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Retailers are increasingly turning toward self-service technologies (SSTs) aimed at improving productivity and service quality while cutting costs. The authors identify a process model to understand the antecedents and consequences of SST usage by customers in an in-store retail setting. The model was validated on a combination of survey and observational data. Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, reliability, and fun were identified as key drivers of customer attitude toward the SST. Customer attitude toward the SST predicted the actual usage of technology. The effects of SST usage on the actual time spent by customers in the store were studied. The authors investigate the impact of SST usage on customers' perceptions of waiting time and, consequently, on their level of satisfaction with the shopping experience. Finally, the moderating effects of age, education, and gender are analyzed. The current study evaluates the benefits of SST introduction for both customers and retailers.

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PurposeIn the internet economy, the business model of web portals has spread rapidly over the last few years. Despite this, there have been very few scholarly investigations into the services and characteristics that transform a web site into a portal as well as into the dimensions that determine the customer's evaluation of the portal's service quality.Design/methodology/approachBased on an empirical study in the field of e‐banking, the authors validate a measurement model for the construct of web portal quality based on the following dimensions: security and trust, basic services quality, cross‐buying services quality, added value, transaction support and responsiveness.FindingsThe identified dimensions can reasonably be classified into three service categories: core services, additional services, and problem‐solving services.Originality/valueThe knowledge of these dimensions as major determinants of consumer's quality perception in the internet provides banks a promising starting point for establishing an effective quality management for their e‐businesses.

This study provides deeper insight in the link between service quality and customer satisfaction. The traditional assumption of a linear relationship is challenged by exploring asymmetries and dynamics. The simultaneous influence of service quality and customer experience on satisfaction is examined by means of nonlinear structural equation modeling. Results show that functional-utilitarian quality attributes (availability, efficiency, fulfillment, and privacy) lose their capability to delight customers as the customer relationship matures. In contrast, hedonic quality attributes (design, enjoyment, and image) only exhibit an increasing effect on satisfaction for more experienced customers. These insights are vital for service managers as they help to improve the efficiency of quality investments.

In this article, the authors propose that in a multichannel environment, evaluative conflicts (dissynergies) between service channels exist. Building on status quo bias theory, they develop a model that relates offline channel satisfaction to perceptions about a new self-service channel. Data were collected from 639 customers currently using offline investment banking. Results show that offline channel satisfaction reduces the perceived usefulness and enhances the perceived risk of the online channel. These inhibiting effects represent a status quo bias. Trust in the bank shows both adoption-enhancing effects and an adoption-inhibiting effect. Finally, the negative relationship between offline channel satisfaction and perceived usefulness is significantly stronger for men, older people, and less experienced Internet users. This study has both theoretical and managerial relevance as it helps to understand consumer behavior in multichannel environments and provides implications for the design of multichannel service strategies.

This article introduces customer stewardship control (CSC) to the marketing field. This concept represents a frontline employee's felt ownership of and moral responsibility for customers’ overall welfare. In two studies, the authors show that CSC is a more encompassing construct than customer orientation, which reflects a frontline employee's focus on meeting customers’ needs. They provide evidence that the former is more potent in shaping in- and extra-role employee behaviors. Moreover, they highlight how CSC operates in conjunction with an organization's agency control system: Stewardship's positive influence on in- and extra-role behavior is weaker in the presence of high agency control. They offer actionable advice about how to solve the resulting managerial control dilemma. Finally, the authors show that CSC depends on drivers that reside at the individual level (employee relatedness), the team level (team competence), or both levels of aggregation (employee and team autonomy). These findings show how to effectively design a frontline employee's work environment to ensure optimal frontline performance.