Organizational Transformation
Publications & Conference Proceedings
Technology-Human Hybridity:
Affecting organizations, consumers and cities
Read Rikke's latest paper on wearable technology and behaviour change
Dr Rikke Duus
University College London (UCL)
School of Management
Human-Tech Hybridity:
Impacting consumers, organizations and cities
Consumers & Consumption
My Research & Publications
GenTech: Revolt on the digital horizon?
In recent years, many unethical business practices have been exposed, including the capture and use of consumers’ data, anticompetitive activities and covert social experiments.
But what do young people who grew up with the internet think about this development?
Our research with 400 digital natives – 19- to 24-year-olds – shows that this generation, dubbed “GenTech”, may be the one to turn the digital revolution on its head.
Are we all social media workers?
Over the last decade, social media platforms have successfully managed to carve out a significant part of our day to read, contribute and comment in the guise of democratising our communications. This has resulted in an immense trail of high value data, central to the platforms’ commercial success.
The dark sides of self-tracking
You no longer have to look to science fiction to find the cyborg. We are all cyborgs now. Mobile phones, activity trackers, pacemakers, breast implants and even aspirins all act as biological, cognitive or social extensions and enhancements of our bodies and minds.
Human-tech hybridity
Mobile phones, smart watches, and wearable activity trackers (WATs) are just some of the technologies that are guiding, nudging, monitoring, and reminding individuals in their day-to-day lives. These devices are designed to enhance and support their human users, however, there is a lack of attention to the unintended consequences, the technology non-neutrality and the darker sides of becoming human-tech hybrids. We contributed with new insight on human-tech hybridity and present a concept referred to as the agency pendulum, reflecting the dynamism of agency.
How AI drives shopping behaviors
As consumers are looking for more sensory and immersive shopping experiences, the pressure is on for online retailers to find new ways to excite customers and keep them satisfied— artificial intelligence (AI) is the new technology they will use.
Algorithmic consumption loops
There are already many ways in which retailers use AI to interact with their customers. This type of AI is primarily based on learning customer preferences and behaviours, and providing tailored recommendations on a mass scale – also referred to as mass customisation.
TRIP: A strategizing framework for dynamic ecosystems
Across industries, organisations are in search of new ways to enhance their competitiveness in the midst of digital disruption and a changing competitor landscape. To guide organisations through the turbulent waters of the digital era, we need new frameworks to help shape organisational strategy and decision-making. In this article, we introduce a new strategising framework that is designed, developed and tested to support organisations to navigate and maneuver in digital spheres.
Organizational Transformation
DVC Framework: Accelerating Digital Value Creation
In this article, we present the Digital Value Creation (DVC) framework. The DVC framework can be used as an evaluative method for organisations to create, enhance and consolidate digital value.
We propose that organisations focus their digital value creation efforts in three interconnected areas: creating and managing ‘Experiences’, building meaningful and personalised ‘Relationships’ and accelerating ‘Evolution’ to support business longevity.
Towards dynamic ecosystems
To help organizations operate in dynamic and evolving environments with unprecedented speed of change and digital disruption, we propose a 3-step strategic approach. We call this the ‘ICE’ Framework.
Responding to digital transformation
Digital transformation is affecting businesses across industries. It is driven by new technologies, fierce competition and increasing expectations from customers of a ‘digital-first’ experience.
UrbanTech Transformation
The 4xCs of Connected Ecosystems
Digital technologies are fuelling the evolution of connected cities of the future.
Our research in Copenhagen with organizations that are leading the digital transformation agenda, reveals that there are four critical and self-propelling factors that are essential to meeting the future demands of cities and its citizens.
Based on our findings, we present a digital transformation framework of 4xCs that can be useful for cities and organizations across the world.
We see the 4xCs as a self-propelling framework as partners across the ecosystem contribute with knowledge, share expertise and innovate by challenging the status quo.
Veins and Wires: Reflections on UrbanTech Transformation
What kind of urban environment would you like to live in?
In this article, we critically reflect on how digital technologies are accelerating and changing the nature of urban spaces.
Using examples from around the world, we identify some of the boundaries of our technology-textured living and illuminate how the creation of our urban spaces takes place at the delicate intersection of personal privacy on one hand and the dream of the utopian ‘smart’ city on the other.
Cities of the future
Our research reveals that, although technology is important to the development of connected cities, there are other “softer” drivers at play, too – and we identified three that are critical to the success of future connected cities.
Towards an era of open data
Data has the power to revolutionize and disrupt the way societies are governed. None more so than open data, which is free to access, free to use and can be shared by anyone.
Transformative Education
Together We Innovate: Cross-Cultural Teamwork Through Virtual Platforms
In a global business environment, marketing education must support students to develop cross-cultural agility and adeptness with an aim to enhance their employability.
This article contributes with an experiential cross-cultural exercise that enables students to develop new enterprises in collaboration with other students in a different country through virtual teamwork. The exercise exposes students to practical cross-cultural learning, enterprise development, and virtual team management.
Results from students’ reflection journals indicate that the exercise is enjoyable, builds confidence in a range of skills, and prepares students for future employment. We offer guidance and direction on how to design and execute this experiential cross-cultural exercise and also highlight the challenges faced and strategies for success.
Why Hackathons Aren't Just for Coders
Never has it been more important for business schools and educators to find new ways to engage students through the use of digital technologies, to enhance collaboration in the classroom, and to create opportunities for students to gain experience solving complex business and societal challenges.
Develop More Impactful Async Course Material
With the global pandemic still upon us, many educators are continuing to design, plan, and adjust courses for online delivery. And just like our students, we need to acquire new skills to succeed in an online learning environment. These skills are an investment in my future.
