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1 – 10 of over 7000L. Michelle Bobbitt and Pratibha A. Dabholkar
Technology‐based self‐service is growing at a tremendous rate all over the world, but a strong unifying theory to understand this form of service is lacking. Proposes a…
Abstract
Technology‐based self‐service is growing at a tremendous rate all over the world, but a strong unifying theory to understand this form of service is lacking. Proposes a comprehensive conceptual framework that incorporates several well‐known attitudinal theories to explain the pivotal role of attitudes in influencing intentions and behavior related to technology‐based self‐service. The framework makes it possible to understand and predict better consumer decisions related to using technology‐based self‐service by thoroughly examining underlying consumer attitudes. Uses the Internet to illustrate how our framework can be applied to study consumer behavior related to a specific technology‐based self‐service. Draws on insights from the extant literature on technology‐based self‐service and also incorporates the many unique characteristics of the Internet that have implications for theory. Discusses practical implications of our model for marketers and provides directions for future research on technology‐based self‐service in general and the Internet in particular. With its integrative approach to theory, also contributes to the attitudinal literature.
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Pratibha A. Dabholkar, L. Michelle Bobbitt and Eun‐Ju Lee
Self‐scanning technology is being tested by major supermarket chains as well as other types of retailers across the world, but the success of the new technology from the…
Abstract
Self‐scanning technology is being tested by major supermarket chains as well as other types of retailers across the world, but the success of the new technology from the consumer’s perspective is not yet clear. This study investigates consumer reasons for both using and avoiding self‐scanning checkouts with a view to addressing these practitioner issues. In addition, the study advances theory on consumer motivation and behavior related to technology‐based self‐service in general. Factors driving preference or avoidance of self‐scanning checkouts include attributes of self‐scanners, consumer differences, and situational influences. Reasons for preference of other types of technology‐based self‐service over traditional service alternatives are also explored to determine motivational and behavioral patterns across service contexts. A combination of research methods is used to investigate these issues and offers richer findings than any one method used alone. Implications are discussed for managerial strategy as well as for future research.
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Atieh Poushneh and Arturo Z. Vasquez-Parraga
This study aims to answer the following question: How can customer readiness be instrumental in non-technology-based service delivery?
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to answer the following question: How can customer readiness be instrumental in non-technology-based service delivery?
Design/methodology/approach
Using a field study, this research examines the role of customer readiness in customer participation in non-technology-based service delivery and its indirect effects on such customer outcomes as perceived service quality, customer satisfaction and customer willingness to recommend.
Findings
The results show that customer readiness is a second-order construct. It has a significant impact on customer participation in service delivery, which in turn impacts three key service outcomes: customer perceived service quality, customer satisfaction and customer willingness to recommend. Four factors influencing customer readiness (consumer previous experience, consumer desire for control, consumer perceived risk and customer organizational socialization) are also empirically evaluated.
Research limitations/implications
Some limitations of the study are related to sample size and use of a type of services. The research tested 13 hypotheses with a limited sample size in one context. A better representation of the population and a more generalizable outcome require more representative samples and studies in various contexts such as banking, hotel services or health care services. This study demonstrated the importance of customer readiness for effective participation in non-technology-based service delivery; it does not address the impact of customer readiness on participation in the context of technology-based services. Future research may also shed light on when and why customers choose technology-based services versus non-technology-based services.
Practical implications
Effective customer participation in service delivery can, and should, benefit from boosting customer readiness.
Originality/value
This research shows the impact of customer readiness on non-technology-based service delivery, more specifically, the impact of customer readiness on customer participation in this type of service delivery. Customer readiness has been found to be beneficial in the provision of technology-based services; yet, its role in the provision of non-technology-based services has not been thoroughly evaluated.
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Sara Sandström, Peter Magnusson and Per Kristensson
The purpose of this paper is to bring better understanding to how involving users in the development process of new mobile phone services can increase understanding of the overall…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to bring better understanding to how involving users in the development process of new mobile phone services can increase understanding of the overall service experience in a technology‐based service setting.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on an experimental setting which aims to emulate the involvement of users in a service development process in order to provide information regarding the overall service experience. This is done by letting users evaluate both user‐ and company‐created services.
Findings
Users are found to be an important information source when it comes to understanding the overall service experience of technology‐based services. The paper shows that users are to some extent better at coming up with services regarding value in use. The findings show that some of the most important experience outcomes that are demanded, functionally related outcomes, are better met by user‐created services.
Research limitations/implications
The paper provides empirical evidence regarding the importance of a user perspective when it comes to understanding both the functional and emotional parts of the overall technology‐based service experience. The result of this paper implies a more advanced user focus during service development in order to be able to know what it is that creates value for technology‐based service users. Just how technology‐based services are functionally and emotionally experienced by their users is a fairly new research area and more empirical studies regarding this subject will be called for in the future.
Originality/value
This paper provides evidence of the importance of a user perspective when creating value propositions for technology‐based service users. From a managerial point of view, it is of interest to see whether it will be possible to learn more about the users' service experience of technology‐based services by involving them in the development process.
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Shirshendu Ganguli and Sanjit Kumar Roy
This paper aims to identify the generic service quality dimensions of technology‐based banking and to examine the effect of these dimensions on customer satisfaction and customer…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify the generic service quality dimensions of technology‐based banking and to examine the effect of these dimensions on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.
Design/methodology/approach
The generic service quality dimensions are identified using an exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Next the reliability and validity of the factors and customer satisfaction and customer loyalty are established through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using AMOS 16.0 s/w. The related hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling using AMOS 16.0.
Findings
The paper identifies four generic service quality dimensions in the technology‐based banking services – customer service, technology security and information quality, technology convenience, and technology usage easiness and reliability. It was found that customer service and technology usage easiness and reliability have positive and significant impact on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. It was also found that technology convenience and customer satisfaction have significant and positive impact on customer loyalty.
Practical implications
These dimensions of service quality should be viewed as the levers of improving perceived service quality with respect to technology‐based banking in the minds of its current customers. Examining the service quality dimensions' impact on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty for technology‐based banking can offer banks valuable insights regarding which aspects of the service to focus on in order to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty towards the firms.
Originality/value
This paper introduces the concept of generic service quality and its significance for customer satisfaction and loyalty in case of technology‐based banking wherein technology is used to deliver services.
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Taehee Kim, Hyomin Seo, Min Cheol Kim and Kyungro Chang
Boosting productivity in the service sector is a key priority for promoting long-term growth. To have customers perform certain tasks normally undertaken by employees is an…
Abstract
Boosting productivity in the service sector is a key priority for promoting long-term growth. To have customers perform certain tasks normally undertaken by employees is an important means to improving productivity. Technological innovation has influenced business practices for several decades and many service firms, including sports service firms, are now utilising technology extensively to reduce the use of labour. This study investigates how the user's perception of technology-based self-service (TBSS)affects customer productivity and how the customer productivity evaluated by TBSS influences the customer's intentions to reuse in relation to a virtual golf simulator - a successful and seriously played game in Korea.
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Machiel J. Reinders, Ruud Frambach and Mirella Kleijnen
This study aims to investigate the effects of two types of expertise (self-service technology and service type) on the disconfirmation of customers’ expectations and the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the effects of two types of expertise (self-service technology and service type) on the disconfirmation of customers’ expectations and the use-related outcomes of technology-based self-service (TBSS).
Design/methodology/approach
This empirical study pertains to the mandatory use of a national public transport chip card in The Netherlands based on a sample of 267 users of this TBSS.
Findings
The findings show that technology experts experienced a less positive disconfirmation of expectations and reported less positive evaluations of the new self-service than technology novices. Technology experts also showed lower intentions to engage in positive word-of-mouth than technology novices. The evaluation of the self-service by technology novices is more positive for those that are service experts as compared to service novices, while the evaluation by technology experts is more negative for those that are service experts as compared to service novices.
Research limitations/implications
This study provides insight into how different types and levels of customer expertise affect individuals’ assessments of a TBSS upon its mandatory use.
Practical implications
For marketing managers and public policy-makers, understanding the multifaceted role of customer expertise enables more effective market segmentation and targeting, thus improving implementation of TBSS.
Originality/value
This research suggests that customers’ technology and service expertise have some counter-intuitive effects on TBSS use-related outcomes.
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The purpose of this study is to explore how hotels evolve their dynamic capabilities to adjust their technology-based strategy to improve performance and to gain competitive…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore how hotels evolve their dynamic capabilities to adjust their technology-based strategy to improve performance and to gain competitive productivity (CP) during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the aftermath.
Design/methodology/approach
In-depth interviews with hoteliers were conducted to unveil their dynamic capabilities amid the pandemic as regard adjustments and performance of self-service technology (SST)-based strategies. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data.
Findings
Data analysis revealed four types of dynamic capabilities (i.e. sensing, learning, integrating and coordinating capabilities). Equipped with these capabilities, hotels made minor adjustments to their SST strategies. In general, during an economic downturn, hotels refrained from introducing new SSTs. SSTs introduced before the pandemic were used more frequently and received enhanced customer feedback. The findings further revealed that the factors influencing hotels’ application of SSTs before and after the outbreak of COVID-19 remained similar.
Originality/value
This is the first research integrating CP, dynamic capabilities and strategic management process to explain how hotels adjust technological strategies to recover in a suddenly changed environment. Such a framework enables scholars and practitioners from content-oriented and process-oriented perspectives to make quick but sound strategic management decisions in adapting to turbulent environments. This timely study enriches the expertise of using technology as a recovery strategy and contributes to future research on the practical application of SSTs and crisis management.
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Lisa Schuster and Joy Parkinson
mHealth services are effective and cost efficient, yet wide-scale adoption of these services by consumers has yet to be achieved, constraining their public health benefit. Further…
Abstract
Purpose
mHealth services are effective and cost efficient, yet wide-scale adoption of these services by consumers has yet to be achieved, constraining their public health benefit. Further investigation of non-technological determinants of mHealth adoption is needed; specifically, the role of consumers' goals has received scant attention and forms the research focus.
Design/methodology/approach
Study 1 comprised 20 interviews with participants who possess a health goal, with the data analysed using an abductive reasoning approach. Study 2 was a 15-min online survey (n = 653), with the data analysed using multi-group structural equation modelling.
Findings
Study 1 identified several antecedents to the desirability and feasibility of consumers' health goals, which influence their desire to use mHealth services. Study 2 shows significant differences in the determinants of mHealth service acceptance depending on whether consumers set concrete as opposed to abstract goals, but social acceptance of mHealth services of these services is important for both groups.
Practical implications
The findings suggest emphasising the importance of health goals to achieving other consumer goals (e.g. work or travel goals), the efficacy of mHealth services relative to other service alternatives for achieving those health goals, and the social acceptance of mHealth services to increase their uptake.
Originality/value
This study is the first to use construal-level theory to improve understanding of the role of consumers' goals in the adoption of mHealth services. By identifying the antecedents to goal desirability and feasibility, it also broadens the model of goal-directed behaviour.
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Lisa Schuster, Judy Proudfoot and Judy Drennan
This paper aims to use the Model of Goal-Directed Behavior (MGB) to examine the factors affecting consumers’ continued use of emerging technology-based self-services (TBSSs) with…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to use the Model of Goal-Directed Behavior (MGB) to examine the factors affecting consumers’ continued use of emerging technology-based self-services (TBSSs) with credence qualities. Professional services, which traditionally require specialized knowledge and high levels of interpersonal interaction to produce owing to their credence qualities, are increasingly delivered via self-service technologies. Health services delivered via mobile devices, for example, facilitate self-care without direct involvement from health professionals.
Design/methodology/approach
A mental health service delivered via the Internet and mobile phone, myCompass, was selected as the research context. Twenty interviews were conducted with users of myCompass and the data were thematically analyzed.
Findings
The findings of the study showcase the unique determinants of consumers’ continued use of TBSSs with credence qualities relative to the more routine services which have been the focus of extant research. The findings further provide support for the utility of the MGB in explaining service continuance, although the importance of distinguishing between extrinsic and intrinsic motivational components of behavioral desire and capturing the impact of social influence beyond subjective norms is also highlighted.
Originality/value
This study contributes to recent research examining differences in consumer responses across TBSSs and behavioral loyalty to these services. It also provides empirical evidence for broadening and deepening the MGB within this behavioral domain.
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