Self-tracking devices and applications have become popular in recent years and changed user behaviour. Previous research has primarily focused on the adoption of self-tracking devices and their effects on self-assessment. As adoption increases, user engagement becomes prominent for the continuous use of the devices and the applications. In this study, we focus on user engagement with activity tracking applications, e.g., Fitbit Flex and Jawbone Up that offer data on user performance. We collected data from semi-structured interviews with 54 participants. We propose a process model comprising four stages which involve distinct user interactions with data: review, react, reflect, and respond. We advance research in this domain by the proposed process model that explicates user engagement in two cases: when the user encounters satisfactory or unsatisfactory results. In the latter case, we depict four response tactics when users are confronted with unsatisfactory results.

The introduction of smartphones and the accompanying profusion of mobile data services have had a profound effect on individuals’ lives. One of the most influential service categories is location-based services (LBS). Based on insights from behavioural decision-making, a conceptual framework is developed to analyse individuals’ decisions to use LBS, focusing on the cognitive processes involved in the decision-making. Our research is based on two studies. First, we investigate the use of LBS through semi-structured interviews of smartphone users. Second, we explore daily LBS use through a study based on diaries. The findings highlight that the decision to use LBS can be described by either a comparative mode based on the value of LBS in relation to other available options, or an intuitive mode in which past experiences trigger the use of heuristics. These modes in turn have positive influences on the continuance of LBS use and indicate changes in individuals’ information retrieval behaviours in everyday life. In particular, the distinct value dimension of LBS in specific contexts of use changes individuals’ behaviours towards accessing location-related information.

SUMMARY A Web user is exposed to a large number of information services available from different sources. Online news is offered combined with relevant service attributes such as pictures, small text, users' recommendations, etc. We previously investigated the Web user's choice of online news, focusing on the trade‐offs between reputation and other service attributes, which may explain the user's choice of an unknown source, such as a blog. In the present study, we investigate the Web user's choice of online news in a multi‐attribute context. Our findings indicate that the most important service attribute is the accompanying text, followed by the source's reputation, then the percentage of readers recommending or having read the link, and then the picture. We further explore the trade‐offs between the attributes through simulations. These findings provide useful insights to practitioners on how to use the service attributes in the framing strategies in order to increase the probability of the choice of online news. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Abstract Current trends on the Internet indicate an increasing supply of content from anonymous users (e.g. blogs), which may become popular among website visitors. Motivated by these Internet trends, the present study explores the tradeoffs between the source's reputation and the way content is displayed or offered on the web page as well as the effects of both on the Internet user's choice of information services. The study builds upon behavioral economics and focuses on the interaction between background and local context effects on the individual's choice. In particular, the study investigates the tradeoffs between the source's reputation, representing the background context and the provision of enriched content (e.g. source bundled with a picture or a video) representing local context. The research involved a set of experiments based on hypothetical choice or matching tasks. The main findings indicate that there are significant interaction effects between reputation and enriched content, in the form of content related pictures, video and users' recommendations, which affect the user's choice of information services. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Despite widespread proliferation of mobile devices providing access to a variety of advanced and data-rich services, adoption of those services remains low in most of the Western world. Thus, research related to the acceptance and use of mobile technology and services continues to develop. Traditional research in this domain has been useful for exploring adoption and use related to individual technologies or novel services. However, our research efforts indicate that users often reflect on former experiences with similar technologies or services when choosing mobile services. This suggests that when exploring mobile service usage decisions, focus cannot be placed on mobile services alone. Through two longitudinal field studies conducted in Denmark during 2004 and 2005, this article further explores the manner in which users' choices of mobile services are influenced by their reference situations and reference prices. The article suggests that users cognitive referencing is an influential factor that must be considered when exploring their usage behaviour in the mobile services market.