Smart Transformative Services to Defuse Crises?

Abstract

Smart transformative services such as digital contact tracing apps are a means to offer transformative and economic value by selfmonitoring contacts and improving the well-being of users, while also reducing concerns when using services during pandemics such as COVID-19. In this study, we identify significant factors as well as communication and promotion strategies to encourage digital contact tracing app nonusers to use such apps in order to benefit from their value-creating potential. This research contributes to transformative service literature by identifying digital contact tracing apps as a means to regain confidence in using services during a pandemic, thereby offering transformative and economic value. By integrating two trust dimensions as meaningful mediators, this research sheds light on the conditions under which social influence and Internet privacy concerns influence nonusers’ usage intention. Moreover, the results not only identify significant factors influencing intended app usage but also reveal strategies for increasing actual app usage.

Editorial: Research horizons of smart service technologies – Special section editorial

“…Additionally, studies have shown that engagement with smart services may boost consumer well-being through increased self-efficacy (Henkens et al , 2021) and reduced embarrassment in specific service contexts (Pitardi et al ., 2022). Future research should continue exploring how smart services contribute to individual and collective well-being (Heimann et al , 2023; Henkel et al , 2020a; Tikkanen et al , 2023).…”