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Examples for successfully adopted self-service technologies (SST) are automated teller machines or online-banking APS. Stet’s are technological interfaces that enable customers to produce a service independent of direct involvement of service employees (Muter, Bitter, Storm & Brown, 2000). The implementation however remains a challenge, because the success of a newly Introduced SST depends on the customers’ willingness to try and use the new service. Deeper knowledge about the underlying factors that influence the customers’ initial trial decision of newly introduced SST options could provide managers with important insights.
Various studies regarding innovation adoption behaviors and individual differences were conducted with contradictory findings among those studies. But before further analyzes will be conducted, a brief overview regarding the Three dimensions of services define the service industry. (1) Specialized competences (2) through deeds, processes, and performances (3) for the benefit of another entity or the entity itself (Fall, 2015). The first dimension consists the service potential (pre- purchase stage). The basic service characteristic is the customer perceived purchase sis (Fall, 2015).
The second dimension is the service delivery (service encounter stage). “… A period of time during which a consumer directly interacts with a service” (Stack 1985, p. 243). The basic service characteristic is the inseparability of production and consumption of a service. Furthermore the second dimension includes the heterogeneity of services (Fall, 2015). The third dimension is the service outcome (post-encounter stage). This stage contains the tangibility or intangibility of a service provision as well as the permissibility of a service (Fall, 2015).
One of the key concepts of the second service dimension is the service encounter. A team around Matthew L. Muter conducted a study with important findings in this area. They approached a way to clarify the inconsistencies through the use of mediating variables that are included specifically to explain relationships between variables (Muter et al. , 2005). This study, which consists of two separate studies, explored the underlying factors that influence Services Marketing 3 customers’ trial decision of new Stet’s.
The team suggested that antecedent redirectors such as innovation characteristics or individual differences did not solely influence the actual trial behavior. They found out, that the mediating variable consumer readiness played an important role and generated housecleaning’s- accuracy statistics. The Consumer readiness set of predictors generated a higher classification-accuracy score than did either of the other set of variables across both studies (Muter et al. , 2005). The consumer readiness variable consists of role clarity, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and ability.
The study results showed that role lariat and extrinsic motivation have a significant influence on the consumers’ decision to try a new SST. Role clarity refers to the degree that a consumer is aware of the steps that he or she has to execute. Insufficient role clarity can constrain the understanding of the customers’ role in the service process (Larsson and Bowen 1989). The classification accuracy for the role clarity mediator is 86% (Muter et al. , 2005). Extrinsic motivation is a perceived benefit for the consumer such as time saving or price discount. The classification accuracy for extrinsic motivation is 73% (Muter et al. 005). The findings support the central role that consumer readiness variables (role clarity, extrinsic motivation in particular) have as key mediators on consumer trial (Muter et al. , 2005). An active management of these variables can have significant influence on the overall success of a SST. Due to the use of Stet’s, customers have to change their behavior and become co-producers with responsibilities for the result and their own satisfaction (Abundance & Leone 2003; Muter & Bitter 1997). To provide role clarity, the exact steps customers have to take must be as clear as possible and have to be resented in a entertaining way.