Syfte: Syftet med studien är att öka förståelsen för hur entreprenörer förhåller sig till den osäkerhet som råder när beslut tas angående implementering av ny teknologi.   Metod: Då studiens syfte har varit att öka förståelsen för ämnet har semistrukturerade djupintervjuer använts som kvalitativ metod.   Resultat & slutsats: Osäkerheten avseende ny teknik bland entreprenörerna är i det närmaste obefintlig tack vare att kostnaden för implementering av ny teknik är låg, det är lätt för entreprenörer att skaffa sig grundläggande kunskaper om ny teknik och nyttan av ny teknik är lätt att mäta. Dessa aspekter i kombination med entreprenörernas goda teknologiska beredskap bidrar till att beslutsfattande avseende ny teknik i större utsträckning sker under optimism än osäkerhet. De faktorer som påverkar beslutet att implementera en ny specifik teknologi (i denna studie digital marknadsföring), det vill säga den teknologiska acceptansen, är kunder, konkurrenter, långsiktig nytta, mätbarhet, resurser samt praktisk användbarhet.   Examensarbetets bidrag: Ur ett teoretiskt perspektiv bidrar studien till litteraturen genom att upprätta ett ramverk som skildrar vilka faktorer som har inverkan på entreprenörens upplevda optimism avseende ny teknologi. Studien visar att låg finansiell kostnad, kunskap och kompetens, befintlig kundbas samt mätbarhet av ROI är faktorer som förebygger osäkerhet. Vidare skildrar ramverket hur förebyggande av osäkerhet i sin tur skapar en optimistisk inställning till beslutsfattande avseende implementering av ny teknologi i form av digital marknadsföring, där framförallt mätbarheten bidrar till att beslutsfattandet sker på rationell basis och besluten i stor utsträckning drivs av faktorer kopplade till tidigare forskning inom teknologisk acceptans. Ur ett praktiskt perspektiv påvisas att digital marknadsföring kan bedrivas framgångsrikt till en låg finansiell kostnad trots avsaknad av tidigare erfarenhet eller utbildning hos entreprenören. Osäkerhet avseende implementering av digital marknadsföring kan förebyggas med hjälp av insamling av information och nätverkande.     Förslag till fortsatt forskning: I studien identifieras aspekter som förebygger entreprenöriell osäkerhet och ett förslag till framtida forskning är att använda sig av de faktorer som visat sig förebygga osäkerhet och testa dem på en annan digital teknologi för att kunna se huruvida resultatet hade skiljt sig åt. Forskningen indikerar även att att nystartade företag generellt agerar under en större osäkerhet än ett etablerat företag, trots att företagen faller inom kategorin mikroföretag. Det hade därför varit intressant att bygga vidare på studien genom att genomföra en jämförande studie i en större skala för att kunna dra slutsatser på huruvida nyetablerade mikroföretag skiljer sig från mikroföretag som varit verksamma under längre tid för att testa de indikationer som studien påvisat. / Aim: To increase understanding of how entrepreneurs relate to the uncertainty that prevails when deciding on the implementation of new technology.   Method: Semi-structured in-depth interviews.   Result & Conclusions: The uncertainty regarding new technology among the entrepreneurs is almost non-existent due to the cost of implementing new technology is low, it is easy for entrepreneurs to acquire basic knowledge about how to use new technology, and the benefits of new technology are easy to measure. These aspects, combined with the entrepreneurs' good technological readiness, contribute to the decision-making regarding new technology to occur in greater extent under optimism than uncertainty. The factors that influence the decision to implement new specific technology (in this study digital marketing), i.e. the technological acceptance, are customers, competitors, long-term utility, measurability, resources and practical usability.   Contribution of the thesis: From a theoretical perspective, the study contributes to the literature by establishing a framework that describes what factors have an impact on the contractor's perceived optimism regarding new technology. The study shows that low financial cost, knowledge and competence, existing customer base and measurability are factors that prevent uncertainty. Furthermore, the framework describes how prevention of uncertainty, in turn, creates an optimistic approach to decision-making regarding the implementation of new technology in the form of digital marketing, where, above all, the measurability contributes to the decision-making being made on a rational basis, and where the decisions are largely driven by factors linked to previous research in technological acceptance. From a practical perspective, demonstrating that digital marketing can be conducted successfully at a low financial cost despite the absence of previous experience or training with the contractor. Uncertainty regarding the implementation of digital marketing can be prevented by means of collecting information and networking.   Suggestions for future research: The study identifies aspects that prevent entrepreneurial insecurity, and a proposal for future research is to use the factors that have proven to prevent uncertainty and test them on another digital technology in order to see whether the result had differed. The research also indicates that start-up companies generally act under greater uncertainty than an established company, despite the fact that the companies fall within the category of micro-enterprises. It would therefore have been interesting to build on the study by conducting a comparative study on a larger scale in order to draw conclusions as to whether newly established micro-companies differ from micro-companies that have been active for a long time in order to test the indications that the study showed.

Background: The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has significantly impacted various sectors, with higher education institutions (HEIs) being no exception, necessitating strategic changes to harness its benefits, such as enhanced educational practices and efficiency, while addressing challenges like ethical concerns and job displacement risks. However, the integration of AI in higher education (HE) is not uniform and varies across various disciplines, influenced by factors such as technological readiness, professional culture, and stakeholders. By applying contingency theory, insights are provided into the alignment of organizational strategies with specific environmental factors. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of the rise of AI on strategic changes within HEIs and examine how these changes are contingent on distinct organizational cultures across various disciplines. Method: A single case qualitative study was utilized with an abductive approach, collecting empirical data from 10 participants with roles of higher responsibility in the HEI through semi-structured interviews. Additionally, a thematic analysis was used to examine the gathered data. Conclusion: The findings of this study reveal that the rise of AI necessitates strategic changes within HEIs, driven by opportunities and challenges. Integrating AI is seen as an ongoing process requiring flexibility and adaptability to changing environments, related to contingency theory. While some institutions begin to incorporate education about AI and develop guidelines, full implementation is still in the planning stages for many. The study underscores variations in AI adoption across disciplines, highlighting the need to tailor strategies to organizational cultures, including aspects such as different professional cultures and technological readiness cultures. Ultimately, this research enhances the understanding of strategic change management as a reaction to the rise of AI, offering an overarching framework for HEIs to adapt to a dynamic educational environment.

[pt] A teleconsulta, como ferramenta tecnológica, pode gerar maior acessibilidade a serviços de saúde de qualidade, além de servir para lidar com os desafios de recursos na indústria da saúde. Pode também ser particularmente relevante durante a pandemia de COVID-19, com o distanciamento social que demanda novas soluções tecnológicas para a oferta de serviços de qualidade com contato pessoal reduzido. Este trabalho propõe um modelo integrativo de aceitação de tecnologia para avaliar os fatores determinantes da adoção de teleconsulta pelos pacientes, alinhando construtos de caráter cognitivo e comportamental, oriundos do modelo de aceitação de tecnologia, com outros construtos de natureza distintas: (i) prontidão tecnológica, representando o fator de natureza tecnológica do modelo; e (ii) confiança e autoeficácia, representando construtos relacionados com aspectos específicos e relevantes na adoção de tecnologias em serviços de saúde. Para testar e validar o modelo conceitual proposto, foi utilizada a modelagem de equações estruturais com dados dos questionários de 415 consumidores. Os resultados obtidos indicam relações significativas entre os construtos avaliados, com particular relevância nos efeitos da utilidade percebida, antecedida pela confiança e prontidão tecnológica, sobre atitude e intenção de uso da teleconsulta. O uso deste modelo integrativo, com seis potenciais antecedentes, possibilitou explicar 67,7 por cento da variância da intenção comportamental de uso dos respondentes. Os achados também sugerem que o contexto pandêmico associado com o Covid-19 possa influenciar o comportamento dos pacientes quanto à intenção de uso da teleconsulta. Desta forma, os resultados obtidos fornecem avanços no debate da aceitação de tecnologia nos serviços de saúde, ao propor um modelo integrativo e potencialmente inédito de avaliação das intenções de uso, sobre a ótica dos pacientes. Também servem como potenciais fontes orientadoras para organizações de saúde e reguladores públicos, na formatação de estratégias para o futuro da teleconsulta no Brasil no período posterior à pandemia de COVID-19. / [en] Teleconsultation can be a strategic technological tool for patients to access quality healthcare while dealing with resource challenges within health industry. It can be particularly relevant during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, when the social distancing world had to scramble for new technological solutions to offer quality healthcare services with reduced personal contact. Our research proposes an integrative technology acceptance model to evaluate the drivers of teleconsultation adoption by patients, aligning cognitive and behavioral constructs from the technology acceptance model with other drivers associated with distinct natures, such as: (i) technology readiness, a factor with technological characteristics; and (ii) trust, and self-efficacy, constructs strongly associated and relevant to the acceptance of technologies in health-related services. To test and validate the proposed conceptual model, this study applied structural equations modeling based on survey’s data from a sample of 415 consumers. Results indicate significant relationships between the assessed constructs, with particular relevance on the effects of perceived usefulness, anteceded by trust and technology readiness, on attitude and intention to use teleconsultation. The model was able to explain 67.7 percent of respondents behavioral intention in adopting teleconsultation. Our findings also suggested the potential impact of the pandemic context (Covid-19) on the respondents answers and behaviors. Our findings support the debate on technology acceptance by providing an integrative and potentially new model for assessing patients intention of adopting new health-related technologies. In addition, results provide helpful insights for health organizations and regulators in their future strategies and debates on the teleconsultation introduction in Brazil in the period post-Covid-19 pandemic.

[pt] Os dispositivos vestíveis de saúde, como ferramenta tecnológica, podem contribuir para o diagnóstico e tratamento de doenças, permitir o acompanhamento de pacientes à distância e otimizar a utilização de recursos na indústria da saúde. Este estudo propõe um modelo integrativo de aceitação de tecnologia para avaliar os fatores determinantes da adoção dispositivos vestíveis de saúde pelos consumidores, alinhando construtos oriundos do modelo de aceitação de tecnologia com outros construtos, como prontidão tecnológica, confiança e autoeficácia. Os dados obtidos nos questionários de pesquisa de 424 consumidores, analisados por meio da modelagem de equações estruturais, indicam relações significativas entre os construtos avaliados, tendo sido observada uma particular relevância nos efeitos da utilidade percebida, antecedida pela confiança e prontidão tecnológica, sobre a atitude e a intenção de uso dos dispositivos vestíveis de saúde. Portanto, os resultados desta pesquisa sugerem que o modelo proposto representa um avanço na compreensão dos fatores que influenciam a atitude geral de adoção pela população da tecnologia dos dispositivos vestíveis de saúde. / [en] Wearable health devices, as a technological tool, may contribute to the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, besides allowing a remote monitoring of patients and optimizing the use of resources in the health industry. This study proposes an integrative model of technology acceptance to assess the determining factors for the adoption of wearable health devices by users, aligning constructs from the technology acceptance model with other constructs, such as technological readiness, assurance and self-efficacy. The data obtained from the survey questionnaires of 424 consumers, which were analyzed through structural equation modelling, indicate significant relationships between the evaluated constructs. Particular relevance was observed in the effects of perceived usefulness, preceded by assurance and technological readiness, on attitude and intention to use wearable health devices. Therefore, the results of this research suggest that the proposed model represents an advance in the understanding of the factors that influence the general attitude of the population to adopt the use of the technology of wearable health devices.