Comparing Non-Users, Moderate Users and High Users of Self-Service Technologies in an Emerging Economy

Abstract

Technological advances in the service industry have led to the transformation of service delivery, from face-to-face service encounters to self-service (Lu, Chou, and Ling, 2009). By the introduction of self-service technologies (SST) previous interpersonal care in the service sector has been gradually substituted by the do-it-yourself option (Ding, Verma, and Iqbal, 2007). SST is defined as the technology interfaces which enable consumers to produce services independent of direct service employee involvement (Meuter et al., 2000). Examples of SSTs include ATM’s, information kiosks, online banking, flight check-in kiosks, self-service gas pumps, and self-checkout registers at brick-and mortar retail operations (Campbell, Maglio, and Davis, 2011).Today consumers make a choice between being served or serving themselves using a self-service technological interface with the service organization (Kasper, 2006). Since the implementation of new technologies is very cost-and time-intensive (Curran et al., 2003) continued or high use of the self-service technologies may be desirable for those intuitions that invested to SST. So understanding the factors underlying the usage level of SST may be as important as exploring the initial acceptance of these technologies. In this research we have made an attempt to compare the consumers who are non-users, moderate users and high users of self-services technologies.