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This study investigates sociability in the context of immersive Virtual Reality (VR). A Design Science Research process was applied, and three iterative development versions of a VR application were studied. Sociability around the technology was investigated with two theoretical perspectives: social presence and social interactions. The results of qualitative interviews and observations as well as a quantitative experiment are combined to make a proposal for four design principles enhancing the beneficial sociability of VR systems. These principles address the importance of ease-of-use and personalization in the activation of a customer, customer empowerment and emancipation through familiarization, creating real-world connections and surprising content, as well as adding informative elements and streamlining the customer encounter and service process. The proposed design principles are empirically linked through social behaviors and emotions to cognitive outcomes representing beneficial sociability, e.g., improved customer motivation, willingness-to-share, value communications, co-creation, and co-innovation.

Using new technologies in customer interactions is a popular way of trying to increase customer engagement. It is, however, unknown how such efforts by marketers’ affect engagement, and particularl...

Comprehensive and time-dependent information (e.g., chemical composition, concentration) of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in atmospheric, indoor, and breath air is essential to understand the fundamental science of the atmosphere, air quality, and diseases diagnostic. Here, we introduced a fully automated online dynamic in-tube extraction (ITEX)-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) method for continuous and quantitative monitoring of VOCs in air. In this approach, modified Cycle Composer software and a PAL autosampler controlled and operated the ITEX preconditioning, internal standard (ISTD) addition, air sampling, and ITEX desorption sequentially to enable full automation. Air flow passed through the ITEX with the help of an external pump, instead of plunger up-down strokes, to allow larger sampling volumes, exhaustive extraction, and consequently lower detection limits. Further, in order to evaluate the ITEX system stability and to develop the corresponding quantitative ITEX method, two laboratory-made permeation systems (for standard VOCs and ISTD) were constructed. The stability and suitability of the developed system was validated with a consecutive 19 day atmospheric air campaign under automation. By using an electrospun polyacrylonitrile nanofibers packed ITEX, selective extraction of some VOCs and durability of over 1500 extraction and desorption cycles were achieved. Especially, the latter step is critically important for on-site long-term application at remote regions. This ITEX method provided 2-3 magnitudes lower quantitation limits than the headspace dynamic ITEX method and other needle trap methods. Our results proved the excellence of the fully automated online dynamic ITEX-GC/MS system for tracking VOCs in the atmospheric air.

Design Science Research Methodology (DSRM) is the most common and heavily referenced methodology in the context of innovation and development in information systems. Its application has extended from information technology systems and processes to many other sectors including services and governance. The purpose of this study is to introduce DSRM as a research tool in forest-sector research and to demonstrate how it was applied in a new service-development process in the area of forest management and in virtual reality. Two DSRM iterations and their evaluation are introduced. The first one concerns forest-owner preferences for various forest-management services including virtual options, and the second concerns an application that is developed and demonstrated to customers either remotely or in-person. The findings indicate that there is a niche group of forest owners at whom the virtual-reality service could be aimed, and that these services do have the potential to meet the objectives of forest-sector companies and forest owners in terms of resource efficiency, improved interaction and shared understanding. The contribution of the study lies in exemplifying the use of DSRM in the forest sector and enhancing understanding of design and forest-owner preferences in the realm of digital services.

Immersive virtual reality applications aim at providing an all-encompassing spatial experience where a user can feel like being in another world or dimension. The systems are inherently designed for individual use as the devices disconnect the user from the physical environment. However, the applications are seldom used alone. Specifically, when used for sales and marketing, the user often needs help from other people but also benefits from social interaction as a part of the experience. Design research methodology is applied to three iterative development versions of a virtual-reality application. The focus of the evaluation of the artifacts is in the social use emphasizing three sociability factors: shared knowledge, mutual trust and influence. According to the findings, the users prefer personal social interaction as a part of the experience. Thus, the social aspect should be emphasized in the service design. peerReviewed

Companies search for new ways of utilizing technologies such as the Mixed Reality (MR) in order to enrich their customer interactions. While more of these MR technologies are emerging to assist customer-employee interactions, there is a strategic choice related to scalability of how to organize these service encounters: face-to-face or digitally over the web. Eventually, the question is how much of these interactions can be automatized with acceptable tradeoffs for the customer experience and business outcomes. This study analyzes the influence of a MR design elements on the outcomes of a customer experience in a use case where the customer learning is focal for the service. The experiment comparing two conditions: face-to-face interactions and remote interactions over the web showed no difference in terms of customer experience and perceived learning. On the other hand, the ease-of-use of the technology as well as the familiarity with the subject and technology effected the customer learning. The results offer implications to both the customer experience management and the MR system design.

Natural and business ecosystems are complex and dynamic service systems that interact through the utilization of ecosystem service offerings for human well-being. Currently, natural and business sciences have not developed a shared and common set of service-based terms or concepts for discussing ecosystem service offerings in the process of value co-creation. In this study, the ecosystem service approach was compared with marketing science's service-dominant logic. The terminology and concepts were harmonized, and the two approaches were then integrated into a service-dominant value creation (SVC) framework. The incorporation of natural ecosystems includes accounting for the flow of positive and negative impacts through associated value networks. Therefore, the term value-in-impact was proposed to describe these value flows. A case study of the global forest-based sector was then presented, demonstrating how to discuss current research challenges using the proposed framework. In conclusion, a shared service-dominant approach provides an opportunity for deeper inter-disciplinary discussion between natural and business sciences. This study represents a contribution towards the development of a holistic service science that includes consideration for natural ecosystems. The SVC framework also addresses many of the multidimensional challenges noted by previous sustainability frameworks. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The study analyses twelve empirical cases employing different Mixed Reality (MR) applications: 1) 360-videos, 2) augmented reality (AR) mobile applications, 3) augmented virtuality (AV), and 4) AV+AR. The empirical data in all cases consist of observations of users’ and potential customers’ experiences with different MR applications followed by qualitative interviews. The study assesses how various MR applications can create experience-centric services. The research focus is in service and sensory design as well as in customer experience management. The study results suggest that MR can provide new opportunities for prolonged customer experiences in terms of new encounters and cues, different sensory effects and improved social interactions among business representatives and fellow customers. Furthermore, MR experiences can generate positive word-of-mouth especially in cases with dramatic structures. Finally, the results suggest that the customers' willingness-to-interact with service personnel increase after a MR experience. The study analyses twelve empirical cases employing different Mixed Reality (MR) applications: 1) 360-videos, 2) augmented reality (AR) mobile applications, 3) augmented virtuality (AV), and 4) AV+AR. The empirical data in all cases consist of observations of users’ and potential customers’ experiences with different MR applications followed by qualitative interviews. The study assesses how various MR applications can create experience-centric services. The research focus is in service and sensory design as well as in customer experience management. The study results suggest that MR can provide new opportunities for prolonged customer experiences in terms of new encounters and cues, different sensory effects and improved social interactions among business representatives and fellow customers. Furthermore, MR experiences can generate positive word-of-mouth especially in cases with dramatic structures. Finally, the results suggest that the customers' willingness-to-interact with service personnel increase after a MR experience.

The aim of this explorative study is to find out how the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) has affected the forest and chain of custody (CoC) certification strategies and practices among the Finnish wood industry companies. We are especially interested to find out whether more integrated strategies and collaborative networks have emerged for enhanced communications throughout the industry value chains. This qualitative interview study included both EUTR ex ante and ex post analysis, based on three rounds of managerial and expert interviews during 2011-2015. The results indicate that the EUTR appears to have enforced the supplier-client relations in the Finnish wood industry value chain. The sector still lacks integrated communication strategies with better understanding of customer and stakeholder values, which could contribute to more cohesive communication and marketing efforts reflecting the values of the whole industry. The certification practices are fairly spontaneously implemented following the traditional industry culture, which is not supportive of innovations and gaining competitive advantages in the broader material markets. Furthermore, the existence of two parallel forest certificates (Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC)) seems to hamper the effective communication and building of an image of sustainable wood products among customers and end consumers, groups that are also exposed to more general environmental communication, e.g., in the building material markets.

Our study focuses on exploring on the dimensionality of sustainability in perceived consumer value regarding wooden products in the Finnish context. Factors affecting consumer value on sustainability were derived from the literature on sustainable consumption and tested on a specific case of wooden terrace products through a developed survey instrument. The dimensions of sustainability-based consumer value were identified using a factor analysis on data consisting of 208 responses collected in the home and building material retail sector in May–June 2013. Four-dimensional structure for consumer value concerning sustainable and responsible wooden products is identified to consist of “Information and product origin,” “Consumer activity,” “Product image,” and “Quality.” The first two, sustainability-related factors were more strongly valued by elderly as well as by female respondents, while “Quality” and “Image” were more preferred by young and middle-aged respondent groups. As for the conclusion, our result...

The forest sector has been able to develop many new bio-based and sustainable products catered to business-to-business markets, but the sector still lacks a breakthrough in new forest products and services targeting consumer markets. This is due to higher prices of forest products compared to competing materials, such as concrete, steel, and plastics, but also due to a lack of new product and service innovations targeting end-consumer markets. To understand the emergence of bioeconomy, also bringing new consumer market opportunities to the forest sector, we need to understand the new business ecosystem. The business ecosystem model is a holistic view of the current institutions capturing stakeholder relations and opportunities brought by various resources and technologies. Better understanding of these concepts can lead to consumer-driven development of forest products and services, and improved competitive advantage. This doctoral dissertation introduces a holistic research and development model for new product and service innovations in the forest sector. This research was motivated by the fact that recent forest sector product introductions have been driven by the technology push, and therefore, this research concentrates on the consumer perspective to build new business models and the development of products and services to meet current consumer trends. Evolving sustainability trends among consumers, where bio-based forest products and services can fulfill consumer demand, are central in this thesis. The doctoral thesis consists of one book chapter and three peer-reviewed articles, each using different methodologies. The subjects and results of the papers are grouped into three themes in the framework of the Consumer-Driven Business Ecosystem Research and Development (CDBERD) model. The model extends the classical technology-push and demand-pull innovation model, to better consider consumer values, enabling resources and dominant logics along with the smooth flow of information during each phase of the research and development process leading towards new consumer-driven solutions. Metsäsektori on kyennyt kehittämään monia uusia biopohjaisia ja kestäviä tuotteita yritysasiakasmarkkinoille, mutta sektorilla ei ole vielä nähty uusien metsätuotteiden ja -palveluiden läpimurtoja kuluttajamarkkinoille. Tämä johtuu puutuotteiden korkeammasta hinnasta verrattuna kilpaileviin materiaaleihin, kuten betoniin, teräkseen ja muoviin, mutta sektorilla on myös vain vähän kuluttajamarkkinoille kohdistuvaa innovaatiokehitystä. Jotta pystymme ymmärtämään biotalouden kehitystä, joka tuo myös uusia mahdollisuuksia metsäsektorin kuluttajamarkkinoille, on meidän ymmärrettävä uutta liiketoimintaekosysteemiä. Liiketoimintaekosysteemimalli on kokonaisvaltainen näkymä tämänhetkisistä instituutioista huomioiden sidosryhmien suhteita ja mahdollisuuksia, sekä resursseja ja teknologioita. Näiden käsitteiden parempi ymmärtäminen auttaa kuluttajalähtöisessä metsätuotteiden ja -palveluiden kehityksessä luoden myös kilpailuetua sektorille. Tämä väitöskirja esittelee kokonaisvaltaisen tutkimus- ja kehitysmallin uusien tuote- ja palveluinnovaatioiden synnyttämiseksi metsäsektorille. Koska viimeaikainen metsäsektorin innovaatiotoiminta on ollut teknologialähtöistä, tämä tutkimus keskittyy kuluttajalähtöiseen tuote-, palvelu- ja liiketoimintamallikehitykseen ja näin pyrkii vastaamaan vallitseviin kuluttajatrendeihin. Tutkimuksessa keskeisessä roolissa ovat metsätuotteiden ja -palveluiden vastuullisuus ja kestävyys, sillä nämä ovat yhä tärkeämpiä kuluttajille ja metsäsektorilla on potentiaalia vastata tähän kysyntään. Väitöskirja koostuu yhdestä kirjakappaleesta ja kolmesta vertaisavioidusta artikkelista, joissa jokaisessa on käytössä eri tutkimusmenetelmät. Näiden osajulkaisujen aiheet ja tulokset ovat ryhmiteltynä kolmeen teemaan viitekehyksessä Kuluttajalähtöinen liiketoimintaekosysteemi tutkimus- ja kehitysmalli. Malli laajentaa perinteistä teknologialähtöistä ja kysyntävetoista innovaatiomallia ottaen paremmin huomioon kuluttajien arvot, mahdollistavat resurssit sekä vallitsevat logiikat. Mallissa huomioidaan myös sujuva informaation kulku jokaisessa tutkimus- ja kehitysprosessin vaiheessa tavoitellen uusia kuluttajalähtöisiä ratkaisuja.

The Thermo Scientific™ SureTect™ Listeria species assay is a new real-time PCR assay for the detection of all species of Listeria in food and environmental samples. The assay was originally certified as Performance Tested MethodsSM (PTM) 071304 in 2013. This report details the method modification study undertaken to extend the performance claims of the assay for matrixes of raw ground turkey, raw ground pork, bagged lettuce, raw pork sausages, pasteurized 2% fat milk, raw cod, pasteurized brie cheese, and ice cream. The method modification study was conducted using the AOAC Research Institute (RI) PTM program to validate the SureTect PCR assay in comparison to the reference method detailed in ISO 11290-1:1996 including amendment 1:2004. All matrixes were tested by Thermo Fisher Scientific (Basingstoke, United Kingdom). In addition, three matrixes (raw cod, bagged lettuce, and pasteurized brie cheese) were analyzed independently as part of the AOAC RI-controlled independent laboratory study by the University of Guelph, Canada. Using probability of detection statistical analysis, there was no significant difference in the performance between the SureTect assay and the International Organization for Standardization reference method for any of the matrixes analyzed in this study.