Technology-Based Service Encounter—A Study of the Use of E-Mail as a Booking Tool in Hotels

Aihie Osarenkhoe,Abednego Feehi Okoe,Mabel Komunda Birungi,Az-Eddine Bennani,Jotham Mbiito Byarugaba

doi:10.4236/jssm.2014.76039

Aihie Osarenkhoe, Abednego Feehi Okoe + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4236/jssm.2014.76039

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Abstract

Highlighted in this paper, is the extent to which a technological interface that enables customers to produce a service outcome, independent of direct service-employee involvement, is used by hotels of various categories in France. Extant literature has, to date, devoted more attention to the use of interpersonal buyer-seller interactions in the process of creating service outcomes. This paper aims to fill this void by contributing to existing knowledge on customer interactions with technology-based self-service delivery options. An exhaustive sample of 240 hotels located across 120 cities in France constituted the empirical setting. A one-way ANOVA that tested differences between means was used to assess the impact of hotel category (independent variable) on response time (dependent variable) among hotels in France. The findings show that there is significant dissimilarity in responsiveness across the hotel categories. A major implication of these findings for management is that the speed with which enquiries from current and potential customers are responded to is most likely a prelude to providing good quality technology-based buyer-seller interactions to create positive service outcomes using the Internet/e-mail. Major concepts in customer relationship management include the response speed of firms to questions and problems during the service encounter. The main contribution of this study is that it builds on existing literature on interpersonal and technological interfaces.

Highlights

Numerous authors [1] [2] underline that the main empirical contributions to the problem of performance have focused mainly on the industrial sector, and subsequently on certain segments in the service sector
This study provides insights on the use of e-mails at customer contact points in hotels in France, for which it found significant dissimilarity in responsiveness across hotel categories
The low level of responsiveness to e-mails demonstrated by hotels of higher categories included in our sample is surprising

Summary

Introduction

Numerous authors [1] [2] underline that the main empirical contributions to the problem of performance have focused mainly on the industrial sector, and subsequently on certain segments in the service sector (banks, retail, insurance). Bitner, et al [4], Parasuraman, et al [5] and Osarenkhoe and Bennani [6] highlight the vital role that technology plays in the delivery of services and how it will continue to be a crucial component in customer-firm interactions. These technology-based interactions are expected to become a key criterion for long-term business success [7]. Customer interactions with technological interfaces in hospitality sector, on the other hand, are under researched [4]. Some features of hotel businesses and, in particular the presence of three different business areas marked by high intangibility (rooms), the presence of a physical asset (food and beverage) and the typical features of a retail business (shops), coupled with the strong growth recorded by the sector in the past, growing competition and the existence of a high spatial concentration (destinations), make this industry a unique and fascinating research field [20]-[23]

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