Biological ecosystems and related concepts are well known and have been used for a long time, also outside of the ecology context. In this conceptual paper, we explore the use of biological ecosystem concepts as a new lens to understand and analyze information systems.  We propose that applying a frame of reference from a different discipline enriches information systems analysis in several ways, firstly through broadening the perspective of information systems, secondly by offering connections to phenomena and areas that were previously outside of the scope of the information system, and lastly through offering a new viewpoint on actors, roles and functions within an information system. Further research is needed to deepen our understanding of the information system ecosystem and apply this approach to other business activities.

En story är en strukturerad berättelse med budskap, mål och målgrupp. Genom att slå an på känslorna hos mottagaren – oavsett om det gäller ett strukturerat berättande runt lägerelden eller i det digitala rummet är storytelling ett användbart verktyg för att nå ut med ett budskap.

På ett lättillgängligt sätt förmedlas här grundläggande arbetssätt, verktyg, teorier samt berättelser och storyexempel. Del 1 ger bakomliggande teorier som underlättar skapandet, del 2 beskriver stegvis storyskapandet och del 3 kompletterar del 1 och 2 genom att tillföra kompletterande arbetsmetoder.

Boken riktar sig till såväl studenter på universitets- och högskole­nivå som elever på folkhögskola, yrkeshögskola och gymnasieskola. Den riktar sig även till yrkesverksamma inom kommunikation, likväl till chefer och ledare.

Gamification is the use of game mechanics in non-game situations for the players' / users' own goals by strengthening their intrinsic motivation. Game mechanics can for example be pins, badges, avatars, and leveling. The expression gamification was created in 2002 and is still in use although it has always been a problematic term. There are many models, methods, and tools to choose between when creating gamified applications. But regardless of which choice is made, the player / user must be in the center and knowledge about him/her used. A gamified application must in principle be digital and give instant feedback and reward. The effects of tiredness are particularly interesting since they limit the possibilities of gamification and would be of interest to investigate more.

It is well-known that student motivation is an important factor for achieving good learning results. This is no less interesting for distance courses where the students usually lack the contexts that are naturally available to campus students, something that can lower motivation. Gamification is sometimes mentioned as a means for raising motivation. Furthermore, the course servicescape can positively and negatively influence the students' motivation. This chapter presents teacher experience from developing and using gamified distance courses. The result is useful for both practice and research, and the most important lessons learned are to consider the learning platform's opportunities and limitations carefully before starting the practical work with a gamified course development as well as the willingness to spend enough time for assignments like this.

As consumers increase their purchases from online retailers, businesses must find exceedingly innovative ways to increase customer engagement. While online gaming has become increasingly prevalent, motivating customers through the same means has gained greater importance for businesses.

Utilizing Gamification in Servicescapes for Improved Consumer Engagement is a pivotal reference source that provides vital research on employing various gamification mechanics to alter and enhance certain behaviors in marketing contexts. While highlighting topics such as online gaming, user engagement, and target marketing, this book is ideally designed for retailers, advertisers, marketers, promotion coordinators, industry professionals, business executives, managers, researchers, academicians, and students seeking current research on bridging servicescapes and marketing literature with gamification.

Digital coaching systems offer users support in their physical training through insights and advice based on the individual’s activity data. Often these systems utilize gamification mechanisms to motivate users. In this study we conduct interviews with digital coaching users to understand how digital coaching systems are used to motivate physical activity, what kind of a role gamification plays, and how digital coaching systems should be developed further to better motivate users. We find that data itself is more motivating than gamification mechanisms, that players use data to play their own, internal games; and that data is also used for social purposes. We find that the benefits from digital coaches today are limited and mainly related to accurate exercise tracking and visualization of user data. Gamified elements are used on a low level and not perceived as value-adding by the users; deeper understanding of motivation theory and promoting intrinsic motivation is needed.

This chapter stresses the importance of putting core competence in its specific and accurate context to optimize its usefulness. Otherwise, the value might easily erode or even get totally lost. This research highlights core competence in the contexts of recruiting and educating IT project managers. A longitudinal study (2010 – 2013) scrutinized 325 advertisements for IT project managers. A core competence lens was used on the findings to test if such a lens was applicable to the project area (recruitment and training), which it was. This chapter follows-up on the prior research that proposes both recruitment and further training of IT project managers would gain from applying the core competence concept. The main reason for this goes back to understanding the importance of acknowledging the context, and of acting accordingly to reach customer perceived benefits / values. Core competence must be considered in the light of end products and business value.

In this paper, we aim to find out if digital coaching could support students to become physically more active. Studies show a worldwide trend of declining physical activity, and students are no exception. The search for means to keep the younger population physically active is not an easy task but technology will for sure play an important role in alleviating this trend. If a digital coach is one of the possible solutions it needs to offer support and feedback that are relevant to the students in their everyday activities. We carried out a survey with 138 undergraduate students to find out if features expected of a professional trainer who coaches athletes would be important also for a digital coach for it to be attractive and useful for students.

While gamification has gained in popularity across different research domains, there is still scarce knowledge on gamification in a servicescape context. The little research that exists in this field does not point in any clear direction. However, further investigation of gamification can provide researchers and practitioners with opportunities to further understand, embed and implement gamification into their marketing activities. To solve these issues, this research reviews contemporary servicescape and gamification literature and conceptualises a framework showing how gamification and its mechanics are linked to the concept of servicescapes and its marketing outcomes. This review highlights gamified mechanics in servicescapes as visible, non-visible and platform dependent. These are shown to influence cognitive and affective responses such as engagement, motion, flow and emotions, which subsequently have impact on long and short-term marketing outcomes. Theoretical and managerial implications are also discussed.

Online channels are highly relevant for microenterprises, but research focusing specifically on the challenges and circumstances faced by microenterprises doing channel expansions is scarce. A channel expansion is a strategic decision that will modify the business strategy of the company. Through twenty-two case studies in Finland and Sweden, we investigate microenterprises doing channel expansions. The goal of the research is to find out how microenterprises carry out channel expansions and what characteristics emerge from the two national samples. We look at the channel expansion from a business model perspective, which gives us a practical tool to probe the microentrepreneurs to discuss their expansions from many dimensions. Our findings show that microenterprises struggle to balance technology, business, and customer demands with competence and resources. A lack of strategic planning leads to a situation where both positive and negative outcomes of the channel expansions are largely unanticipated and unexpected.