PhD Importance and Key Contribution
The term, wearable technology has become ubiquitous nowadays. The Cambridge Dictionary defines wearable technology or wearables as ‘things that can be worn, such as clothes and glasses that contain computer technology or have the ability to connect to the Internet’. Wearables, in particular, have many untapped opportunities in healthcare and wellness fields. Many industry players have seen such opportunities and have introduced consumer wearables such as fitness trackers and smart watches alike. However, they have not yet lived up to the expectation of the users. More than 30% of the users who have purchased consumer wearables in the past year either stopped using them or rarely use them (PwC, 2014). Piwek, Ellis, Andrews & Joinson (2016) interpret such a high drop-out rate as a result of lack of device’s seamless integration into daily life of the users. Using these devices simply needs a lot of efforts from the users.
Understanding a significant user drop-out rate requires a more thorough inquiry. In order to do so, it would be vital to first define what value means to this group of user base. Co-creating value with user groups will be significantly beneficial to understanding better about the values the users are seeking in each context in which the users interact with wearables. In management research, Prahalad and Ramaswamy have done extensive work on the concept of value co-creation. They define value co-creation as the interaction between the suppliers and consumers, which creates a unique personalised experience that becomes a source of competitive advantage of the suppliers (Prahalad & Ramaswamy 2004). This conceptualisation invites further study into what is the meaning of a unique personalised experience.
Research Questions
Having value co-creation as one of the key theoretical background of my research, I aim to answer the following questions: What is a unique personalised experience? How can a unique personalised experience be co-created with end users? Can a unique personalised experience positively impact user engagement and behaviour change?
Theoretical Base
My research will have strong theoretical roots in Prahalad and Ramswamy’s value co-creation, as well as in Vargo & Lusch’s Service Dominant Logic (SDL). SDL refers to the value-in-use, which means that the value can be realised only when end users experience or consume the products or services (Vargo & Lusch, 2004). In addition, the concepts of experiential marketing (Schmitt, 1999) and the customer experience (Gentile, Spiller & Noci, 2007) will also be thoroughly reviewed.
Implications
In finding answers for the research questions, I will develop the Customer Experience Design Framework (CED) to define what it means by a unique personalised experience and to demonstrate how a unique personalised experience can be forged in a given context. Ultimately, I will take CED to the empirical environment to test the impact of a unique personalised experience on the user engagement and behaviour change.
I hope that my research findings will fill the knowledge gap in the academic research community, while they provide helpful insights to the industry practitioners.
References
Gentile, C., Spiller, N., and Noci, G. (2007). How to Sustain the Customer Experience: An Overview of Experience Components that Co-create Value with the Customer. European Management Journal, 25(5), 395-410
Piwek, L., Ellis, D.A., Andrews, S., and Joinson, A. (2016). The Rise of Consumer Health Wearables: Promises and Barriers. [Electronic Version] PLoS Med, 13(2)
Prahalad, C.K. & Ramaswamy, C. (2004). Co-Creation Experiences: The Next Practice in Value Creation. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 18(3), 5-14.
PwC (2014). The Wearable Future, Consumer Intelligence Series. Retrieved from
http://www.pwc.com/en_US/us/technology/publications/assets/pwc-wearable-tech-design-oct-8th.pdf
Schmitt, B. (1999). Experiential Marketing. Journal of Marketing Management, 15, 53-67
Vargo, S.L., Maglio, P.P., & Akaka, M.A. (2008). On Value and Value Co-Creation: A Service Systems and Service Logic Perspective. European Management Journal, 26, 145-152.
