Consumer complaint channel choice in self-service technology encounters

Consumers’ choice of channel to communicate complaints, following the decision to voice to the organisation, has received very little research attention. This study contributes to filling this gap by exploring the drivers of consumers’ choice of complaint channel in the self-service technology (SST) context. Surprisingly, in this context, consumers have often chosen interpersonal complaint channels over electronic channels, resulting in some of the value of using SSTs being lost for consumers and organisations alike. Preliminary findings indicate that the perceived ease of use, the likelihood of organisational response, the desire for social interaction and the source of the SST-related complaint, might provide some clues as to the organisational strategies that can be used to encourage greater utilisation of technology-based complaint channels.

Enabling successful web-based information technology support for enterprise customers: a service provider perspective of stakeholder-based issues

An understanding by support organisations of the key factors enabling successful enterprise after-sales customer support provision when using Web-based Selfservice Systems (WSSs) is essential to making  improvements in such systems. This paper reports key stakeholder-oriented findings from an interpretive study of critical success factors (CSFs) for the transfer of after-sales support-oriented knowledge from an information technology (IT) service provider to enterprise customers when a WSS is used. The findings suggest that researchers and practitioners should consider WSSs within a complex network of service providers, business partners and customer firms. The paper also clearly points to a need for support organisations to engage in greater collaboration and integration of WSSs with enterprise customers and business partners.

E-marketing : the impact of self-service technology on consumer satisfaction and consumer commitment

Traditionally, service encounters have included an interpersonal interaction between the service provider and the customer. The introduction ofself-service technologies to the service encounter, however, is reducing and in some cases, eliminating this interpersonal interaction. Self-se rvice technology is where the customer delivers the service themselves using a technological interface. This CIM funded research programme investigates the effect of self-service technology on the service encounter, and in turn on consumer satisfaction and consumer commitment. This paper reviews the literature relevant to the current study and outlines the constructs of interest in this study. The resear ch hypotheses and conceptual model are also introduced.Finally, the agenda for future research is presented.

Self-service technology and the moderating effects of consumer characteristics

The incidence of self-service technology, where the consumer delivers the service themselves using technology, is increasing in the service encounter. One area that is under-explored is the potential impact of self-service technology on consumer satisfaction and affective commitment. Accordingly, this paper presents an empirical study that investigates the relative impact of self-service technology on consumer satisfaction (both overall and transaction-specific) and affective commitment, accounting for the moderating effects of consumer characteristics. The results highlight the importance of personal service for evaluations of satisfaction and commitment, and the importance of social competency as a moderator in this relationship. An understanding of these consumer perceptions will allow organisations to develop strategies to deliver the services expected by their consumers, improving consumer satisfaction and commitment.

Designing a self-service technology to increase self-efficacy and maintain breastfeeding

Despite the significant health benefits attributed to breastfeeding, rates in countries, such as Australia, continue to remain static or to decline. Typically, the tangible support offered for women to support breastfeeding behaviours takes the form of face-to-face advice from health professionals, peer counselling via not-for-profit organizations such as the ABA, and provision of information through websites, pamphlets, and books. Prior research indicates that face-to-face support is more effective than telephone contact (Britton, McCormic, Renfrew, Wade, & King, 2009). Given the increasing costs associated with the provision of personalized face-to-face professional support and the need for some women to maximize privacy, discretion, and judgment-free consultations, there is a gap that could be filled by the use of m-technologies such as text messaging and other social media. The research team developed MumBubConnect; a two-way SMS system which combined the personalized aspects of face-to-face contact but maintained levels of privacy. The use of SMS was immediate, portable, and overcame many of the barriers associated with embarrassment. An Page 205 of 312 online survey of 130 breastfeeding mothers indicated that MumBubConnect facilitated the seeking of social support using m-technology, increased self-efficacy and maintained the desire behaviour.

Consumer’s persistence in solving their own problem with self‐service technology

An increasing range of technology services are now offered on a self-service basis. However, problems with self-service technologies (SSTs) occur at times due to the technical error, staff error, or consumers’ own mistakes. Considering the role of consumers as co-producers in the SST context, we aim to study consumer’s behaviours, strategies, and decision making in solving their problem with SST and identify the factors contributing to their persistence in solving the problem. This study contributes to the information systems research, as it is the first study that aims to identify such a process and the factors affecting consumers’ persistence in solving their problem with SST. A focus group with user support staff has been conducted, yielding some initial results that helped to conduct the next phases of the study. Next, using Critical Incident Technique, data will be gathered through focus groups with users, diary method, and think-aloud method.

What is A Virtual Service?- Broadening the Perspective on Technology-Based Services

This article expands the discussion of the impact of technology on services and contributes to a broader comprehension of the nature of virtual services. This is done by discovering dimensions that distinguish physical services from virtual services, i.e. services that are distributed by electronic means and where the customer has no direct human interaction with the service provider. Differences in the core characteristics of services, servicescape and service delivery are discussed. Moreover, dimensions that differentiate between virtual services are analysed. A classification scheme for virtual services is proposed, including the origin of the service, the element of the service offering, the customisation process, stage of the service process performed, and the degree of mobility of the service.

Co-production and co-creation using self-service technology: the application of service-dominant logic

Research on how customers engage in the co-creation processes envisaged by the Servicedominant logic paradigm is currently limited and even less work has been published on frameworks for organizations to manage the co-creation process. This conceptual paper examines a particular aspect of co-creation: co-production as a result of the application of self-service technology (SST). We propose a conceptual framework for co-production, which emphasizes the need to understand productivity from the point of view of the customer, and demonstrate how this can be applied in both consumer (b2c) and interorganizational(b2b) contexts. We conclude that service organizations might benefit from clearly identifying co-production with task-performance, and co-creation with the valueattributing aspects of the customer service experience. Both aspects generate a range of design and management challenges for suppliers particularly the need to understand the cocreation process 'outputs' desired by customers and the full costs of moving away from person to person interaction.

The need to vent and dissatisfactory self-service technology encounters

Reports of customer dissatisfaction with self-service technologies (SSTs) are becoming increasingly common. The SST context is characterised by customer participation in service production and delivery, independently of service personnel. With no opportunity for humanto- human interaction, feelings of customer irritation and frustration can have a tendency to build-up in dissatisfactory SST encounters. If SSTs do not perform as promised, customers can become angry and frustrated, and do not have the security or reassurance of human service personnel. With this in mind, it is argued that customers’ “need to vent” will be an important predictor of customers’ complaint behaviours (CCBs), i.e., voice, negative word of mouth, negative “word of mouse”, third party action, false loyalty and exit, in dissatisfactory SST encounters. The “need to vent” is defined as the need, when one has a problem, to seek relief by expressing one’s problem / “getting it off one’s chest”. This construct has been subject to little conceptual or empirical scrutiny, and to the researchers’ knowledge, has not been previously operationalised or measured. This paper begins to address this gap by presenting a conceptual model and hypotheses depicting the relationships between the need to vent and CCBs in the context of SSTs.

The measurement of attribution of blame in the self-service technology context

It is argued that attribution of blame (AoB) will differ in the Self-Service Technology (SST) context versus the interpersonal services context, due to the inherent elements of the SST environment, thereby making it a construct worthy of further research in the SST setting. This paper presents a first step in this pursuit by validating a multiple-item instrument of AoB in the SST context, which, to the researchers’ knowledge, has not been done previously. The paper comments on the surprising lack of valid, unidimensional instruments to measure each of the dimensions of AoB (locus, controllability and stability), even in the interpersonal services context. Preliminary results of a pre-test and pilot study support a three-dimensional measurement model of attribution of blame, in the SST setting.

Successful web-based IT support services : service provider perceptions of stakeholder-oriented challenges

Web-based self-service systems (WSSs) are increasingly leveraged for the delivery of after-sales information technology (IT) support services. Such services are offered by IT service providers to customer firms and increasingly involve business partners. However little is known of the challenges faced by IT service providers as a result of the involvement of the other firms and their employees (end-users). This paper reports related findings from an interpretive study of IT service provider perceptions in six multinational IT service provider firms (Cooper, 2007). The findings highlight that, for IT service providers, (1) it is important to consider and resolve the needs and concerns of other key stakeholders, and (2) significant challenges exist in doing so. The main contribution of the paper is the identification of the key challenges involved. Important implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Exploring self-service technology powerlessness

Self-service technologies empower consumers to do things for themselves that they could not do before. In the case of consumers’ unsatisfactory encounters with self-service technologies, however, consumers feel powerless. Self-service technology powerlessness is defined as consumers’ feelings of SST dominance. To the authors’ knowledge, this construct has not been investigated previously in the service domain. This paper examines self-service technology powerlessness, and proposes and tests a model of its antecedents and consequences in unsatisfactory encounters with self-service technologies. Consumers’ dissatisfaction with the attributes of self-service technologies was found to be related to consumers’ perceptions of powerlessness. Exit and negative word were found to be outcomes of it.

Predicting the likelihood of voiced complaints in the self-service technology context

There is considerable evidence to suggest that consumer dissatisfaction with self-service technologies is widespread. However, there has been little conceptual or empirical scrutiny of the likelihood that consumers will complain to an organization (likelihood of voice) in this context. This study contributes to the service domain by testing empirically a model of the antecedents of consumers' likelihood of voice in unsatisfactory encounters with self-service technologies. A model is tested that combines established antecedents of voice, such as likelihood of voice success, and those that have not yet been considered, including self-service technology powerlessness and need to vent. The results support the proposed model in general. Theoretical and managerial implications of the findings are discussed.

Self-service technologies and consumer complaining behaviour : an empirical investigation

Consumers often report dissatisfaction with technology-based services. This thesis, for the first time, examines consumer complaining behaviour with regard to these services, and identifies the factors that influence it. Complaint management strategies are recommended that benefit both organisations and consumers in this evolving service context.