Shared Mobility As a Socio-Technical System
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Shared Mobility as a Socio-Technical System An investigation of the mobility system in Augsburg MASTER THESIS WITHIN: Informatics NUMBER OF CREDITS: 30 PROGRAMME OF STUDY: Information Architecture and Innovation AUTHOR: Wiebke Lena Henke HAMBURG May 2020 Master Thesis - Informatics Title: Shared Mobility as a Socio-Technical System Authors: Wiebke Lena Henke Tutor: Andrea Resmini Date: 2020-05-19 Key terms: shared mobility system, socio-technical system, experience ecosystem, Augsburg, Mobil-Flat Abstract A major shift in our society is the one from a goods-dominant logic to a service-dominant one. Ownership becomes less important, while services from the area of sharing economy experience a rising demand. Municipalities and private companies are adapting and different shared mobility systems are emerging from their pursuit of new forms of mobility. In 2019, Augsburg created a shared mobility system where public transport, carsharing and bikesharing are all provided via one subscription. As this form of subscription does not have many customers yet, this thesis aims to first identify the system and research which reason and components motivate the people in Augsburg to use the system, as well as collecting different ideas for improvement. An expert interview was conducted with someone from the operator side and then customer interviews were held to get an insight from the customers’ point of view. This data was analyzed using tools from the area of information system as well as information architecture and the system was mapped out and discussed. The system was mapped out around the user and the connections were shown, which indicated that the user wants simplicity and clarity, as too many platforms and ways to book a mobility service was stated negatively. i Acknowledgements After studying “Information Architecture and Innovation” for two years, handing in this thesis via an online upload and not being able to celebrate with the whole IA class of 2020 feels very wrong. But difficult times require exceptional measures, and I am sure the whole class will celebrate via Zoom after (or during) the opposition. Firstly, I would like to thank Andrea Resmini for his guidance throughout the last two years. Whenever I had a question, he gladly gave me an answer which lead to me having way more questions than before. By now I know that asking the right question is what it is about. Giving an answer is not as important, as it all depends. Secondly, I want to thank my classmates, Wilian and Rients. Us all being in different parts of Europe makes things hard. Seeing you guys every morning in our daily Skype call to talk about our progress, discussing ideas about the thesis and philosophizing about our futures made things almost normal again. Lastly, I would like to thank Julia, for reading this thesis again and again, as well as my family for bearing with me during this stressful time. ii Table of Contents 1. Introduction ..................................................................................... 1 1.1 Research Problem................................................................................................ 2 1.2 Purpose ................................................................................................................ 2 1.3 Research Question ............................................................................................... 3 1.4 Delimitations ....................................................................................................... 3 1.5 Definitions ........................................................................................................... 4 2. Theoretical Background ................................................................. 5 2.1 Approach to Literature Review ........................................................................... 5 2.2 Sharing Economy ................................................................................................ 6 2.3 Services ............................................................................................................... 8 2.4 Shared Mobility ................................................................................................. 10 2.4.1 Sidewalk Labs ................................................................................................... 12 2.5 Information Systems ......................................................................................... 12 2.5.1 Socio-Technical System .................................................................................... 13 2.5.2 Experience Ecosystem ...................................................................................... 13 2.6 Shared Mobility In Augsburg............................................................................ 14 2.6.1 Stadtwerke Augsburg Organization .................................................................. 15 2.6.2 Mobil-Flat ......................................................................................................... 16 2.6.3 Bikesharing ....................................................................................................... 17 2.6.4 Carsharing ......................................................................................................... 18 2.6.4.1 Station-Based Carsharing .......................................................................................................... 19 2.6.4.2 Free-Floating Carsharing........................................................................................................... 19 2.6.5 Public Transport ................................................................................................ 19 2.6.6 City Zone Augsburg .......................................................................................... 20 2.7 Solutions In Other Cities ................................................................................... 21 3. Methodology .................................................................................. 23 3.1 Research Philosophy ......................................................................................... 23 3.2 Research Approach ........................................................................................... 24 3.3 Research Design ................................................................................................ 25 3.4 Data Collection Method .................................................................................... 25 3.4.1 Semi-Structured Interviews ............................................................................... 26 3.4.2 Textual Analysis................................................................................................ 28 3.5 Limitations Of Methodology ............................................................................ 28 3.6 Ethical Considerations ...................................................................................... 29 3.7 Interpreting The Data ........................................................................................ 30 3.7.1 Customer Journey ............................................................................................. 31 3.7.2 Mapping The System ........................................................................................ 31 3.7.2.1 Individual Actor ........................................................................................................................ 32 3.7.2.2 General Ecosystem .................................................................................................................... 33 4. Results ............................................................................................ 34 4.1 Interviews .......................................................................................................... 34 4.1.1 Interview Employee Stadtwerke Augsburg ...................................................... 34 4.1.2 Interviews Customers ........................................................................................ 37 4.2 Customer Journeys ............................................................................................ 43 4.2.1 Customer Journey 1 .......................................................................................... 44 4.2.1.1 Reflections On The Customer Journey 1: ................................................................................. 47 iii 4.2.2 Customer Journey 2 .......................................................................................... 48 4.2.2.1 Reflections On The Customer Journey 2: ................................................................................. 50 4.2.3 Customer Journey 3 .......................................................................................... 51 4.2.3.1 Reflections On The Customer Journey 3: ................................................................................. 53 5. Analysis .......................................................................................... 54 5.1 Socio-Technical Mobility System In Augsburg ................................................ 54 5.1.1 Creating Value .................................................................................................. 57 5.2 Experience Ecosystem ...................................................................................... 58 6. Conclusion ..................................................................................... 64 7. Discussion .....................................................................................