platform where they want to use them, but also a platform that is familiar to them. Thirdly, the interviewees touched upon the topic of training, and more specifically the lack of need of it. Training was namely not seen as an important factor concerning the PEU of
technology, as interviewees highlighted that the users of technology, especially in the context of fashion and social media do not require or demand training or education when it comes to new technology, such as new filters or other new features. Instead, the
interviewees suggested that users tend to adapt to new technology by themselves, and without any specific instructions. However, one the interviewees mentioned showcasing and demonstrating as a way to introduce new technology to users to increase the PEU of the technology. Related to training, and users understanding the technology, the fourth factor that stood out was the technology suitability. This factor was expressed as influential to PEU of technology by the interviewees, as all of the interviewees agreed upon the Digital Collection as being too futuristic for its target group. Also, technology suitability was
brought up in other contexts as well, one interviewee discussing a technology designed for children’s learning - how technology designed for children would include “gaming” in order to fit the user target. Furthermore, one interviewee mentioned an important point in regard to technology suitability in terms of taking the nature of the fashion industry, but also its audience into account. By this, the interviewee highlighted the significance of the emotional aspect of the industry and its implications also on technology to be implemented and used in fashion. Finally, the umbrella term of user journey stood out as influential in regard to the PEU of technology, closely related to the previously mentioned speed, platform and
technology suitability. The general concept user journey was mentioned in the context of the Digital Collection, as three out of four interviewees found it complicated and outdated, while the creator perceived it as intuitive, simple and well-working. Meaning, that based on the expert interviews, all the above needs to come together for the users when accepting a new technology and they will be influential in the process of implementing new technology.
ease of use of technology. However, in addition to these factors, an external variable emerged in the course of the interviews, which is considered to be significant in the
technology acceptance in the studied context of fashion and social media. This variable that is argued to be an additional determinant of technology acceptance, for the studied context, is communication. Communication was brought up in different contexts which will be
introduced next.
What became evident in the course of the interviews was the importance of communication in the specific context of social media. The interviewees motivated communication’s crucial role on social media by explaining the vast amount of content and “noise” on different social media channels - something that can be difficult to break through in order to deliver the message for the social media users. In other words, the interviewees stressed the fact that social media includes large amounts of different types of content, through which communicating about a new technology, or sustainability, for instance can be very
challenging. In order to break through the “noise” and to get to the social media users over the social media platforms, the expert interviewees suggested different means of
communication.
The first way of conducting effective communication on social media was storytelling.
Storytelling was brought up in the context of communicating the technology behind the Digital Collection to fashion consumers by the sustainability “story”. In other words, the creator of the Digital Collection convinced fashion consumers to use the new technology by telling a story about sustainability in fashion, and relating it to the technology, as was mentioned in his comment, also mentioned in regards to greenwashing: “(...) when you have such an idea you know that this is something that can be a new story something that will travel in media”. He further mentioned the importance of stories and storytelling several times during the interview to highlight its power as a communication tool, but also as a means of potentially influencing the behavior of users and consumers.
Another way in which the importance of communication was brought up in the interviews was discussion concerning “bursts” on social media. Bursts was referred to as short,
impactful initiatives by brands on social media in order to break through the vast amount of content. As Rasmus discussed the “burst” created for the promotion of the Digital
Collection: “That's a campaign that's had a huge burst for a while, it fills up a lot of space on social media. But just for a period and then it's gone or then it's something that is
continuous. Then it continues on all the Carlings platforms, on the website etc. but it's not necessarily something that they're communicating all the time, it's something that they're communicating in bursts.” The importance of creating a “burst” was reasoned with the difference between reach and attention on social media, summarized by Rasmus “(...) there's a big difference between reaching a target group, and getting a target group's attention.” This said, it is not enough to reach social media users in terms of them being exposed to content, instead in order for the content to have influence on the users it needs to gain the attention, thus deeper acknowledgement of the users.
Furthermore, related to creating a “burst” in order to gain the attention of social media users in the studied context, a process of communication that has user or consumer
conversion as a goal was presented by the social media expert, Rasmus. As he explained, an efficient way of communicating is using the process of “inspiration, communication and conversion”. Inspiration referred to similar initiatives as creating a “burst”, thus creating interest among users or consumers. The next step, communication, was about then feeding the inspired target group with information about the technology, product or behavior in question. The final step, conversion then referred to the users or consumers as being convinced to change their behavior - thus buy the promoted product, for instance. Rasmus explained the process by saying: “(...) there's a difference in what you're communicating. In the beginning you would communicate something that's emotional to kind of get people's attention and inspire them, then in the next phase, you would give them some more
information to kind of make sure that they'd be able to make an informed decision. And then in the end you're giving them a message, trying to convert them, make the sale (...).
Moreover, the different communication principles being, inspiration, information, and then conversion”. Furthermore, he confirmed that the same process is applicable not only for sales purposes, but also to promote new behavior or technology among users.