User engagement in living lab field trials

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the factors playing a role in the engagement of end-users to participate in Living Lab field trials. Design/methodology/approach – Multiple case study analysis of three Living Lab cases in which field trials were organized. Findings – Based on academic literature on field trials, user engagement and the technology acceptance model, the authors argue that several factors play a role in the participation of users in field trials. An influential factor that emerged is the functional maturity of the innovation, the extent to which a prototype resembles the functionalities and the processes of the final, go-to-market product at the moment of the field trial. Within this exploratory paper, we propose the “user engagement model for field trials” to explain the factors that play a role in the engagement of end-users in field trials. Research limitations/implications – The methodological limitations of a case study design make it difficult to extrapolate the fin...