TY - JOUR T1 - Rural Living Labs: Inclusive Digital Transformation in the Countryside JF - Technology Innovation Management Review Y1 - 2021 A1 - Abdolrasoul Habibipour A1 - Johanna Lindberg A1 - Mari Runardotter A1 - Yomn Elmistikawy A1 - Anna Ståhlbröst A1 - Diana Chronéer KW - Components KW - digital transformation KW - Living lab KW - Rural living lab KW - Rural residents KW - user engagement AB - Digital transformation (DT) has received increasing attention in recent years. Up until now, most of the current studies focus on digital transformation in advanced and dense societies, especially urban areas and technologies. Hence, the phenomenon of DT is under-researched in the context of rural and sparsely populated contexts. This study aims at exploring how a rural living lab (RLL) can be shaped and how this approach can be designed to support digital transformation processes in rural contexts. In so doing, following a design science research methodology (DSRM) approach, we have made an artefact (that is, RLL framework) that is an "instantiation" that supports user centric digitalization of rural areas. The designed framework is developed based on the key components of "traditional" and "urban" living labs, as well as empirical data which was collected within the context of the DigiBy project. The DigiBy project aims at conducting DT pilots in rural areas to elevate peoples' understanding of digitalization and the application of digitalization opportunities for service development in rural areas in the north of Sweden. As a result of these studies, five key components that guide the design of digital transformation pilots in rural areas emerged, namely: 1) rural context, 2) digitalization, 3) governance, control, and business mode, 4) methods facilitating DT processes, and 5) quintuple helix actors. We also offer an empirically derived definition of the rural living lab concept, followed by avenues for future research. PB - Talent First Network CY - Ottawa VL - 11 UR - timreview.ca/article/1465 IS - 9/10 U1 - Luleå University of Technology Abdolrasoul (Rasoul) Habibipour (Ph.D.) is a postdoctoral researcher in Information Systems at Luleå University of Technology in Sweden and is Managing director of Botnia Living Lab, Sweden. His research focuses on participatory design and user engagement in information systems development processes, with a particular emphasis on users’ motivations and needs. Abdolrasoul has previously worked in information technology (IT) projects for more than 13 years as a project leader and project manager as well as software designer, developer and programmer. He has been involved in teaching and supervising students at the bachelor, master and PhD levels and has published several journal and conference articles in his research topic. He also serves as guest editor, track chair, and reviewer in different international conferences and scientific journals within the information systems field. U2 - Luleå University of Technology Johanna Lindberg is a project manager and PhD candidate at Luleå university of technology who has more than 20 years of experience working with regional and local development in different subject areas. She has participated in the development of political goal management both from a researcher's perspective and from an official’s perspective. In short, she has worked to achieve the national political goals in several policy areas: environmental, gender equality, broadband, digitalization, culture, leisure, attractive sustainable growth, commercial service, payment service, and public health policy goals. U3 - Luleå University of Technology Associate Prof. Mari Runardotter holds a PhD in Social Informatics from Luleå University of Technology. Her research focuses on social, societal and organizational effects of IT, primarily in the areas of digitalisation/digital transformation and service innovation. She use theories and methods for user engagement and involvement, that emphasize social, societal, cultural, organizational and gender aspects in the interaction between humans and information systems. U4 - Luleå University of Technology Yomn Elmistikawy is a PHD candidate at Luleå university of technology. Her research focuses on the complexity of stakeholder involvement in the digital innovation process. She explores the roles stakeholders adopt, as well as, the interconnectedness and conflicts within these roles. She has participated in 5G related research projects focusing on the end user needs. She has experience in design science research and its use in designing solutions for information sharing during industrial crisis. U5 - Luleå University of Technology Anna Ståhlbröst is a chair professor in Information systems at Luleå University of Technology. Her research is focused on user engagement in innovation processes, with special interest in service innovation designed to create an added value for its users. Annas research is related to different application areas such as IT-use in everyday contexts, Smart Cities and Internet of Things. Anna has participated in numerous European and national innovation and research projects and she has been published in several scientific journals as well as in books and at conferences. ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Urban Living Labs: Towards an Integrated Understanding of their Key Components JF - Technology Innovation Management Review Y1 - 2019 A1 - Diana Chronéer A1 - Anna Ståhlbröst A1 - Abdolrasoul Habibipour KW - definition KW - innovation KW - key components KW - Living lab KW - nature-based solutions KW - NBS KW - ULL KW - UNaLab KW - urban living lab AB - In today’s ongoing urbanization and escalating climate change, there is an increasing demand on cities to be innovative and inclusive to handle these emerging issues. As an answer to these challenges, and in order to generate and adopt sustainable innovations and nature-based solutions in the urban areas, the concept of urban living labs has emerged. However, to date, there is confusion concerning the concept of the urban living lab and its key components. Some interpret the urban living lab as an approach, others as a single project, and some as a specific place – and some just do not know. In order to unravel this complexity and better understand this concept, we sought to identify the key components of an urban living lab by discussing the perspective of city representatives in the context of an urban living lab project. To achieve this goal, we reviewed previous literature on this topic and carried out two workshops with city representatives, followed by an open-ended questionnaire. In this article, we identify and discuss seven key components of an urban living lab: governance and management structure; financing models; urban context; nature-based solutions; partners and users (including citizens); approach; and ICT and infrastructure. We also offer an empirically derived definition of the urban living lab concept. PB - Talent First Network CY - Ottawa VL - 9 UR - https://timreview.ca/article/1224 IS - 3 U1 - Luleå University of Technology Diana Chronéer is an Associate Professor in the Information Systems department at Luleå University of Technology in Sweden. She teaches organizational development through IT and sustainable business models from a digital perspective. Her main research interests are in the areas of digital service innovation, business model development, information logistics, and project management. U2 - Luleå University of Technology Anna Ståhlbröst is the Chair Professor in Information Systems at Luleå University of Technology, Sweden. Her research interests focus on the possibilities and challenges with the ongoing digital transformation for people, organizations, and society. In particular, she is interested in the citizen perspective when digital service innovations are developed within the context of urban living labs for smart cities and regions. Her research is related to different application areas such as smart cities and regions, crowdsourcing, everyday use, and online privacy. Her research has been published in several international journals, conference proceedings, and books. U3 - Luleå University of Technology Abdolrasoul Habibipour is a PhD student in Information Systems at Luleå University of Technology in Sweden and is a User Engagement Expert at Botnia Living Lab, Sweden. His research focuses on user engagement in living lab context, with a particular emphasis on users’ motivations and needs. Abdolrasoul has experience teaching and supervising students at the undergraduate and postgraduate level and also serves as a reviewer in various international conferences and scientific journals. He has been involved in international innovation and research projects such as Privacy Flag and USEMP projects and is currently working in UNaLab and U4IoT projects, all of which are financed by the European Commission. ER - TY - JOUR T1 - A Taxonomy of Factors Influencing Drop-Out Behaviour in Living Lab Field Tests JF - Technology Innovation Management Review Y1 - 2018 A1 - Abdolrasoul Habibipour A1 - Annabel Georges A1 - Anna Ståhlbröst A1 - Dimitri Schuurman A1 - Birgitta Bergvall-Kåreborn KW - drop-out KW - field test KW - Living lab KW - taxonomy KW - user engagement KW - user motivation AB - The concept of a “living lab” is a relatively new research area and phenomenon that facilitates user engagement in open innovation activities. Studies on living labs show that the users’ motivation to participate in a field test is higher at the beginning of the project than during the rest of the test, and that participants have a tendency to drop out before completing the assigned tasks. However, the literature still lacks theories describing the phenomenon of drop-out within the area of field tests in general and living lab field tests in particular. As the first step in constructing a theoretical discourse, the aims of this study are to present an empirically derived taxonomy for the various factors that influence drop-out behaviour; to provide a definition of “drop-out” in living lab field tests; and to understand the extent to which each of the identified items influence participant drop-out behaviour. To achieve these aims, we first extracted factors influencing drop-out behaviour in the field test from our previous studies on the topic, and then we validated the extracted results across 14 semi-structured interviews with experts in living lab field tests. Our findings show that identified reasons for dropping out can be grouped into three themes: innovation-related, process-related, and participant-related. Each theme consists of three categories with a total of 44 items. In this study, we also propose a unified definition of “drop-out” in living lab field tests. PB - Talent First Network CY - Ottawa VL - 8 UR - http://timreview.ca/article/1155 IS - 5 U1 - Luleå University of Technology Abdolrasoul Habibipour is a PhD student in Information Systems at Luleå University of Technology in Sweden and is a User Engagement Expert at Botnia Living Lab, Sweden. His research focuses on user engagement in living lab research, with a particular emphasis on users’ motivations and needs. Abdolrasoul has previously worked in information technology (IT) projects for more than 13 years as a project leader and project manager as well as software designer and developer. He is currently involved in international innovation and research projects such as UNaLab project, U4IoT project, as well as Privacy Flag project, all of which are financed by the European Commission. U2 - imec.livinglabs Annabel Georges is a User Specialist at imec.livinglabs in Belgium. Annabel holds a Master’s degree in Communication Sciences from Ghent University, with a specialization in New Media and Society. Since 2013, she has worked at imec.livinglabs, where she has conducted research for more than 15 innovation projects. Her main interests are contextual research, field tests, and working on improvements on current living lab practices. U3 - Luleå University of Technology Anna Ståhlbröst is a Professor of Information Systems at Luleå University of Technology, Sweden, and Managing Director of Botnia Living Lab in Sweden. Her research is focused on the phenomena of living labs and open, user-driven innovation processes, with special interest in end-user needs and motivations. Anna’s research is related to different application areas such as smart cities, domestic IT use, and online privacy. She has participated in several international and national innovation and research projects, and she is currently involved in the UNaLab project, U4IoT project, as well as Privacy Flag project, all of which are financed by the European Commission. U4 - imec.livinglabs Dimitri Schuurman is the Team Lead of the Business Model and User Research Team at imec.livinglabs. He holds a PhD and a Master’s degree in Communication Sciences from Ghent University in Belgium. Together with his imec colleagues, Dimitri developed a specific living lab offering targeted at entrepreneurs in which he has managed over 100 innovation projects. He is also active in the International Society for Professional Innovation Management (ISPIM) and in the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL) as a living labs specialist. His main interests and research topics are situated in the domains of open innovation, user innovation, and innovation management. U5 - Luleå University of Technology Birgitta Bergvall-Kåreborn is Vice Chancellor and Professor in Information Systems at Luleå University of Technology, Sweden. Birgitta’s research interests concern design-oriented research focused on participatory design in distributed and open environments; human-centric and appreciative methodologies for design and learning; value-based information systems development; the increasing overlap between stakeholder participation and labour sourcing; and its consequences for value creation and value capture. She has published several articles within these areas, and she has participated in a large number of national and international research projects. ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Reflecting on Actions in Living Lab Research JF - Technology Innovation Management Review Y1 - 2017 A1 - Anna Ståhlbröst A1 - Marita Holst KW - action research KW - Apollon KW - context KW - digital innovations KW - end users KW - innovation process KW - Living lab KW - research process AB - Living labs deploy contemporary open and user-centred engagement processes in real-world contexts where all relevant stakeholders are involved and engaged with the endeavour to create and experiment with different innovations. The approach is evidently successful and builds on the perspective that people have a democratic right to have influence over changes that might affect them, such as those brought about by an innovation. In this article, we will reflect on and discuss a case in which end users took part in the development of a method that stimulates learning and adoption of digital innovations in their own homes while testing and interacting with it. The results show that, when end users were stimulated to use the implemented innovation through different explicit assignments, they both increased their understanding of the situation as well as changed their behaviour. Living lab processes are complex and dynamic, and we find that it is essential that a living lab have the capability to adjust its roles and actions. We argue that being reflective is beneficial for innovation process managers in living labs because it allows them to adjust processes in response to dynamic circumstances. PB - Talent First Network CY - Ottawa VL - 7 UR - http://timreview.ca/article/1055 IS - 2 U1 - Luleå University of Technology Anna Ståhlbröst is an Associate Professor in Information Systems at Luleå University of Technology, Sweden. Her research is focused on the phenomena of living labs and open, user-driven innovation processes, with special interest in end-user needs and motivations. Anna's research is related to different application areas such as smart cities, domestic IT use, and online privacy. She has participated in several international and national innovation and research projects, and she is currently involved in both the Privacy Flag project and the U4IoT project financed by the European Commission. U2 - Luleå University of Technology Marita Holst is Senior Project Manager at the Centre for Distance-Spanning Technology and General Manager of Botnia Living Lab at Luleå University of Technology in Sweden. Marita’s research interests include methods and tools for creating collaborative working environments for innovative and boundary-crossing working groups and applied ongoing research and innovation projects such as OrganiCity, Privacy Flag, and U4IoT, in which she currently participates. ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Leveraging Living Lab Innovation Processes through Crowdsourcing JF - Technology Innovation Management Review Y1 - 2015 A1 - Anna Ståhlbröst A1 - Josefin Lassinantti KW - citizen KW - crowdsourcing KW - ICT KW - innovation process KW - Living lab KW - user AB - Around the globe, crowdsourcing initiatives are emerging and contributing in a diversity of areas, such as in crisis management and product development and to carry out micro-tasks such as translations and transcriptions. The essence of crowdsourcing is to acknowledge that not all the talented people work for you; hence, crowdsourcing brings more perspectives, insights, and visions to, for instance, an innovation process. In this article, we analyze how crowdsourcing can contribute to the different stages of innovation processes carried out in living labs and thus contribute to living labs by strengthening their core role as innovation process facilitators. We have also identified benefits and challenges that need to be grappled with for managers of living labs to make it possible for the crowd to fully support their cause. PB - Talent First Network CY - Ottawa VL - 5 UR - http://timreview.ca/article/950 IS - 12 U1 - Luleå University of Technology Anna Ståhlbröst is Associate Professor in Information Systems at Luleå University of Technology, Sweden. Her research is focused on the phenomena of living labs and open, user-driven innovation processes, with special interest in end-user needs and motivations. Anna's research is related to different application areas such as domestic IT use, energy efficiency, and smart cities. She has participated in several international and national innovation and research projects, and she is currently involved in the projects IoT Lab, USEMP, and Privacy Flag, which are financed by the European Commission. Anna has contributed to the field with more than forty journal and conference articles. U2 - Luleå University of Technology Josefin Lassinantti is a PhD student in Information Systems at Luleå University of Technology in Sweden, where she received a licentiate degree in 2014. Her research focuses on open data as an arena for citizen innovation and value creation by applying a social constructivist lens and adding theories from the innovation field, thus aiming to contribute to the field of public administration and e-government. In parallel with research, she teaches courses related to design of mobile and computer interactions, with a special interest in maintaining a good balance between acknowledging both the innovative possibilities of new ICT as well as its societal consequences. Josefin is also involved in the IoT Lab project, financed by the European Union's 7th Framework Programme. ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Places and Spaces within Living Labs JF - Technology Innovation Management Review Y1 - 2015 A1 - Birgitta Bergvall-Kåreborn A1 - Carina Ihlström Eriksson A1 - Anna Ståhlbröst KW - influence KW - Living lab KW - openness KW - place KW - realism KW - space AB - In this article, we propose the concepts of places and spaces as conceptual tools to facilitate the organization of innovation activities within living labs. We have taken a pragmatic perspective on these concepts regarding how they are integrated in design situations, and how different types of places and spaces can facilitate or hinder innovation. We have found that, by applying openness, realism, and influence in the different spaces of our living lab milieus, they have transformed into many different places depending on the stakeholders involved, the methods chosen, and the facilitation of activities. Hence, by understanding this line of reasoning, living lab managers can make more informed decisions and plans for innovation activities. PB - Talent First Network CY - Ottawa VL - 5 UR - http://timreview.ca/article/951 IS - 12 U1 - Luleå University of Technology Birgitta Bergvall-Kåreborn is Pro-Vice Chancellor and Professor in Information Systems at Luleå University of Technology, Sweden. Birgitta’s research interests concern design-oriented research focused on participatory design in distributed and open environments; human-centric and appreciative methodologies for design and learning; value-based information systems development; the increasing overlap between stakeholder participation and labour sourcing, and its consequences for value creation and value capture. She has published over 60 articles within these areas, and she has participated in a large number of national and international research projects. U2 - Halmstad University Carina Ihlström Eriksson is Associate Professor in Informatics at Halmstad University in Sweden, where she is also the manager of Halmstad Living Lab. Carina’s research interests concerns digital innovation services, user and stakeholder involvement in innovation processes, living labs, value networks, and business models within the application areas of media and health innovation. She has published more than 50 articles within these areas and has managed and participated in numerous research projects. U3 - Luleå University of Technology Anna Ståhlbröst is an Associate Professor in Information Systems at Luleå University of Technology, Sweden. Her research is focused on the phenomena of living labs and open, user-driven innovation processes, with special interest in end-user needs and motivations. Anna's research is related to different application areas such as energy, domestic-IT use, and smart cities. She has participated in several international and national innovation and research projects, and she is currently involved in the IoT Lab project financed by the European Commission. ER - TY - JOUR T1 - A Living Lab as a Service: Creating Value for Micro-enterprises through Collaboration and Innovation JF - Technology Innovation Management Review Y1 - 2013 A1 - Anna Ståhlbröst KW - experience-based values KW - innovation intermediary KW - Living lab KW - micro-enterprise KW - value AB - The need to innovate is increasingly important for all types and sizes of organizations, but the opportunities for innovation differ substantially between them. For micro-, small,- and medium-sized enterprises, innovation activities are both crucial and demanding because of limited resources, competencies, or vision to innovate their offerings. To support these organizations, the concept of living labs as a service has started to emerge. This concept refers to living labs offering services such as designing the idea-generation processes, planning or carrying out real-world tests of innovations, and pre-market launch assessments. In this article, we will present the findings from a study of micro-enterprises operating in the information technology development sector, including the experienced value of services provided to the companies by a research-based living lab. We share experiences from Botnia, our own living lab in northern Sweden. In this living lab, our aim of creating value for customers is of key importance. Our study shows that using a living lab as a service can generate three different types of value: improved innovations, the role the living lab can play, and the support the living lab offers. PB - Talent First Network CY - Ottawa VL - 3 UR - http://timreview.ca/article/744 IS - 11 U1 - Luleå University of Technology Anna Ståhlbröst is a Senior Lecturer in Social Informatics at Luleå University of Technology, Sweden, where she also holds a PhD in Social Informatics. Her research is focused on the phenomena of living labs and open, user-driven innovation processes, with special interest in service innovation and end-user needs and motivations. Anna's research is related to different application areas such as energy, domestic-IT use, and smart cities. She has participated in several international and national innovation and research projects, and she has contributed to the field with more than forty journal and conference articles. ER -