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PurposeThis study aims to examine how technology readiness (TR) influences customers' perception and adoption of self‐service technologies (SSTs) through development of an empirical model to explore the relationships among TR, perceived service quality, satisfaction and behavioral intentions toward SSTs.Design/methodology/approachA theoretical framework is proposed to suggest the links between the four constructs. Extant research and concepts from various fields, including marketing, psychology and information system (IS), are reviewed, deriving six hypotheses. Data from SST users is examined through structural equation modeling (SEM).FindingsResults indicate TR influences perceived SST service quality and behavioral intentions, while perceived SST service quality has a positive impact on customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions toward SSTs.Research limitations/implicationsThis study represents an early attempt at explaining the role of TR in customer SST usage. Future research directions are discussed, with an emphasis on incorporating attitudinal, behavioral, situational and psychographic factors to improve our understanding of SST usage.Practical implicationsTR should be given increased attention by firms implementing SSTs to improve customer perception and adoption of SSTs. Firms also need to examine all SST service quality dimensions in order to improve customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions toward SSTs. An aggressive approach toward strengthening TR drivers and reducing TR inhibitors will show benefits for both firms and customers.Originality/valueThis paper represents the first study to propose and empirically examine the relationships among TR, perceived SST service quality, satisfaction and behavioral intentions toward SSTs.

PurposePrevious research on the relationship between service environments and customer emotions and service outcomes has focused on the physical environment. Among studies exploring the social environment, the emphasis has been on service employees, ignoring the impact of other customers. Recent research has further called for the need to include displayed emotion within the social environment. Therefore, this study aims to develop and test a more comprehensive model that focuses on the relationship between the social environment (employee displayed emotion and customer climate) and the physical environment (ambient and design factors) and resulting customer emotion and service outcomes.Design/methodology/approachBased on past research, a theoretical framework was developed to propose the links between social/physical environments and customer emotion/perceptions. Extant research from various academic fields, including environmental psychology, was reviewed, deriving 11 hypotheses. Data collected from fashion apparel retailers, using both observation and customer survey methods, was examined through structural equation modeling (SEM).FindingsResults show that both social and physical environments have a positive influence on customer emotion and satisfaction, which in turn affect behavioral intentions. The physical environment exhibited more influence on customer emotion and satisfaction than social environment.Research limitations/implicationsThis research explains how both social and physical environments affect customer emotion and perceptions. Future research directions are discussed, with an emphasis on incorporating customer characteristics, industry attributes, and cultural variables to better understand the influence of service environments in different service settings.Practical implicationsSocial and physical environments influence customer emotional states within the service delivery context, which in turn affect customer service evaluations. Therefore, both social and physical service environments should be emphasized by service firms.Originality/valueThis research represents an early attempt to develop a more comprehensive model explaining how both social and physical environments affect customer emotion and perceptions. This study also represents the first empirical study of service environment research to include employee displayed emotion as part of the social environment.

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PurposeNotwithstanding a significant amount of literature on the technology acceptance model (TAM), past research has overlooked the role consumers' technology readiness (TR) plays in adoption of self‐service technologies (SSTs). This study aims to fill this research gap by developing and testing a model that integrates the role of TR into the TAM.Design/methodology/approachThe study proposes a research framework to suggest the direct and moderating roles of TR in the TAM. Extant research from various research streams is reviewed, resulting in 13 hypotheses. Data collected from customers with SST experiences are examined through structural equation modeling (SEM) and hierarchical moderated regression analysis.FindingsResults indicate that customer TR enhances perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude toward use, and intention to use. Results also show that TR attenuates the positive relationship between perceived ease of use and attitude toward using SSTs.Research limitations/implicationsThis research represents an early attempt to explain the role of TR in the TAM in the context of SSTs. Future research directions are discussed, with emphasis on incorporating customer differences and situational factors to better understand this model in various service settings.Practical implicationsFindings show that TR influences perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude toward using SSTs, and behavioral intentions. Therefore, to achieve better SST service outcomes firms implementing SSTs should give increased attention to customer TR. Firms should stimulate the use of technological services by strengthening positive TR drivers (the optimism and innovativeness dimensions) to encourage use of technological services and positive attitudes toward technology, while also reducing TR inhibitors (the discomfort and insecurity dimensions) to lower reluctance to use technology.Originality/valueThis study is the first to integrate the role of TR into the TAM in the context of SSTs.