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Paper profile

Only If It Is Convenient: Understanding How Convenience Influences Self-Service Technology

Evaluation

Author:

1. Joel E. Collier, Department of Marketing, Quantitative Analysis and Business Law,

Mississippi State University

2. Sheryl E. Kimes, School of Hotel Administration, Cornell University

Year: 2012

Periodical: Journal of Service Research

Key words: Self-service technology, convenience, need for interaction, speed,

accuracy, exploration

Research Background (1/3)

Self-service advantages:1. Cost down

2. Reclaiming floor space for additional sales

Many SSTs(self-service technology) come and gone in the past1. Companies were unable to convince consumers that SSTs

are good alternatives.

2. Consumers aren’t naturally incline to change channel options unless motivated to do so.

Why customer want to perform a

service themselves??

Research Background (2/3)

Earlier researches on self-service technology:

1. Convenience is an important attributes of evaluating SST performance.

• Meuter et al., 2000

2. Convenience is a important driver of satisfaction with an SST.

• Collier & Sherrell, 2010 ; Ding, Hu & Sheng, 2011

3. Convenience affects the usage of an SST.

• Durkin, 2004; Evans & Brown, 1988

The goal of this paper:

1. Exploring how convenience perceptions influence the potential benefits received from an SST.

2. Three constructs related to convenience: Speed, Accuracy, Information

Both for users and non-users

Research Background (3/3)

Resource Matching Theory(Anand and Sternthal, 1990):

1. Consumers have limited resources to process information or finish a

task.

2. Are these necessary resources for accessing service exceed what

customers have?

• Effectiveness or Ineffectiveness

Related topics:

1. Branding, advertising, cognitive evaluation of products

2. Recently, this theory is also applied in SSTs.

Conceptual framework

Study 1

Study 2

$$

Study 3

Study I (1/ 4)

Constructs selection & Hypotheses

1. Exploration :

A crucial component in maximizing customer’s experience. Exploring available options.

(Babin, Darden, and Griffin 1994; Chandon, Wansink, and Laurent 2000).

Triability.

(Rogers, 1983)

A relation between convenience evaluations and the intentions to explore through SST.

(Ahn, Ryu, and Han, 2007)

Study 1

Study I (2/ 4)

Constructs selection & Hypotheses

2. Speed of transaction

Time saving

(Langeard et al., 1981; Bateson, 1985; Lovelock & Young, 1979)

3. Accuracy

An important evaluation factor to the quality of service experience

(Bienstock, Mentzer, and Bird 1997; Mentzer, Flint, and Hult 2001)

Consumers have greater accuracy perceptions in online service.

(Wolfinbarger & Gilly, 2001)

Study 1

Study I (3/ 4)

Methodology Questionnaire

1. Likert 5 point scale

2. 15 items on speed, accuracy and exploration

(Baumgartner and Steenkamp 1996; Collier and Sherrell 2010; Dabholkar 1996; Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry 1988; Seiders et al. 2007).

Smaple

1. 260 online reservation system users (U.S.)

Measurement

1. MANOVA (Multivariate Analysis of Variance)

Study 1

Study I (4/ 4)

Results:

Study II (1/ 4)

Constructs selection & Hypotheses

1. Trust

Pivotal and mediating role in the intent of using and overall evaluating.

(Ha and Stoel, 2009; Johnson, Bardhi & Dunn, 2008)

Study 2

Study II (2/ 4)

Constructs selection & Hypotheses

2. Satisfaction

A determinant for future use

(Ding, Hu, and Sheng 2011; Makarem, Mudambi & Podoshen 2009)

Relationship with previous constructs

Speed of transaction

(Meuter et al. 2000; Pujari 2004)

Accuracy

(Collier and Bienstock, 2006; Ding, Hu & Sheng, 2011)

Exploration behaviors

(Demangeot & Broderick, 2010)

Study 2

Study II (2/ 4)

Constructs selection & Hypotheses

3. Need for Human Interaction

the desire for human contact by the customer during a service experience

(Dabholkar, 1996)

Early research found no support that human interaction affects SST adoption.

(Langeard et al. 1981)

Recent researches listed the need for human interaction as one of the main reasons for not adopting a SST.

(Dabholkar, Bobbitt, and Lee 2003; Meuter et al. 2000; Meuter et al. 2003).

Study 2

Study II (3/ 4)

Methodology Questionnaire

1. Likert 5 point scale

2. 23 items on trust, satisfaction

(Collier and Sherrell 2010; Meuter et al. 2005; Oliver and Swan 1989)

Smaple

1. Another 228 online reservation system users (U.S.)

Measurement

1. Confirmatory Factor Analysis

Study II (4/ 4)

Results:

Study III (1/ 2)

Constructs selection & Hypotheses & Methodology

1. Non-users perceoption

To fully assess how consumer view SST, study 3 replicated what study 2 did by surveying non-users of the online SST.

2.Full assessment of the framework

3.Methodology

Sample: 242 online SST non-users. [Who are familiar with online tech but not SST users]

Questionnaire: same items as study 2

Measurement: Confirmatory Factor Analysis / SEM (Structural Equation Model)

Study III (2/ 2)

Results:

Discussion

① Speed, Accuracy and Exploration show importance

in the SSTs quality evaluation.

② What makes customers need less human

interaction?

① For SST users, satisfaction is the only influence.

② For SST non-users, trust is the only influence.

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