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This research aims (i) to assess the level of customer satisfaction and loyalty to self-service technologies and Auchan Retail Portugal, (ii) to identify the determinants of customer satisfaction and loyalty to these technologies and also, (iii) to identify their influence on customer loyalty to this modern distribution retailer operating in Portugal.

A conceptual model was defined to meet the research objectives and to carry out the quantitative analysis applied to the random sample (n = 483) of customers. The data used where gathered via an online questionnaire survey, which covered all dimensions of the conceptual model, applied in 2021 in Portugal. To validate the hypotheses, Cronbach’s alpha and multiple linear regression models were used.

The results reveal that customer satisfaction with self-service technologies has a direct and positive effect on customer loyalty to Auchan Retail Portugal. Furthermore, results reveal that the technology utility factors significantly influence the customer technology experience which has an impact on perceived service quality and perceived risk. The findings of this research provide data on how to improve customer adoption and satisfaction with self-service technology and highlight that these technologies should be part of firm’s competitive strategy.

This study presents itself as a novelty for science, while granting important contributions to the retailer. It presents an innovative conceptual model that delivers to Auchan the basis for it to move toward smart retail technologies, aiming at the market trend of personalization. For future research, this study can be used as an instrument to evaluate the customer experience with self-service technology and to examine the determinants and effects of self-service technology separately.

The purpose of this paper is to test the effect that anthropomorphic framing (i.e. robot vs automatic machine) has on consumers’ responses in case of service failure. Specifically, the authors hypothesize that consumers hold an unconscious association between the word “robot” and agency and that the higher agency attributed to self-service machines framed as robots (vs automatic machines) leads, in turn, to a more positive service evaluation in case of service failure.

The authors have conducted four experimental studies to test the framework presented in this paper. In Studies 1a and 1b, the authors used an Implicit Association Test to test for the unconscious association held by consumers about robots as being intelligent machines (i.e. agency). In Studies 2 and 3, the authors tested the effect that framing technology as robots (vs automatic machines) has on consumers’ responses to service failure using two online experiments across different consumption contexts (hotel, restaurant) and using different dependent variables (service evaluation, satisfaction and word-of-mouth).

The authors show that consumers evaluate more positively a service failure involving a self-service technology framed as a robot rather than one framed as an automatic machine. They provide evidence that this effect is driven by higher perceptions of agency and that the association between technology and agency held by consumers is an unconscious one.

This paper investigates a novel driver of consumers’ perception of agency of technology, namely, how the technology is framed. Moreover, this study sheds light on consumers’ responses to technology’s service failure.

Future service interactions are anticipated to use humanoid robots in a society that is shifting to a digitalized era. Currently, it is evident that many businesses are replacing service interactions with self-service technologies (SSTs). This movement creates substantial societal changes that researchers have not paid sufficient attention to comprehend. In this setting, the purpose of this study is to examine the social drivers that influence customer mobility toward co-creating value via SSTs. The study also seeks to discover variations in customers' willingness and capacity to adopt SSTs.

To fulfill the research aims, a qualitative technique was adopted, with semistructured interviews conducted with 25 SST users from varied demographic backgrounds. To recruit individuals for the study, a nonprobabilistic purposeful sampling technique was adopted, with the goal of employing information-rich instances. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis.

The study identified eight social drivers that are important in the customer transition toward co-creating value with SSTs. According to the study, SSTs are characterized as a social trend in which adoption is accepted (social norm) and modifies social connections in a new direction. Using SSTs has evolved into a socializing tool that gives people social acknowledgment. Some people see SSTs as social pressure, putting them at a disadvantage if they do not adopt. People, on the other hand, acquire sufficient social support and independence to use SSTs. Customers were categorized into four groups depending on their willingness and ability to embrace SSTs: trendsetters, dreamers, old-fashioned and stragglers.

In practice, service providers can use this knowledge to successfully promote their SSTs and create enhanced client experiences through technological interfaces.

The study adds new knowledge by identifying social determinants in customer shifts toward SSTs, a phenomenon that has not been studied previously, and it adds to marketing theory by proposing a typology to group customers based on their ability and willingness to embrace SSTs.

Airline self-service technology (SST) has attracted attention from both the academic and aviation sectors. As the use of SST can reduce airlines’ operating costs, investigating SST usage at airports is particularly important for the aviation sector. The extant literature has explored users’ SST usage intention, but users’ switching intentions from traditional manual counter services to SST is still limited. Therefore, to address this issue, we used the push–pull–mooring (PPM) theoretical framework to develop a research model to explore user switching intention.

We utilized a mixed-methods approach. A qualitative approach (i.e., semistructured interviews) was first employed to recognize and choose the candidate factors. Then, we collected 450 valid responses through an online survey to test the model. The partial least squares method was used for data analysis.

We found that several push (perceived dissatisfaction and perceived inconvenience), pull (perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and service process fit), and mooring (personal innovativeness and inertia) factors significantly influence switching intention. Additionally, mooring factors exert contextual effects on the relationships between push and switching intentions and between pull factors and switching intentions.

This study contributes to the literature by further increasing our understanding of user switching intentions regarding SSTs from the PPM perspective and offering guidance for the aviation sector to attract and retain customers.

As the tourism industry continues to evolve and adapt to changing consumer demands, automated systems and artificial intelligence have gained significant attention. However, concerns related to ethical, social and environmental aspects have arisen alongside the benefits offered by these technologies. This chapter explores the emerging challenges surrounding the integration of robots and self-service technology in responsible and creative tourism.

The growth of self-service technologies (SST) in the retail sector has led to an increased prevalence of SST failures, and spurred academic debate on customer self-recovery of the failed services. This study sets out to explore why customers prefer or decline to engage in self-recovery. A framework integrating elements from self-determination theory and theory of planned behavior is developed to explore the impact of motivational factors, attitudes and self-efficacy on self-recovery intention.

Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the sample consisting of 297 users of retail kiosks in convenience stores.

The results revealed that intrinsic motivation and identified regulation directly affect customers' attitude and intention to engage in self-recovery. Despite an insignificant direct relationship, external regulation impacted self-recovery intention through attitude. Further, the association between intrinsic motivation and self-recovery intention is moderated by self-efficacy.

Much of the extant SST recovery literature has focused on company-rendered service recovery, providing little guidance to firms on how to promote self-recovery among customers. The integrated motivational-cognitive theoretical base in this study allows for a more differentiated inquiry into the factors shaping self-recovery intention, resulting in a deeper understanding of this topic. The novel insights will help retailers develop effective strategies for promoting self-recovery among users of retail kiosks.

While the importance of human touch for maintaining a tech–touch balance has been stressed, little knowledge exists regarding how such human elements should be incorporated in service settings dominated by technologies. This study aims to examine the outcomes of human touch levels across different travel stages in a hotel stay context.

Data were collected through a survey on 900 participants. Latent class analysis was first conducted to categorize the sample into groups based on human touch levels. Hypotheses were then tested using regression-based moderation analysis with the PROCESS macro for SPSS.

Human touch level negatively predicts perceived risk, which is negatively associated with satisfaction. These effects are particularly significant at check-in and check-out stages. Informational privacy significantly moderates the effect of human touch level on perceived risk. Such interaction effects were spotted at the booking and check-out stages.

This study contributes to theory by revealing the role of human touch elements in technology-driven service scenarios and provides practical guidelines for hotels on sharpening service experience by integrating human touch and technology elements.

Through integrating the service encounter framework and concept of customer touchpoints, this study takes a different approach that integrates both “tech” and “touch” by investigating the effects of customer-owned touchpoints in each core stage of a hotel stay journey.

This study aims to investigate how different menu types trigger diners’ behavioral intentions in restaurants’ innovation diffusion from paper to digital menus.

Four menu types, namely, paper menus with text only, paper menus with text and images, digital menus that show text and images or text and video with self-service technological functionality, are designed to empirically examine a mental process through which perceived information quality, perceived food quality and perceived service quality influence diners’ behavioral intentions.

Based on the online survey data from 502 diners, results show that the menu design influences customers’ perceptions. The video-based digital menu is the most effective to generate diners’ behavioral intentions, followed by a paper menu with text and images.

This study contributes to the innovation diffusion theory and stimulus-organism-responses theory to encourage the joint use of auditory and visual channels for digital menu design in restaurants.

The authors confirm the digital transformation in menu design in restaurants. Restaurant diners are also prepared and comfortable with digital menus, especially in the postpandemic world.

本研究目的在于调查在餐厅从纸质菜单到数字菜单的创新扩散过程中, 不同菜单类型如何影响餐厅客人的行为意向。

通过设计并使用四种菜单类型, 分别为只有文本的纸质菜单、具有文本和图片的纸质菜单、显示文本和图片或文本和视频的数字菜单以及具有自助技术功能的数字菜单, 本研究以实证方法考察了感知信息质量、感知食品质量和感知服务质量如何影响餐厅客人的行为意向的心理过程。

根据对502名餐厅客人的在线调查数据显示, 菜单设计影响了客人的感知。基于视频的数字菜单是影响餐厅客人行为意向最有效的菜单类型, 其次是文本和图片的纸质菜单。

本研究表明应鼓励在餐厅数字菜单设计中同时使用听觉和视觉元素。因此, 为研究促进了创新扩散理论和刺激-有机体-反应理论的发展。

我们证实了数字菜单在餐厅菜单设计中的转型。餐厅客人, 尤其是在在后疫情时代, 已经准备好并愿意接受使用数字菜单。

Despite the growing number of cashierless stores, few studies have examined the factors that influence the success of such stores. This paper aims to identify the influence of store attributes in customers’ affective attitudes regarding cashierless stores and to understand how customers’ need for interaction and risk reduction affect the relationship between customer experiences and evaluation.

Quantitative research is conducted using a partial least squares structural equation model. Data was collected from 174 customers with cashierless store experience.

The results identify the influence of hedonic and utilitarian characteristics on affective attitudes and the impact of attitudes on behavioral intentions. Also, multigroup analysis reveals that hedonic features are stronger indicators of customer attitudes among those with a low need for interaction, whereas utilitarian attributes are more important among customers with a low need for risk reduction. Customers’ affective attitudes are stronger influences on behavioral intentions among members of customer groups with a low need for both interaction and risk reduction.

To add to the limited research in customers’ experience with unstaffed stores, this study provides useful insights to achieve sustainable growth in the retailing context. Managerial considerations suggest that operators of cashierless stores should design store environments to guarantee customers’ purchasing and recommendation intentions.

The purpose of this study is to provide in-depth knowledge on customer-facing technology and customer experience in the grocery retail sector, including how the value-added potential of customer-facing technologies may be enhanced.

The analysis is based on 30 in-depth interviews with “early adopters” of customer-facing digital retail technologies in the Norwegian grocery sector. Theoretically, the study draws on notions of the customer journey and customer experience.

The study contributes to deepening insights concerning how digital retail technology is used and may be geared to further increase value for customers, specifically how retailers may use data on customers and products to personalize digital retail technology offerings and gain a competitive advantage. The findings underline how customer value is context-dependent and show that while grocery retail customers primarily emphasize utilitarian benefits related to customer-facing technologies, hedonic benefits are valuable biproducts. Moreover, the study showcases how personalization is key in addressing customers’ needs and wants, and may serve to increase the overall value of customer-facing technologies for customers and retailers.

The study’s sector-specific focus on technology in use contributes to enhance knowledge on how digital retail technologies can be leveraged to the benefit of customers and retailers, including customers’ sector-specific needs and wants.