On characteristics influencing consumer’s intention to use web-based self-service

Abstract

Information technology (IT) brings unforeseeable impacts and challenges on service industries. This is because IT creates endless possibilities for them to revolutionize their service delivery process. For example, interactive voice response systems, interactive kiosks, the Internet, and multimedia DVDs all become new channels that allow companies to directly communicate with consumers. Facing pressure of mounting labor costs, most enterprises rush to adopt technologies to improve their operational efficiency and service quality. The consumer’s intention to use the web-based self service (WBSS) becomes a key factor to determine if the WBSS will be successful. In this study we adopted the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as the research framework and conducted an empirical study to examine what effects that WBSS characteristics such as response time, responsiveness, and customized control may have on the consumers’ intention to use the WBSS. The result shows that the customized control characteristic directly affects the consumers’ intention to use the WBSS. It suggests that companies need to enhance the flexibility of the WBSS in the service delivery process so that the consumer can increase the intention to use the WBSS.