller machine (ATM), Mobile banking apps, Point of Sale Machines (POS) Online payment platforms, SMS, USSD etc. These are more convenient options for customers rather than having to go to the bank to perform these transactions. 

A Typical Marketing Information System Chart 

Source: (Colgate, 1998)

Benefits of Marketing Information system in the financial industry include: 

-A Strong Customer database. (Radding 1989), revealed in his analysis that relationship banking without customer bases, is relatively impossible. The information provided in customer databases is used to form stronger ties with them. 

-It provides Competitive Advantage as the more information gathered by the banks on their customers, the more difficult it is for them to be poached by new entrant banks. 

- And MkIS  can also Reduce The Risk  involved in operating a banking system. The client database collects all necessary information related to a client therefore in the case where any client has to take a loan from the bank, information provided by MkIS can predict if they are likely to default on the loan or not. 

MkIs has been widely accepted by users worldwide especially in developed countries generally because it is an easier and more timely process of banking.  The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) seeks to clarify user intentions to use an IS and consequent usage behavior. The theory proposes that four key factors (performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions) are direct determinants of usage behavior. This model helps managers to measure the chance of success of a new technology and assists them to recognise what drives the success and acceptance and use the strategies that have been used on people who've accepted in converting those that were less receptive (Halawi and Mccarthy, 2006). 

However the fact that the marketing methods that work for developed countries don't necessarily work for those in the developing countries or rural areas of the developed countries, it goes to show that this model is somewhat faulty. 

The data gathered on performance or social influence  of a new technology say ATMs in a developed country cannot inform the strategies and decisions that will be made in the case of underdeveloped areas. However, the data gathered, if tailored towards what will suit the target audience in question might end up being useful. 

For example data will show that people in developed areas are more open to MkIS processes because they are more exposed (Colgate, 1998). This data can be used to start an awareness program in the underdeveloped areas first before going ahead to install  an ATM.

Another example is the use of ATM cards to make purchases online; while in developed areas, people will glady shop online from the comfort of their homes, those in underdeveloped areas will rather go to the store, see what they are paying for, before they exchange cash for the product. This is due to lack of adequate information about the firewalls that have been built to prevent fraudulent activities for card users. 

Therefore another model like the two factor theory adapted from Herzberg’s two factor theory of motivation (Herzberg, 1987) which has recently emerged in Information system research (Park and Ryoo, 2013) because of its ability to characterize factors such as enablers and inhibitors to the use of Information system methods by end users can be used to analyze the different groups of people that banks and the financial industry caters to. This will help to understand the MkIs methods that work for each group of people. 

In conclusion, it can be said that most successful banking systems are the ones that had greater responsibility in marketing activities, implemented proper MkIS processes and had the resources to invest in it both in developed and developing areas.  

References 

Colgate, Mark. “Creating Sustainable Competitive Advantage through Marketing Information System Technology: A Triangulation Methodology within the Banking Industry.” International Journal of Bank Marketing, vol. 16, no. 2, Apr. 1998, pp. 80–89, 10.1108/02652329810206734. Accessed 29 Apr. 2019.

Cox, D.F. and Good, R.E., 1967. How to build a marketing information system. Harvard Business Review, 45(3), pp.145-154.

Halawi, L, and R Mccarthy. “Which Theory Applies: An Analysis of Information Systems Research.” Issues in Information Systems, vol. 7, no. 2, 2006, commons.erau.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1360&context=publication#:~:text=The%20significant%20information%20systems%20theories.

‌Park, S.C. and Ryoo, S.Y., 2013. An empirical investigation of end-users’ switching toward cloud computing: A two factor theory perspective. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(1), pp.160-170.

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"What The Paper Says" Critique

Saturday, July 25, 2020

"What The Paper Says" Critique

Paper Title: An empirical investigation of end-users’ switching toward cloud computing: A two factor theory perspective      

Authors: Sang Cheol Park, Sung Yul Roo

              

Your Summary of the Content of Paper:

This paper compares traditional IT methods to modern cloud computing. It also discusses what promotes switching to cloud computing and what prevents it among users.  This paper engages a study that involves analyzing data gathered from two different groups of university students in Korea in the context of them using Google Apps.  This paper is based on a study that finds that the students were more willing to switch because of the ease of using cloud services and the fact that it can be used anytime and anywhere. However the other group were reluctant because of the costs and probably because the use of the cloud requires internet connection.  The Paper also shows that in the end users choose to switch or not based on their level of personal innovativeness.

A: Quality of the Research

Item	Your Comments (expand the answers beyond the yes/no with examples, comments and references as needed)
1. Is the research question or objective clearly stated?	Yes it is, there are two main objectives for this research;first it looks at the antecedents of what enables users to switch to cloud computing and the second objective looks into the impact of these motivating factors and the barriers from the end users perspective.   This study was carried out with the main aim of discovering a model that addresses what inhibits end users from switching to modern IT services as a lot of literature and models like the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and the Technology Acceptance Model have addressed what motivates users to adopt and switch behaviour towards IT services.
2. Is the research question interesting and important?	Yes the research question is important because knowing what deters users from switching to modern IT services is very key as cloud computing and IT is the future, it's important to convert as many end users as possible.
3. Is the work original?	The work is original. It engages a survey that was conducted by the researchers on a group of university students in Kenya
4. Is the background research clear and relevant?	The background research of this paper is based on observations and insights from the IT usage and consumer switching literature.  A background research was carried out on cloud computing which refers to services delivered over the internet and the hardware and software in the data center that provide those services. (Rayport and Heyward, 2009). Since this paper is about exploring what motivates and inhibits end users from using cloud services, the researchers eliminated the use of Iaas (Infrastructure as service) and PaaS (Platform as Service) from conducting this research because they are enterprise level services and were not ideal for this study. However they settled for cloud services generally referred to as SaaS (Software as Service). Cloud services which are more efficient and facilitates seamless access to digital services regardless of time and location is an easier way to deploy information technology as opposed to traditional IT which traps users information in a restricted set of devices which affects user productivity.  Despite the advantages of Cloud computing or SaaS, there are still people that are reluctant to convert from traditional methods which is why this research has come about. To understand why individuals will go for cloud services and why they won’t.  They went further to explore what user experience is like after making the switch to cloud computing. (Ye, Seo, Desouza and Jha, 2008). They explored continuance behaviour and if what an individual has been exposed to prior to using cloud computing influences their choice to continue using it  A table is used to bring the purpose of the study into perspective. This table shows that end users appear ro switch to cloud computing because of enabling factors )e.g expectation of new substitute products and services) and it can they can also decline because of inhibiting factors such as (prior usage on incumbent product and services) This is a very detailed background research as it’s all encompassing and shows that the need for the study is widely needed and relevant. It brings up the need to understand end user behaviour using models such as the two factor theory which will explain motivation to switch and other models to explain why they don’t.
5. Are there any ethical problems?

B: The Research Method

Item	Your Comments
Summarise the research method	The two factor theory provides the theoretical structure for this research. The Two factor theory adapted from Herzberg’s two-factor theory of motivation was used in this Information System research.
Does the research method seem appropriate for the research question?	One might ask what a motivation theory has to do with the Information system but from the topic it is clear that the writers of this paper are trying to figure out what motivates end users to adopt information technology therefore a motivation theory is an appropriate background for this research.  The two factor theory has been used to characterize user’s intentions both enablers and inhibitors, positive and negative reactions, trust and distrust. (Diener , Smith and Fujita , 1995) In the context of Information system, enablers refer to  This explains  why the two factor theory has been used as the background research for this paper and it seems appropriate for the research question.
Are the methods adequately described?	The writers attempt to carefully explain the factors that have been used to categorise switching enablers which include the fact that it can be used anywhere by anyone at any time  and inhibitors which include satisfaction with and breadth of use of incumbent IT. However, there are more factors that can enable or inhibit the use of IT which includes access to internet, financial capability, location of the end user and level of computer literacy
Were the analyses done correctly?	The analysis was done correctly. It passed through three stages. The first was the descriptive analysis of the data set as seen in Table 3. The second stage focused on testing the psychometric properties for the measurements scales while the third stage focused on testing the hypothesis and analysing the model. This was all done using the PLS 2.0 software. All the conditions for were satisfied by the data provided based on the work of (Fornell & Larcker, 1981).
Are the conclusions supported by the data?	Yes the conclusion that …… is supported and deduced from data gotten from a survey carried out on undergraduate students in Korea. The participants were asked to experiment on google apps for tasks related to their academic work. The initial sample size was 223 respondents which was later narrowed down to a total of 188 survey respondents who met the threshold of people who have already been exposed to google apps (a.k.a personal innovativeness) . The data analysis was done in three stages. The first stage involved, a descriptive analysis of the data, followed by testing the psychometric properties and the cycle ended with testing the hypothesis. The data was analysed with PLS 2.0 software as indicated in the paper. This analysis led to the conclusion that the key switching enablers are omnipresence and collaboration support while switching inhibitors are the satisfaction with incumbent IT and breadth use of incumbent IT. And the role of personal innovativeness which is the main anchor of the sample size showed that this is the major motivating factor to switch to cloud services. Which is a sensible conclusion because personally and from experience, I agree that it is my level of innovativeness that pushes me to try out new applications, software and technology in general. It simply translates to the everyday life of any technology user.

C: Quality of Presentation

Item	Your Comments
Is the work well presented?	Overall the work is well presented, the abstract excellently captures the content of the paper and its very straightforward and easy to understand.
Is the paper well structured?	The paper is well structured. A concise introduction is followed by a review of existing literature and a critical analysis as to why this topic needs to be discussed. This follows the theory and model which this entire study is based upon. This is followed by the actual research model and methods and the data gathered from the research is analyzed. I specifically like that tables were used to explain data. This gives a clearer picture. The paper concludes very well the implication of the research on actual practice which is very important for cloud computing service providers as it explains the factors that they can use to promote the use of cloud services among individuals and the strategies to avoid.
Are symbols, terms, and concepts adequately defined?	I think it’s brilliant that an appendix is provided at the end of the paper to define all the symbols, terms and concepts that were used within the paper.
Would additional tables, figures help to clarify the work?	The tables are adequate Table 1 breaks down the types of cloud computing services and defines some terms that are used in the introduction of this paper. Table 2 breaks down previous switching theories which clarifies and explains why the two factor theory has been chosen as the main focus of this research. Table 3 introduces the reader to the data analysis. It shows the demographics of the respondents with the following headings: Gender, Frequency, Ratio, Types of services, Frequency. Table 4 shows the confirmatory factor analysis results Table 5 shows the inter construct correlations and Table six shows the summary of the hypothesis testing results. There are also two Figures within the paper as follows: Figure 1shows the proposed research model. Figure 2 shows the testing results of the structural model. All of these adequately explains the data analysis process and clarify the work properly.

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Reflective Paper On Systems Thinking

Reflective Paper On Systems Thinking

Image source: unsplash.com

Systems thinking is a pretty complex concept and focuses on holistic thinking rather than but at its core is related to people. In comparison to the traditional view which focuses on separating individual pieces of what is being studied and critical analysis, systems thinking focuses on how things being studied interacts with other constituents of the system. It has a more broad overview on how systems work over a long period of time. 

Systems thinking helps us explore the relationships between patterns for example the study of medical systems, It also helps to understand feedback structures that change all the time for example Human Resource Systems that have different output and feedback based on the input of data. Lastly in this lecture, we were taught that Systems thinking helps us understand the results of our decisions for example who we vote for in a democracy determines who our leader will be. 

Learning about system thinking has left me thinking about how we as human beings create our own problems and to also think about the big picture both in business and life in general. Which is what systems thinking is generally used for. 

However, after listening to the lecture on systems thinning, I’m still left wondering how it applies to the topic of Information system and how it contributes to digital transformation. 

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Information System and E commerce

Friday, July 24, 2020

Information System and E commerce

Introduction 

Electronic Commerce (E-commerce) is the distribution, purchase, sale, marketing of goods and services through electronic systems such as the internet or television, www  and other computer networks (Yadiati and Meiryani, 2019). 

E-commerce has seen vast growth since the advent of the internet and the world wide web (www). Applications and softwares like email groups, electronic price lists, electronic online forms have been built by developers to aid having an online business. Online business owners can now interact and engage with their customers through e-commerce Information system tools such as electronically published catalogs, general purpose productivity tools such as spreadsheets, graphings tools and presentation software. 

E-commerce is divided into two types.( B2B- Business to Business) where there is no final consumer , involves few people and the parties involved are trained in using information system tools and (B2C- Business to Consumers) where the transactions occur between a business and the final consumer. (Yadiati and Meiryani, 2019)

The Role of IS in E commerce 

E commerce success factors include providing competing prices, providing responsive, fast and friendly purchasing services, providing a sense of community around the brand and product and facilitating trading activities among others and the use of Information Technology makes the process more seamless. 

Quality Information Systems has provided support for e-commerce processes such as electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, e-marketing among others. Basically there’s no ecommerce without Information Technology.  

The Stages theory of information system proposed by Nolan explains a set of concepts for understanding the absorption of information technology in business organisations. The theory suggests that every organisation has to cross four stages of learning sequentially:Initiation, Contagion, Control and Integration. This is based on the fact that organizational learning is officially the transfer of recorded knowledge and in part the unofficial accrual of experiential knowledge.  The Stages theory is the strongest model to explain the process of initiating E-commerce into an organisation. (Halawi and Mccarthy, 2006)

Nolans Six Stage Model: image source: HERE

As a fashion entrepreneur who has had to build an e-commerce website to expand my business, I had to go through the Stages model of implementing the website which is an information system tool into my brick and mortar business. At the initiation stage, which involved building the website , we were able to get familiar with how the website works which also involves using recorded knowledge to understand the process. At the contagion and control stage, we infused experiential knowledge of the business to work with the Information technology that the Finally the Information system technology is now fully integrated into the system and we can use it for our daily operations. This goes to show that the stages theory follows due process of implementing Information technology into an organisation. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, infusing Information system into a brck and mortar business through E-commerce is obviously the way forward for business growth. Having a solid email list and customer feedback platform definitely gives ecommerce businesses competitive edge over their counterparts. 

Halawi, L, and R Mccarthy. “Which Theory Applies: An Analysis of Information Systems Research.” Issues in Information Systems, vol. 7, no. 2, 2006, commons.erau.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1360&context=publication#:~:text=The%20significant%20information%20systems%20theories. Accessed 27 July 2020.

Yadiati, Winwin, and Meiryani. “The Role Of Information Technology In E- Commerce.” INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH, vol. 8, no. 01, 2019, p. 1, www.ijstr.org/final-print/jan2019/The-Role-Of-Information-Technology-In-E-commerce.pdf.

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Information System and Human Resource Management

Information System and Human Resource Management

IS and Human Resource Management. 

The demands placed on Human Resource professionals are fast increasing and rendering manual HR management processes inadequate. (Beckers and Bsat, 2002). This brings up the need for an information system in Human resource processes. It is a tool that has the potential to increase the capabilities of the organization as a whole.(Tansley and Watson, 2000). 

Use of IS in HR

On a smaller scale, HR data can be gathered using tools like Microsoft Excel, Power BI, Tableau. However more advanced HIRS tools have been developed for large scale operations and companies.  (Hendrickson , 2003) defined  Human Resource Information System. (HIRS) as a tool used to  gather, store, and analyze information regarding an organization’s human resources. This comprises databases, softwares, computer application, hardware necessary to collect/record, store, manage, deliver, present and manipulate data for human resources. (Alshibly, 2015)

HRIS has helped to integrate HR policies with wider business and computer strategies as opposed to using ad- hoc strategies. (Tansley, Newell and Williams, 2001). Other uses of HRIS include: 

-HRIS gathers data that aids planning for the labour force (Alshibly, 2011). It provides functional managers with the functionality to meet their unit goals and objectives. It provides data collection and analysis that supports HR processes such as  salary forecasts, compensation packages, employee assistance needs, pay budget etc.

-HRIS automates the process of preparing vacation and sick leave reports, performance review reports, salary histories, probation and expense reports, employee background checks, employee benefits , employee personal and contact details, tax and government regulations as it relates to the Human Resource department.  This reduces the need for the input of human operators. 

-Asides automation, (Zudolf, 1988) explains the ability of HIRS tools to “Informate.” Which explains how IT tools can generate new information which can be used as a by product to generate more streams of information (Tansley, Newell and Williams, 2001) 

HIRS core processes involve input of data related to employees into a database,processing and manipulating such data which leads to an output of information such as job description, training, remuneration, employee benefit analysis etc. 

Companies that have implemented the HRIS even though it's quite costly have been said to have a competitive edge over those that don’t. Those companies that have implemented HRIS have recorded an increased level of productivity, cost reductions and product quality. 

(Alshibly, 2015) identified that there is no specific literature to explore the success of HIRS. However, he drew inspiration from three significant streams of Information System Success using the following theoretical foundational models,

1)Technology Acceptance model

This model investigates user acceptance of technology. Everything being equal a user friendly application is more likely to be widely accepted. The TAM model described perceived usefulness and ease of use both influence one’s attitude towards an information system. (Alshiby, 2015). Therefore in an organisation, we can gather the Human Resource team and give a questionnaire to investigate how user friendly or not the Information system is and make necessary changes if need be.

2.) User satisfaction Model

This model has been described as the most employed measure of Information success. It links user attitude to how the Information System behaves. This is a good model to measure HIRS success as it can tell if an organisation is satisfied with the information technology being applied or if it should be changed. 

3) Delone and Mclean Information systems success model. 

DeLone and McLean developed a model that includes six aspects of defining IS success which include: system quality, information quality, use, user satisfaction, individual impact and organizational impact. (Alshiby, 2015). This is similar to the above two models of determining IS success. Its strength lies in the fact that it’s able to give detailed feedback as to what has succeeded and what has failed in the information system process and this will work perfectly for HR teams. 

In conclusion, it can be seen that Information system tools will continue to have a major impact on Human resource processes of all organizations. As business operations evolve, HRIS will ensure that access to HR data will be universal and seamless (Hendrickson, 2003) 

References

Alshibly, H. (2015). 235467264-Human-Resources-Information-Systems-Success-Assessment- an-Integrative-Model (2) Digitalization View project Investigating Decision Support System (DSS) Success: A Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling Approach View project. Australian journal of Basic and Applied sciences, 5.

Beckers, A.M. and Bsat, M.Z. (2002). A Dss Classification Model for Research in Human Resource Information Systems. Information Systems Management, 19(3), pp.1–10.

Hendrickson, A.R. (2003). Human resource information systems: Backbone technology of contemporary human resources. Journal of Labor Research, [online] 24(3), pp.381–394. Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12122-003-1002-5 [Accessed 6 Dec. 2019].

Tansley, C., Newell, S. and Williams, H. (2001). Effecting HRM‐style practices through an integrated human resource information system. Personnel Review, 30(3), pp.351–371.

Tansley, C. and Watson, T. (2000). Strategic exchange in the development of Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS). New Technology, Work and Employment, 15(2), pp.108–122.

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