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The purpose of this study is to investigate whether online apparel shoppers' adoption of product virtualization technologies is facilitated more by hedonic motivations than functional motivations due to the hedonic nature of the product virtualization technologies.

In addition to the focus group interview, two separate online surveys with links to a stimulus web site containing one of the two product virtualization technologies was conducted to a national online shopper sample. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling by comparing the structural coefficients of hedonic and functional motivations on the attitude toward using the product virtualization technologies. The linear combination of functional and hedonic roles of each technology was examined using discriminant function analysis to see if the results were consistent.

The results showed that the hedonic motivation had a stronger positive relationship than functional motivations with the attitude toward using product virtualization technologies. The empirical findings of this study confirm our proposition that perceived entertainment value is a stronger determinant of attitude toward using product virtualization technologies than perceived usefulness.

The findings of the paper support the idea that the direction of technology acceptance model related research should be drawn by the (functional or hedonic) purpose of the technology/system. Based on the current findings, it seems likely that the predictive importance of the hedonic or functional benefits on attitude toward using a particular technology/system will depend, to a large extent, on the primary purpose of the system/technology.

This study proposes targeted modernization of the Department of Defense (DoD's) Joint Forces Ammunition Logistics information system by implementing the optimized innovative information technology open architecture design and integrating Radio Frequency Identification Device data technologies and real-time optimization and control mechanisms as the critical technology components of the solution. The innovative information technology, which pursues the focused logistics, will be deployed in 36 months at the estimated cost of $568 million in constant dollars. We estimate that the Systems, Applications, Products (SAP)-based enterprise integration solution that the Army currently pursues will cost another $1.5 billion through the year 2014; however, it is unlikely to deliver the intended technical capabilities.

The purpose of this paper is to examine advertising strategies’ (functional vs emotional) influence on consumers’ evaluation and adoption of smartwatches by drawing on the elaboration likelihood model and the schema incongruity theory. Moderating effects of consumer characteristics (personal innovativeness and extraversion) on the value assessment and attitude relationship are also tested.

The model was assessed using partial least squares-structural equation modeling with a sample of 999 non-smartwatch users.

Results show that functional ads elicit higher levels of hedonic than functional (usefulness) and ergonomic values (ease of use), whereas emotional ads produce higher levels of functional (usefulness) in comparison to hedonic value (enjoyment). Collectively, functional, ergonomic, hedonic and symbolic values shape consumers’ attitude and their subsequent behavior. In addition, findings demonstrate that extraversion positively moderates the symbolic value–attitude relationship, whereas personal innovativeness negatively moderates the functional value–attitude relationship.

Smartwatch sales have floundered despite substantial investments in ad campaigns. This study provides novel insights into managing non-users’ value perceptions of smartwatches with the optimal use of ad strategies. Furthermore, it is also one of the first studies to validate the moderating role of extraversion on the symbolic value–attitude link, thus contributing to the emerging literature on wearable technology.

The purpose of this study is to determine the influence of technology visibility and subsequent perceptions of VFRs on consumers' intention to adopt VFRs in the online shopping context. A cross-cultural comparison was conducted to examine the different relationships among technology visibility, consumer perceptions and adoption intentions between the Chinese and Korean consumers.

Data were collected from 306 Chinese and 324 Korean consumers. The data were empirically analysed using structural equation modelling as well as multi-group comparisons.

Empirical results suggest significant influence of technology visibility on consumers' experiential and functional perceptions towards VFRs and accordingly on their adoption intention towards VFRs. Significant differences were also revealed between the Chinese and Korean consumers in their adoption behaviours towards VFRs.

The comparison was only conducted between the Chinese and Korean consumers. If two countries from two dramatically different cultures were compared, the results might be more significant.

An important implication is that enhancement of visibility is crucial for technology adoption considering its importance in shaping consumers' perceptions towards the technology.

The paper empirically tested the importance of technology visibility in consumers' new technology adoption in the VFR context from a cross-cultural perspective.

Success in manufacturing industries often depends on the ability of a firm to apply product platforms. In speeding up product development, platforms often enable companies to benefit from scale effects by reusing existing components in the development of new products. In the delivery of complex products and system (CoPS), however, platforms are frequently modified since components have to be changed within their life cycle to meet additional customer-specific engineering demands and evolving innovations in technology. In this article, it will be illustrated that intangible design elements can be used as platforms in firms that deliver CoPS. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Through extensive fieldwork at a leading supplier of science-based lithography machinery, a modified platform concept was developed and tested that is labelled as the function-technology (FT) platform. The longitudinal data, collected on site, demonstrate positive effects of applying FT platforms.

The results show that an important explanation for firm's success in delivering lithography machinery with attractive performance is their ability to deliver variants that are specific in terms of physical modules, but common in terms of functions and technologies. Based on the results, it can be argued that establishing an FT platform will allow the efficient creation of variants within a family of CoPS.

The findings add considerable insight to the existing literature on operations management by explaining how intangible design elements, instigated during development, can be reused in the delivery of CoPS. Moreover, it enables development managers to more easily structure and reuse complex development tasks.

Through a review of historically famous cases and a chronicle of neurotechnology development, this chapter discusses brain structure and brain function as two distinct yet interrelated paths to understand the relative contributions of anatomical and physiological mechanisms to the human brain–behavior relationship. From an organizational neuroscience perspective, the chapter describes over a dozen neuroimaging technologies that are classified under four groupings: morphologic, invasive metabolic, noninvasive metabolic, and electromagnetic. We then discuss neuroimaging variables that may be useful in social science investigations, and we underscore electroencephalography as a particularly useful modality for the study of individuals and groups in organizational settings. The chapter concludes by considering emerging science and novel brain technologies for the organizational researcher as we look to the future.

Drawing on the work of Niklas Luhmann, the paper argues that technology can be viewed as a self-referential system which is autonomous from both human beings and other function systems of society. The paper aims to develop a philosophy of technology from the work of Niklas Luhmann. To achieve this aim, it draws upon the systems-theory work of Jacques Ellul, a philosopher of technology who focuses on the autonomous potential of technological evolution.

The paper draws on the work of Niklas Luhmann and Jacques Ellul to explore the theme of autonomous technology and what this means for our thinking about technological issues in the twenty-first century. Insights from these two thinkers and researchers working in the Luhmannian sociological tradition are applied to remote work.

The sociological approach of Luhmann, coupled with Ellul's insights into the autonomous nature of technology, can help us develop a systems theory of technology which takes seriously its irreducibility to human functions.

The paper contributes to the growing sociological literature that thematizes the Luhmannian approach to technology, helping us better understand this phenomenon and think in new ways about what technological autonomy means.

The paper brings together the work of Luhmann, Ellul and contemporary researchers to advance a new understanding of technology and technological communication.

This study seeks to investigate barriers in the consumer adoption process of technological innovations under different contingencies. The paper aims to focus on barriers impeding adoption of technologies characterized by high incompatibility and high uncertainty – i.e. a “lack of content” (LoC) situation – versus technologies characterized by low incompatibility and low uncertainty – i.e. a “presence of content” (PoC) situation.

Based on a literature study, the paper develops hypotheses that distinguish the diverging effects of both psychological and functional barriers on consumer adoption in different situations (LoC versus PoC). Data were collected by means of a survey, resulting in an effective sample of 229 respondents.

In the case of LoC, the value, risk (financial and performance) and image barrier are negatively related to adoption intention, where the latter barrier is significantly stronger for the LoC situation than for the PoC situation. For PoC, it is found that the value, image, and financial risk barriers are negatively related to adoption intention, where the value barrier outweighs all other barriers. Interestingly, the traditional barrier reveals a positive effect on adoption intention.

The results suggest that managers and retailers should develop a more sophisticated understanding of consumers' adoption intention of new technologies. Distinguishing between LoC and PoC situations offers managers the opportunity to differentiate their communication strategies and design more compelling ways for consumers to overcome the specific barriers they perceive in each situation.

The paper attempts to offer a more fine‐grained understanding of consumer adoption by investigating the extent to which the lack versus the presence of content gives rise to differences regarding the effects of psychological and functional barriers to technology adoption.

Although humanoid robots are increasingly adopted in many business settings, the dynamic effects of anthropomorphism and the functional perceptions of service robots on consumers’ responses remain unclear. This paper aims to examine the impacts of robot anthropomorphism on consumers’ trust, receptivity and the downstream effect on satisfaction. Furthermore, it examines the mediating effects of perceived ease of use (PEOU) and perceived usefulness (PU) in the relationship between anthropomorphism and consumer responses.

After conducting two separate pilot studies to help design the research materials, this research involves three sequential studies. In studies 1A and 1B, the authors used two distinct humanoid robots (i.e. Connie and Pepper) to test the direct effects of anthropomorphism on trust and receptivity and the mediated effects via PEOU and PU. Study 2 conducted a 2 (robot appearance: machine-like vs. human-like) × 2 (task complexity: low vs. high) between-subjects experimental design to further explore the boundary effects of task complexity on trust and customer satisfaction.

This research theorizes and empirically examines the mediating effects of PEOU and PU in the relationship between anthropomorphism and consumers’ responses (i.e. trust and receptivity) to service robots. Results also demonstrate a moderating role of task complexity, whereby only when the task was complex did anthropomorphism affect consumer responses and customer satisfaction. The parallel mediations of PEOU and PU were also confirmed. However, when task complexity was low, the authors observed no differences between human- and machine-like robots.

First, this research used a scenario-based method by exposing participants to different pictures or videos of service robots and measuring individuals’ responses. Consumers may respond differently upon interacting with robots in actual service contexts. Second, future research could investigate the effects of other aspects of anthropomorphism, such as robots’ voice characteristics (gender, high/low pitch), verbal communication styles and emotional expression. Finally, future research could explore other service contexts to test the generalizability of the findings.

Findings of this study also provide useful insight for companies interested in adopting service robots. First, the authors unearthed several positive outcomes of using human-like versus machine-like robots in service settings. Despite concerns about the perceived creepiness and discomfort associated with human-like robots, managers should not worry about these service agents’ potential negative effects. Second, it shows that human-like robots’ competitive advantage over machine-like robots stands out when task complexity is high. Managers should therefore carefully consider relevant service characteristics and task requirements when deciding whether to adopt robots.

This study provides original and valuable contributions to the growing literature on service robots by addressing scholarly incongruencies regarding the impact of anthropomorphism and disentangling its positive influence on consumers’ perceptions and acceptance of service robots. This study also contributes to research on technology acceptance and service robot receptivity by empirically demonstrating the mediating role of PEOU and PU. Furthermore, this research enriches the body of knowledge on task-technology fit by providing evidence that task complexity is a crucial factor to consider in service robot design.

Purpose: In this technologically advanced era, it is crucial to understand how consumers adopt innovations so that producers and marketers can cater to these needs effectively. While existing technology adoption models have good explanatory power, a hybrid model must account for newer contexts.

Need for the Study: Most technology adoption papers in extant literature deal with the phenomenon’s functional, environmental and cognitive aspects. However, a mindset-oriented approach is largely absent from current studies. Mindsets are core beliefs people have about the malleability of human traits and characteristics that ultimately shape consumer behaviour. Investigating the adoption of such technologies through a deeper psychological lens will advance the field substantially.

Methodology: This conceptual paper utilised a literature review and theoretical integration to present a novel technology adoption model. The literature review of secondary data helped identify extant gaps, while academic integration of major concepts helped fill said gaps.

Findings: Based on the existing gaps in the literature, this study conceptualised a novel technology adoption model based on the foundation of Mindset Theory. Overall, relevant constructs, variables and scales have been presented along with future research propositions.

Practical Implications: From a global perspective, the findings of this chapter will enable marketers and practitioners to understand consumer adoption of new-age technologies. Producers of such technologies will also be able to cater to consumers more efficiently as a result of this study.