Enhancing the Omnichannel Experience Through Channel Integration and Digital Nudging
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ENHANCING THE OMNICHANNEL EXPERIENCE THROUGH CHANNEL INTEGRATION AND DIGITAL NUDGING DISSERTATION of the University of St. Gallen, School of Management, Economics, Law, Social Sciences and International Affairs to obtain the title of Doctor of Philosophy in Management submitted by Tobias Mirsch from Germany Approved on the application of Prof. Dr. Reinhard Jung and Prof. Dr. Stephan Aier Dissertation no. 4844 Difo-Druck GmbH, Untersiemau 2019 The University of St.Gallen, School of Management, Economics, Law, Social Sciences and International Affairs hereby consents to the printing of the present dissertation, without hereby expressing any opinion on the views herein expressed. St.Gallen, October 23, 2018 The President: Prof. Dr. Thomas Bieger Preface “At last I can speak out, and greet my friends with good humour. May they pardon my secrecy, and what has been, as it were, a subterranean journey hither. For scarcely to myself did I venture to say whither I was hurrying. Even on the road I often had my fears; and it was only as I passed under the Porta del Popolo that I felt certain of reaching Rome.” (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1786) To this quote from Goethe’s work Italian Journey, I can draw many parallels. In a way, writing this section represents my personal Porta del Popolo; it is a friendly reminder to realize what I have achieved and to speak out to those being part of it. It invites me to look back and reflect on the many steps and challenges that were taken and mastered on this journey. The time at the Institute of Information Management of the University of St.Gallen was unique: It was challenging, provided me with many new stimuli, taught me a lot, and was a fun time, which I do not want to miss. From occasional Oktoberfest visits, over great projects and workshops, meeting super interesting people, and making it possible to spend a couple of fantastic months at LUISS University in Rome. However, in order to have lived through these experiences and arriving to this exact moment, many people prepared, influenced, accompanied, and supported me before and during this incredible time. First of all, I want to thank Prof. Dr. Reinhard Jung, who gave me the opportunity to take this path and had the trust in me to obtain this title. He created an environment in which I enjoyed working and I was able to grow and develop. I also want to thank Prof. Dr. Stephan Aier for the supervision of my dissertation and the many valuable inputs. I am also grateful to my friend Dr. Alexander Wieneke, who I had the pleasure sharing an office with for almost 3 years, which were characterized by remarkable, fun, and odd situations as well as by mutual support. I also want to thank Dr. Christiane Lehrer for the support and trust during the many papers, projects, and workshops. Many thanks also go to Bernadette, Dr. Christian Grape, Elisabeth, and Natascha, who made the time at the institute even more pleasant. I also want to thank my family, my friends, and everyone being there before, during, and hopefully also after this journey. Therefore, gratitude goes out to Andreas, Axel, Christoph, Daniel, David, Dominique, Mrs. Edeling, Fabian, Giulia, Nico, and Sascha. Finally, I am especially grateful to my mother Heike and sister Muriel, who have provided me the necessary basis for this journey and the moral as well the emotional support. Therefore, I am dedicating this dissertation to you. Thank you all for the encouragement, understanding, and support. Zurich, November 30, 2018 — Tobias Mirsch iii Research Papers Research Paper 1 Mirsch, T., Lehrer, C., Jung, R. (2016). Channel integration towards omnichannel management: A literature review. In Proceedings of the 20th Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems (PACIS), Chiayi, Taiwan, 1–16. Research Paper 2 Mirsch, T., Lehrer, C., Jung, R. (2016). Transitioning to an omnichannel approach: A dynamic capability perspective. In Proceedings of the 37th International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS), Dublin, Ireland. Research Paper 3 Lehrer C., Mirsch, T., Jung, R. (2018). Transitioning to omnichannel business: A dynamic capabilities perspective of firms’ channel integration. Working Paper. Research Paper 4 Mirsch, T., Lehrer, C., Jung, R. (2017). Digital nudging: Altering user behavior in digital environments. In Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Wirtschaftsinformatik (WI 2017), 634–648, St.Gallen, Switzerland. Research Paper 5 Mirsch, T., Lehrer, C., Jung, R. (2018). Making digital nudging applicable: The Digital Nudge Design method, In Proceedings of the 39th International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS), San Francisco, CA, USA. Research Paper 6 Mirsch, T. (2018). Ethical considerations on digital nudging – Identifying consumer concerns. Working Paper. iv Table of Contents List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................. vii List of Figures ...................................................................................................................................... viii Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... ix Kurzfassung ............................................................................................................................................. x 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1 2. Theoretical Background ................................................................................................................... 4 2.1. New Consumer Behavior and Needs .......................................................................................... 4 2.2. Evolution of Channel Management ............................................................................................ 5 2.3. Research Areas of Omnichannel Management ........................................................................... 6 2.3.1. Internal Capabilities ............................................................................................................... 6 2.3.2. Channel Design ...................................................................................................................... 7 3. Research Project ............................................................................................................................... 9 3.1. Research Objectives and Questions ............................................................................................ 9 3.2. Research Approach, Methodology, and Results ....................................................................... 10 3.2.1. Research Paper 1: Channel integration towards omnichannel management: A literature review ................................................................................................................................... 11 3.2.2. Research Paper 2: Transitioning to an omnichannel approach: A dynamic capability perspective ........................................................................................................................... 14 3.2.3. Research Paper 3: Transitioning to omnichannel business: A dynamic capabilities perspective of firms’ channel integration ............................................................................. 17 3.2.4. Research Paper 4: Digital nudging: Altering user behavior in digital environments ........... 19 3.2.5. Research Paper 5: Making digital nudging applicable: The Digital Nudge Design method ................................................................................................................................. 21 3.2.6. Research Paper 6: Ethical considerations on digital nudging – identifying consumer concerns ............................................................................................................................... 23 v 4. Discussion of Results ..................................................................................................................... 24 4.1. Focus Topic Channel Integration .............................................................................................. 25 4.2. Focus Topic Digital Nudging .................................................................................................... 27 4.3. Overarching Research Topic Omnichannel Management ........................................................ 28 5. Summary, Limitations, and Outlook .............................................................................................. 29 References .............................................................................................................................................. 31 Appendix ................................................................................................................................................ 37 Appendix 1: Research Paper 1 ............................................................................................................ 37 Appendix 2: Research Paper 2 ............................................................................................................ 60 Appendix 3: Research Paper 3 ............................................................................................................ 79 Appendix 4: Research Paper 4 .........................................................................................................