German Consumer Expectations and Behaviour in the Field of Digital Kitchen

Tina Yvonne Rönnberg, Ph.D.

Doctoral thesis

Abstract:

Digitalisation affects society and business models equally. Given this technical evolution is still new, scientific research on the implications for consumer behaviour and expectations is also just at the beginning. By now there is only consumer behaviour related data in the field of Smart Brown Goods, but no scientific data in the specific field of Smart White Goods. Therefore the research questions of this thesis are: _What do German consumer expect from connected kitchen home appliances? Does the digital offer match German consumer´s demands?“ and furthermore „Does sociocultural evolution have an impact on what German consumer expect from the Digital Kitchen?“. Based on an online survey with over 300 participants the researcher investigated German consumer expectations towards Smart White Goods. Results indicate that respondents were open for digital features in the kitchen, but the highest voted applications were mainly derived from the analogue world and transferred to the digital world (e.g. paper manual, online manual) and would not need appliances to be connected with each other or with a platform. Therefore it can be deducted that consumers have not yet internalised tha possibilities of connected appliances within a smart network. Also sociocultural evolution showed to have an impact on German consumers´attitude towards the topic of Digital Kitchen. Consumer of the Second, but mostly of the Third Wave were attracted by smart kitchen home appliances. The results of this research can help to understand what the drivers of consumers´ adoption and use of those kind of appliances are.

Abstract:

Digitalisation affects society and business models equally. Given this technical evolution is still new, scientific research on the implications for consumer behaviour and expectations is also just at the beginning. By now there is only consumer behaviour related data in the field of Smart Brown Goods, but no scientific data in the specific field of Smart White Goods. Therefore the research questions of this thesis are: _What do German consumer expect from connected kitchen home appliances? Does the digital offer match German consumer´s demands?“ and furthermore „Does sociocultural evolution have an impact on what German consumer expect from the Digital Kitchen?“. Based on an online survey with over 300 participants the researcher investigated German consumer expectations towards Smart White Goods. Results indicate that respondents were open for digital features in the kitchen, but the highest voted applications were mainly derived from the analogue world and transferred to the digital world (e.g. paper manual, online manual) and would not need appliances to be connected with each other or with a platform. Therefore it can be deducted that consumers have not yet internalised tha possibilities of connected appliances within a smart network. Also sociocultural evolution showed to have an impact on German consumers´attitude towards the topic of Digital Kitchen. Consumer of the Second, but mostly of the Third Wave were attracted by smart kitchen home appliances. The results of this research can help to understand what the drivers of consumers´ adoption and use of those kind of appliances are.

Keywords

digitalisation, white goods, internet of thing

Keywords

digitalisation, internet of thing, white goods

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 27. 11. 2018

Thesis defence

• Date of defence: 26. 11. 2018
• Supervisor: doc. Ing. Kateřina Ryglová, Ph.D.
• Reader: Michal Vodák, Ing., Ph.D., Helena Chládková, doc. Ing., Jaroslav Světlík

Mendel University in Brno

Faculty of Business and Economics

Doctoral programme / field:
Economics and Management / Business Management and Economics