1. Digital
Empowerment
Dr Kathryn Waite, Assistant Professor in Marketing
School of Management & Languages (SML), Heriot Watt
University
Professor Tina Harrison, Business School, University of
Edinburgh
Friday 23rd September 2016
‘Pensions Online? Producer, Distributor and User Attitudes and Behaviour’ project, funded by the Economic and
Social Research Council as part of the E-Society programme. Grant No. RES-335-25-0031.
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2. @waiteKM
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3. Providing scientific thinking and
research into engineering solutions
since 1821
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4. Learning is Transformation
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5. Empowerment- process, outcome
and action
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6. Digital Empowerment
• Digital empowerment is where digital
technology enables individuals to do things that
they found difficult and which they were unable
to achieve before
(Amichai-Hamburger 2008).
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7. Implications for Education and
Training Technology
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8. We need a finer-grained approach
not a broad brush
• Greater control = greater
responsibility
• Not all individuals enjoy the
same outcomes
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9. Important questions
• How do we know that the users of our
technology are empowered?
• Are all users becoming equally empowered?
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10. Our research
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11. Choice of pension context
• Complex
• Unattractive
• Risky
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12. Step 1: How do users define digital
empowerment?
• “One of the reasons I feel empowered with the internet,
it is very useful all these search engines, these
comparative ones that compare prices … if one
searches through several then you feel this greater
knowledge and you are better equipped as a consumer,
even if you go to a shop at the end of the day instead of
doing it online”
• “I would hope, that in 5 years time, I will be able to hop
online and look at my pension, and see from one month
to the next, how projections are changing. Which in turn
might encourage you to try and manage your funds
better”.
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13. Step 2: Do these statements
resonate?
• Case organisation, with a defined contribution
pension and a pension website.
• Online survey sent to 2700 employees/pension
scheme members.
• 7% response rate, 198 usable questionnaires.
• 94% were active members of the pension
scheme; 88% had used the pension website.
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14. Dimensions of Digital
Empowerment
• COGNITIVE
– I have access to more information on my pension
– I have more control over my own pension
– I am taking more of an interest in my own pension
– I know how much my pension is worth
– I have a better understanding of how my own pension works
– I am better informed about pensions in general
– I am more confident in my ability to make enquiries about my pension
• AFFECTIVE
– I am in a better financial situation regarding my retirement
– I have been able to make the most of being in the pension plan
– My satisfaction with the pension plan has increased
• CONATIVE
– I feel less of a need to rely on the advice of financial experts/advisors
– I have saved more towards my retirement
– I feel more confident about making my own pension decisions
• DISEMPOWERED
– I feel more confused about pensions
– I have more control than I want
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15. So what?
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16. Diagnostics
% of sample Cognitive
empowerment
Affective
empowerment
Conative
empowerment
Dis-
empowerment
Informed
54%
Empowered
34%
Paralysed
12%
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17. No difference according to
individual characteristics
• No statistically significant differences between
the clusters according to:
– Involvement
– Technology readiness
– Understanding of the internet
– Understanding of pensions
– Age, gender, income.
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18. What should the company do?
• Informed group: invite to engage in game-
based scenarios to encourage and reward
activation of acquired knowledge
• Paralysed group: offer personalised interactive
delivery of content focusing on pace of delivery
and identifying learning milestones
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19. Having your back
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20. Where next?
• Apply to other technologies and different
contexts
• If you want read more then:
• Harrison, Tina, and Kathryn Waite. "Impact of co-
production on consumer perception of
empowerment." The Service Industries Journal 35, no.
10 (2015): 502-520.
• Harrison, T., Waite, K., & Hunter, G. L. (2006). The
internet, information and empowerment. European
Journal of Marketing,40(9/10), 972-993.
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