Drop-out in living lab field test : analyzing consequences and some recommendations

• Involving individual users in the process of information systems development is a key dimension of open innovation. Living Labs are socio-technical systems that facilitate information systems development by integrating technical, social and organizational structures and focusing on individuals, tasks, technologies and the interactions between different stakeholders. Testing digital innovations in real-life use context is one of the key components of Living Labs. The users’ motivations to participate in Living Lab field tests at the beginning of the project are usually higher than once the field tests are underway. However, there is a dearth of research on other issues related to participants’ drop-out in Living Lab field tests. This study contributes to the existing literature by investigating the consequences of drop-out in Living Lab field tests and providing recommendations that would facilitate prolonged user engagement. The paper also discusses some ethical considerations regarding involvement of participants within Living Lab field tests. In doing so, we interviewed fourteen Living Lab experts in two Living Labs in Sweden and Belgium. Based on these interviews, we propose a first set of consequences, recommendations and ethical considerations to take into account when setting up Living Lab field tests. Keywords: User

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap -- Tvärvetenskapliga studier inom samhällsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences -- Social Sciences Interdisciplinary (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap -- Systemvetenskap, informationssystem och informatik med samhällsvetenskaplig inriktning (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Media and Communications -- Information Systems, Social aspects (hsv//eng)

Keyword

User engagement

Drop-out

Living Lab

Field test

Recommendations

Ethics

Information systems

Informationssystem

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kon (subject category)