WhatsApp! Does Culture Matter to Persuasive System Design and Brand Loyalty?

The traditional paradigm prioritizes local culture in application design; however, popular applications with persuasive systems design (PSD) like WhatsApp appeal to a global audience beyond local cultural attributes. The purpose of this study is to test the moderating role of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions on PSD and the relationship to loyalty in the context of WhatsApp. By employing an online survey, data were collected from the Netherlands, Germany, KSA, and Malaysia (N = 488). Using regression moderation analyses, the hypotheses were tested. Findings suggest that only two cultural dimensions, namely power distance and individualism, have a moderating role: power distance in Germany, and individualism in both KSA and Malaysia. This implies that managers must consider the possible influence of some cultural dimensions on loyalty. The study contributes to the literature by focusing on smartphone apps in countries with varying cross-cultural dimensions scores and utilizing the user’s perspective instead of the designer’s perspective.

Assessment of Persuasive Design Principles in E-Commerce Applications Based on Users’ Reviews

Different e-commerce applications aim to utilize different techniques and methods to enhance their usability and persuasive design experience. Persuasive design persuades users to use an application. Users also review the applications they use and provide comments based on their experiences. Therefore, this study aims to examine that to what extent the principles of the persuasive systems design (PSD) model have been implemented in a number of e-commerce applications in Saudi Arabia based on user reviews. Users’ reviews have been extracted using Appbot tool. Filtering and categorizing the collected users’ reviews took place before analyzing the data. The filtering and categorization were based on PSD model. The results demonstrate which principles of the PSD model are highly used in the selected applications based on users’ reviews. Tailoring, tunneling, and reductions principles have been reported to be positively utilized and implemented by the selected applications. Moreover, the findings report different users’ reviews on rewards and social supports principles.

Aiding Users in Green IS Adoption with Persuasive Systems Design

Green information systems (IS) is a research domain that contributes to finding solutions for fostering environmental behavior in individuals, organizations, and communities. So far, researching Green IS for individual users has been less abundant and requires more insight. Users’ engagement with technologies start from adoption. Green IS challenges users to modify their lifestyles in order to achieve sustainable behavior patterns. This article is focused on persuasive Green IS, which have in-built features to convince users to modify their lifestyles and to improve technology adoption intention. In the theoretical background, main concepts, especially sustainable behavior, Green IS, IS adoption, persuasive systems, and persuasive systems design (PSD) model are presented. In this article, we analyzed three studies that focused on individual sustainable behavior change with persuasive Green IS. Overviews of these studies are presented and the studies were analyzed as a whole. The reviewed studies suggest that the PSD model has a high potential for becoming a tool for Green IS enhancement. The key themes identified from the studies bring value to both academics and practitioners, as well as suggest directions for researching the individual behavior change with persuasive Green IS in the future.

Potential Reduction of Symptoms With the Use of Persuasive Systems Design Features in Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Programs for Children and Adolescents With Anxiety: A Realist Synthesis

Background Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) for children and adolescents is a persuasive system that combines 3 major components to therapy—therapeutic content, technological features, and interactions between the user and program—intended to reduce users’ anxiety symptoms. Several reviews report the effectiveness of iCBT; however, iCBT design and delivery components differ widely across programs, which raise important questions about how iCBT effects are produced and can be optimized. Objective The objective of this study was to review and synthesize the iCBT literature using a realist approach with a persuasive systems perspective to (1) document the design and delivery components of iCBT and (2) generate hypotheses as to how these components may explain changes in anxiety symptoms after completing iCBT. Methods A multi-strategy search identified published and gray literature on iCBT for child and adolescent anxiety up until June 2019. Documents that met our prespecified inclusion criteria were appraised for relevance and methodological rigor. Data extraction was guided by the persuasive systems design (PSD) model. The model describes 28 technological design features, organized into 4 categories that help users meet their health goals: primary task support, dialogue support, system credibility support, and social support. We generated initial hypotheses for how PSD (mechanisms) and program delivery (context of use) features were linked to symptom changes (outcomes) across iCBT programs using realist and meta-ethnographic techniques. These hypothesized context-mechanism-outcome configurations were refined during analysis using evidence from the literature to improve their explanatory value. Results A total of 63 documents detailing 15 iCBT programs were included. A total of six iCBT programs were rated high for relevance, and most studies were of moderate-to-high methodological rigor. A total of 11 context-mechanism-outcome configurations (final hypotheses) were generated. Configurations primarily comprised PSD features from the primary task and dialogue support categories. Several key PSD features (eg, self-monitoring, simulation, social role, similarity, social learning, and rehearsal) were consistently reported in programs shown to reduce anxiety; many features were employed simultaneously, suggesting synergy when grouped. We also hypothesized the function of PSD features in generating iCBT impacts. Adjunct support was identified as an important aspect of context that may have complemented certain PSD features in reducing users’ anxiety. Conclusions This synthesis generated context-mechanism-outcome configurations (hypotheses) about the potential function, combination, and impact of iCBT program components thought to support desired program effects. We suggest that, when delivered with adjunct support, PSD features may contribute to reduced anxiety for child and adolescent users. Formal testing of the 11 configurations is required to confirm their impact on anxiety-based outcomes. From this we encourage a systematic and deliberate approach to iCBT design and evaluation to increase the pool of evidence-based interventions available to prevent and treat children and adolescents with anxiety.

Potential Reduction of Symptoms With the Use of Persuasive Systems Design Features in Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Programs for Children and Adolescents With Anxiety: A Realist Synthesis (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) for children and adolescents is a persuasive system that combines 3 major components to therapy—therapeutic content, technological features, and interactions between the user and program—intended to reduce users’ anxiety symptoms. Several reviews report the effectiveness of iCBT; however, iCBT design and delivery components differ widely across programs, which raise important questions about how iCBT effects are produced and can be optimized. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to review and synthesize the iCBT literature using a realist approach with a persuasive systems perspective to (1) document the design and delivery components of iCBT and (2) generate hypotheses as to how these components may explain changes in anxiety symptoms after completing iCBT. METHODS A multi-strategy search identified published and gray literature on iCBT for child and adolescent anxiety up until June 2019. Documents that met our prespecified inclusion criteria were appraised for relevance and methodological rigor. Data extraction was guided by the persuasive systems design (PSD) model. The model describes 28 technological design features, organized into 4 categories that help users meet their health goals: primary task support, dialogue support, system credibility support, and social support. We generated initial hypotheses for how PSD (mechanisms) and program delivery (context of use) features were linked to symptom changes (outcomes) across iCBT programs using realist and meta-ethnographic techniques. These hypothesized context-mechanism-outcome configurations were refined during analysis using evidence from the literature to improve their explanatory value. RESULTS A total of 63 documents detailing 15 iCBT programs were included. A total of six iCBT programs were rated high for relevance, and most studies were of moderate-to-high methodological rigor. A total of 11 context-mechanism-outcome configurations (final hypotheses) were generated. Configurations primarily comprised PSD features from the primary task and dialogue support categories. Several key PSD features (eg, self-monitoring, simulation, social role, similarity, social learning, and rehearsal) were consistently reported in programs shown to reduce anxiety; many features were employed simultaneously, suggesting synergy when grouped. We also hypothesized the function of PSD features in generating iCBT impacts. Adjunct support was identified as an important aspect of context that may have complemented certain PSD features in reducing users’ anxiety. CONCLUSIONS This synthesis generated context-mechanism-outcome configurations (hypotheses) about the potential function, combination, and impact of iCBT program components thought to support desired program effects. We suggest that, when delivered with adjunct support, PSD features may contribute to reduced anxiety for child and adolescent users. Formal testing of the 11 configurations is required to confirm their impact on anxiety-based outcomes. From this we encourage a systematic and deliberate approach to iCBT design and evaluation to increase the pool of evidence-based interventions available to prevent and treat children and adolescents with anxiety.