Hypotheses for the study - Conceptual Model

CHAPTER 3 Literature Review.................................................................... 23-83

3.4 Conceptual Model

3.4.5 Hypotheses for the study

Formalizing the statement of the conceptual model, the hypotheses for the three main relationships are presented as follows:

The impact of technology readiness of customers on service encounter satisfaction is the first direct relationship between the two concepts, technology readiness of customers and service encounter dis/satisfaction.

 H1: Technology readiness of customers will influence satisfaction with technology based service encounters.

 Ho: TRI of customers do not influence satisfaction with SSTs

 H1: TRI of customers influence satisfaction with SSTs

The first hypothesis is divided into four sub-hypotheses, as the TRI has four sub dimensions. Customers who like and enjoy using new technologies are more likely to be satisfied with technology interface services (H1a and H1b) whereas customers who are uncomfortable using technology and distrust its ability would be less satisfied with technology-based service encounters (H1c and H1d).

 H1a: Customers who have a high level of optimism toward technology tend to have higher satisfaction with technology-based service encounters.

 Ho: There is no positive relationship between optimism and satisfaction with SSTs

 H1: Optimism toward technology positively influence satisfaction with SSTs

 H1b: Customers who have a high level of innovativeness toward technology tend to have higher satisfaction with technology based service encounters.

 Ho: There is no positive relationship between innovativeness and satisfaction with SSTs

 H1: Innovativeness toward technology positively influence satisfaction with SSTs

 H1c: Customers who have high level of discomfort toward technology tend to have lower satisfaction with technology based service encounters.

 Ho: There is positive relationship between discomfort and satisfaction with SSTs

 H1: Discomfort toward technology negatively influence satisfaction with SSTs

 H1d: Customers who have a high level of insecurity toward technology tend to have lower satisfaction with technology-based service encounters.

 Ho: There is positive relationship between discomfort and satisfaction with SSTs

 H1: Insecurity toward technology negatively influence satisfaction with SSTs

 H2: Technology readiness of customers will influence technology-based service encounters dissatisfaction

 Ho: TRI of customers do not influence dissatisfaction with SSTs

 H1: TRI of customers influence dissatisfaction with SSTs

Customers, who prefer to embrace technology, even when technology provides failed services, are more likely to understand and accept technology failures. Thus, these

customers have a tendency to be less dissatisfied with technology-based service encounters (H2a and H2b).

 H2a: Customers who have a high level of optimism toward technology tend to have lower dissatisfaction with technology-based service encounter failures.

 Ho: There is positive relationship between optimism and dissatisfaction with SSTs

 H1: Optimism toward technology negatively influence dissatisfaction with SSTs

 H2b: Customers who have a high level of innovativeness toward technology tend to have lower dissatisfaction with technology-based service encounter failures.

 Ho: There is positive relationship between innovativeness and dissatisfaction with SSTs

 H1: Innovativeness toward technology negatively influence dissatisfaction with SSTs

In contrast, customers dislike and distrust technology would tend to be more dissatisfied with the failures of technology services (H2c and H2d)

 H2c: Customers who have a high level of discomfort toward technology tend to have more dissatisfaction with technology based service encounter failures.

 Ho: There is no positive relationship between discomfort and dissatisfaction with SSTs

 H1: Discomfort toward technology positively influence dissatisfaction with SSTs

 H2d: Customers who have a high level of insecurity toward technology tend to have more dissatisfaction with technology-based service encounter failures.

 Ho: There is no positive relationship between insecurity and dissatisfaction with SSTs

 H1: Insecurity toward technology positively influence dissatisfaction with SSTs

Technology readiness of customers is not only hypothesized to have direct impact on technology-based service encounter dis/satisfaction but also on interpersonal service dis/satisfaction:

 H3: Technology readiness of customers will influence interpersonal service encounter satisfaction.

 Ho: TRI of customers do not influence satisfaction with Interpersonal Encounter

 H1: TRI of customers influence satisfaction with Interpersonal Service Encounter

The third hypothesis also can be stated in several components to account for how the subdivisions of technology readiness of customer affect interpersonal service encounter satisfaction:

 H3a: Customers who have a high level of optimism toward technology tend to have lower satisfaction with interpersonal service encounters (ISE).

 Ho: There is positive relationship between optimism and satisfaction with ISE

 H1: Optimism toward technology negatively influence satisfaction with ISE

 H3b: Customers who have a high level of innovativeness toward technology tend to have lower satisfaction with interpersonal service encounters.

 Ho: There is positive relationship between innovativeness and satisfaction with ISE

 H1: Innovativeness toward technology negatively influence satisfaction with ISE

 H3c: Customers who have a high level of discomfort toward technology tend to have higher satisfaction with interpersonal service encounters.

 Ho: There is no positive relationship between discomfort and satisfaction with ISE

 H1: Discomfort toward technology positively influence satisfaction with ISE

 H3d: Customers who have a high level of insecurity toward technology tend to have higher satisfaction with interpersonal service encounters.

 Ho: There is no positive relationship between Insecurity and satisfaction with ISE

 H1: Insecurity toward technology positively influence satisfaction with ISE

 H4: Technology readiness of customers will influence interpersonal service encounter dissatisfaction:

 Ho: TRI of customers do not influence dissatisfaction with Interpersonal Encounter

 H1: TRI of customers influence dissatisfaction with Interpersonal Service Encounter

Customers who have a willingness to use technology are more likely to be dissatisfied with human interface services (H4a and H4b) since they might prefer to interact with the service form they like, whereas customers who dislike using technology would be less dissatisfied with interpersonal service encounters (H4c and H4d):

 H4a: Customers who have a high level of optimism toward technology tend to have more dissatisfaction with interpersonal service encounters

 Ho: There is no positive relationship between optimism and dissatisfaction with ISE

 H1: Optimism toward technology positively influence dissatisfaction with ISE

 H4b: Customers who have a high level of innovativeness toward technology tend to have more dissatisfaction with interpersonal service encounters.

 Ho: There is no positive relationship between innovativeness and dissatisfaction with ISE

 H1: Innovativeness toward technology positively influence dissatisfaction with ISE

 H4c: Customers who have a high level of discomfort toward technology tend to have lower dissatisfaction with interpersonal service encounters.

 Ho: There is positive relationship between discomfort and dissatisfaction with ISE

 H1: Discomfort toward technology negatively influence dissatisfaction with ISE

 H4d: Customers who have a high level of insecurity toward technology tend to have lower dissatisfaction with interpersonal service encounters.

 Ho: There is positive relationship between insecurity and dissatisfaction with ISE

 H1: Insecurity toward technology negatively influence dissatisfaction with ISE

The service encounter satisfaction – loyalty relationship is the second relationship investigated in the present study. Previous research has found that the relationship of service encounter satisfaction with either interpersonal or technology-based customer loyalty is positive (Butcher, Sparks, and O’Callaghan 2001; Meuter et.al. 2000).

The more customers are satisfied with technology-based services of service providers, the more likely they are to recommend the good services of the service firms to other

customers (Meuter et al. 2000) or to have more intention to reuse and retain to use the service firms for few years (H4).

 H5: The impact of technology-based service encounter satisfaction on customer loyalty will be positive.

 Ho: There is no significant positive relationship between satisfaction with SSTs and loyalty

 H1: There is significant positive relationship between satisfaction with SSTs and loyalty

Other research has also shown that service encounter satisfaction has a positive impact on customer loyalty (i.e., repurchase intentions) for interpersonal services (e.g., Butcher, Sparks, and O’Callaghan 2001; Jones and Suh 2000). Thus, the sixth hypothesis (H6) is as follows:

 H6: The impact of interpersonal service encounter satisfaction on customer loyalty will be positive.

 Ho: There is no significant positive relationship between satisfaction with ISE and loyalty

 H1: There is significant positive relationship between satisfaction with ISE and loyalty

Moderating Effect of TRI on Satisfaction Loyalty Link

The moderating effect of technology readiness of customers on the service encounter satisfaction-loyalty link is the third relationship investigated. Previous studies presented evidence that overall satisfaction with service encounters has a positive effect on customer loyalty (e.g., Butcher, Sparks, and O’Callaghan 2001; Meuter 2000). However, the specific investigation of the relationships between either type of service encounter satisfaction and customer loyalty was not intensively examined in the context of psychological characteristics which may moderate the relationship. Here, the study is specifically interested in the customer’s psychological response to technology, and technology

readiness. This study hypothesizes the satisfaction-loyalty relationships as presented above in H5 and H6; and looks at the moderating role of technology readiness in H7 and H8.

 H7: Technology readiness of customers will moderate the relationship between technology-based service encounter satisfaction and loyalty.

 Ho: There is no moderating effect of TRI of customers on the relational link between satisfaction with SSTs and loyalty

 H1: TRI of customer moderates the relational link between satisfaction with SSTs & loyalty

Customer perception toward technology has an impact on their evaluations of service performances, particularly technology-based services. As the research shows, and as we show in this study, customers who like and enjoy using technology are likely to positively evaluate technology interface services and service provider firms. Some works also indicate that technology oriented customers use some SSTs such as ATM and telephone banking more frequently (Thornton and White 2001). There is a missing link here, which we hope to show; that the satisfaction-loyalty relationship for technology-based services and customer loyalty will tend to be stronger for customers who are technology prone (i.e., optimism and innovativeness), as hypothesized as H7a and H7b.

 H7a: The impact of overall satisfaction with technology-based service encounters on customer loyalty will be stronger for customers who have a high level of optimism toward technology.

 Ho: Optimism weaken the relational link between satisfaction and loyalty

 H1: Optimism strengthen the relational link between satisfaction and loyalty

 H7b: The impact of overall satisfaction with technology-based service encounters on customer loyalty will be stronger for customers who have a high level of innovativeness toward technology.

 Ho: Innovativeness weaken the relational link between satisfaction and loyalty

 H1: Innovativeness strengthen the relational link between satisfaction and loyalty

However, the moderating effects of technology readiness of customers on the satisfaction- loyalty link are hypothesized to be negative for customers who dislike and distrust technology, as presented in H7c and H7d.

 H7c: The impact of overall satisfaction with technology-based service encounters on customer loyalty will be weaker for customers who have a high level of discomfort toward technology.

 Ho: Discomfort strengthen the relational link between satisfaction and loyalty

 H1: Discomfort weaken the relational link between satisfaction and loyalty

 H7d: The impact of overall satisfaction with technology-based service encounters on customer loyalty will be weaker for customers who have a high level of insecurity toward technology.

 Ho: Insecurity strengthen the relational link between satisfaction and loyalty

 H1: Insecurity weaken the relational link between satisfaction and loyalty

 H8: Technology readiness of customer will moderate the relationship between interpersonal service encounter satisfaction and customer loyalty.

 Ho: There is no moderating effect of TRI of customers on the relational link between satisfaction with ISE and loyalty

 H1: TRI of customer moderates the relational link between satisfaction with ISE & loyalty

Customer perceptions toward technology also have an impact on customer evaluations of human services of firms. Thronton and White (2001) revealed that technology oriented

customers do not use human teller services much since they prefer to contact directly with service provider firms through SSTs. There is also a missing link here where the satisfaction-loyalty relationship for interpersonal services is moderated by technology readiness. Therefore, we hypothesize that customer who technology prone are likely to weaken the degree of positive relationship between interpersonal service encounter satisfaction and service loyalty (H8a and H8b). While the moderating effects of technology readiness of customers are hypothesized to strengthen the overall interpersonal service encounter satisfaction-loyalty link for customers who are not ready to embrace technology (H8c and H8d).

 H8a: The impact of overall satisfaction with interpersonal service encounters on customer loyalty will be weaker for customers who have a high level of optimism toward technology.

 Ho: Optimism strengthen the relational link between satisfaction and loyalty

 H1: Optimism weaken the relational link between satisfaction and loyalty

 H8b: The impact of overall satisfaction with interpersonal service encounters on customer loyalty will be weaker for customers who have a high level of innovativeness toward technology.

 Ho: Innovativeness strengthen the relational link between satisfaction and loyalty

 H1: Innovativeness weaken the relational link between satisfaction and loyalty

 H8c: The impact of overall satisfaction with interpersonal service encounters on customer loyalty will be stronger for customers who have a high level of discomfort toward technology.

 Ho: Discomfort weaken the relational link between satisfaction and loyalty

 H1: Discomfort strengthen the relational link between satisfaction and loyalty

 H8d: The impact of overall satisfaction with interpersonal service encounters on customer loyalty will be stronger for customers who have a high level of insecurity toward technology.

 Ho: Insecurity weaken the relational link between satisfaction and loyalty

 H1: Insecurity strengthen the relational link between satisfaction and loyalty

CHAPTER 4 Methodology

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