The Roles of Habit, Self-Efficacy, and Satisfaction in Driving Continued Use of Self-Service Technologies

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed increased use of self-service technologies (SSTs) across the services sector, which has dramatically changed the nature of the service delivery process. Although an abundance of research has investigated how customers evaluate a new SST and what drives the initial adoption, little is known about how customers interact with, and adapt to, an SST after their first experience. Thus, this study focuses on the dynamic and complex process through which customers move from initial adoption to continued use, after repeated interactions with an SST. A three-wave longitudinal study examines how habit, self-efficacy, and satisfaction affect SST usage over time in a retailing context. The results indicate that as learning occurs and experience accumulates, customers’ continued use of an SST is initially largely rational driven (self-efficacy), then largely emotional driven (satisfaction), and, finally, habitual (habit). Over time, habit completely mediates the impact of intentions on future usage. The article concludes with a discussion of the managerial implications and directions for further research.