A Comparison of Consumer Views of Traditional Services and Self-Service Technologies
Summary
The study aims to examine customers’ perception of traditional services and self-service technologies (SSTs) on different service classifications criteria. The paper looks at how the consumers perceive self-service technologies and the organizations that provide them. the paper looks at service classifications for SSTs and compares consumer-based perceptions of traditional services to SSTs.
The growth in the provision and use of self-service technologies require that providers gain more in-depth understanding of customers’ perception and attitudes towards both the methods of acquiring the services. As consumers are more and more exposed to different forms of, and increasingly sophisticated, self service technology they eventually become as familiar with as they are with traditional ways of accessing services.
There are many papers and investigations that have been conducted that attempted to analyze and measure customer perception on traditional services. This journal arterial follows a line of research on marketing that makes use of multidimensional scaling (MDS). This journal arterial is based on theory of service quality. The study on quality service is judged according to how it meets customer expectations. It also used the same methodology that previous researches on customer perceptions on service used.
Literature Review
The literature review is one of the longest sections in research which aims to analyze and evaluate what other researchers have done in the past. By reviewing the works of others in the chosen topic or field, the researcher is able to present to the readers the current state of knowledge and justify the research being conducted by showing what has not yet been done. Through the literature review, the researcher is able to identify the gap in knowledge.
The authors build their review of the literature into their discussion of the many relevant areas of service and customer perception of service in a succinct and organized manner. A definite strengths of the literature review is the obvious, clear links between the existing literature and the issue being investigated namely customer perception of traditional services and SSTs.
The literature review presented seminal works from different authors. Early researchers such as Bateson (1979), Shostack (1977) and Zeithaml (1981) developed classification schemes that aimed to classify service. In the 1990s, researchers such as Bowen (1990), Cunningham et al (1997) Iacobucci and Ostrom (1996), Licata and Mowen (1997) and Stell and Donoho (1996) developed service taxonomies based on consumer perception. One of the most important seminal works that the authors presented were that of Lovelock (1980). These seminal works were all cited in the literature review. The authors presented these works in order to establish to the reader the current knowledge on the topic and give a clear picture of the gaps on knowledge.
The literature review presents previous works on the topic of customer perception. The review of related literature starts with the earliest works on the topic and then presents a progression of research conducted on customer perception. The literature presents both previous and current references in order for the reader to have a clear idea of what the researchers would like to accomplish. The authors were successful in including current sources. One weakness of the literature review is the absence of definitions of important and relevant words or terms such as “Multidimensional Scaling (MDS)”. The researchers in the literature review did not explain the difference between “traditional service” and “self-service technology”.
The author is successful in gathering information and data and presenting them in an organized and flowing manner. The resources and the literature that have been reviewed are all significant and related to the topic that the researcher sought to explore.
Methodology
In the literature review, the authors presented the development in the field of customer perceptions on service. Many schemes and criteria for service classification were presented. Using these criteria, the authors developed an appropriate criteria for classifying services. Because there are no prior study on self-service technologies, the researchers are compelled to developed a criteria that is appropriate for the current study. The researchers only used the classification criteria that can be applied to the study of SSTs. Based on the literature review, the researchers analyzed the appropriateness of the selection criteria used in previous researches for the current study. The researchers were able to determine 13 traditional services based on the selection criteria that they developed. In order to select SSTs for the research, the researchers defined SSTs. The researchers used the criteria for selecting traditional services in selecting SSTs.
In the research method section, the authors failed to discuss the research methodology that they will use. The researchers did not present to the readers what methodological approach will be used in the research. The researchers did not identify the type of research design that they intend to use. However, a qualitative-descriptive research design becomes quite prevalent to the reader. The researchers used survey as a method of collecting data.
Sampling
The researchers made use of convenience sampling in choosing the sample to be included in the study. This sampling technique involves choosing the nearest individuals to serve as respondents and continuing that process until the required sample size has been obtained. The researchers choose the sample from those to whom they have easy access.
Convenience sampling is very easy to conduct and is less-time consuming. However, this kind of sampling can be bias. The researchers inform the readers, that although the sample used in the study were obtained through convenience sampling, these people are representative of the consuming population are they are adults who have received traditional services and services rendered through SSTs. Although the research sample were obtained through convenience sampling, the sample are representative of the consuming population as they vary in terms of gender, educational level, age, civil status and household income.
Analysis
Data collection is the process of acquiring subjects and collecting the data needed for the study. The actual steps of collecting the data are specific to each study and are dependent on the research design and measurement techniques. The purpose of data analysis, regardless of the type of data collected, is to impose some order on a large body of information so that some general conclusions can reached and communicated in a research report.
The researchers discussed the data collection technique, which they used in collecting data – survey. The researchers explained the tool that they used in analyzing the data – multidimensional scaling (MDS). Multidimensional scaling was used in identifying the respondents’ evaluation of objects. Once data is in hand, MDS can help determine: 1) what dimensions respondents use when evaluating objects ; 2) how many dimensions they may use in a particular situation; 3) the relative importance of each dimension; 4) how the objects are related perceptually. The researchers clearly discuss the results of the survey and made use of figures and tables in presenting the analysis.
The data analysis procedure used by the researchers were explicitly discussed making the research reliable and valid.
Discussion
The researchers make use of clear words and terms in the research so as to enable the readers to understand the study clearly. The flow of discussion from the introduction to the conclusions is very organized.
The researchers however, fail to explain further define or explain terms such as “service”, “self-service technology”, “MDS”, “MDPREF” and “INDSCAL”. These terminologies are ambiguous. The structure of the questionnaire was not clearly discussed including the questions that will be asked to the respondents.
Reliability and Validity
Reliability refers to consistency in measurement. In common terms the reliability of a test is the extent to which subsequent administrations would give similar results. A test which is not reliable will give different results every time it is take.
Validity is the complement to reliability and refers to the extent to which what is being measured reflects what was expected to measure. Validity to the qualitative researcher generally refers to the extent to which the stated interpretations are if fact true.
Conclusion
The research uses a qualitative research which uses a naturalistic approach that seeks to understand phenomena in context-specific settings. Qualitative research, broadly defined, means ‘any kind of research that produces findings not arrived at by means of statistical procedures or other means of quantification’. Qualitative paradigm stems from antipositivistic, interpretative approach, is idiographic, thus holistic in nature, and the main aim is to understand social life and the meaning that people attach to everyday life (Peat 2001; Darlington and Scott 2002; Hansen 2006). According to Newman and Benz (1998) a qualitative research involves an interpretative, naturalistic approach of the subject matter. Qualitative research is about studying things in their natural settings. A researcher conducting qualitative research attempts to make sense of, or interpret, phenomena in terms of the meaning people bring to them. Qualitative research involves different methods of gathering and collecting of empirical materials such as case study personal experience, introspective, life story, interview, observational, historical, interactions, and visual texts.
Determining the reliability and validity of a qualitative research is different from determining reliability and validity of a quantitative research. In quantitative research, the extent to which results are consistent over time and an accurate representation of the total population under study is referred to as reliability and if the results of a study can be reproduced under a similar methodology, then the research instrument is considered to be reliable (Stenbacka 2001). Likewise, in quantitative research validity determines whether the research truly measures that which it was intended to measure or how truthful the research results are. The means of measurement used by the researchers were accurate and they are actually measuring what they intended to measure (Seale 1999).
Determining the reliability and validity of a qualitative research is different. The reliability and validity of the research depends on the ability and effort of the researcher. Determining the reliability and validity of the research encompasses the study of the credibility and trustworthiness of the researcher.
Determining the reliability of the paper means testing its quality. The researchers were able to present a clear and organized report on the topic of customer perception of traditional services and SSTs. The paper, as a qualitative research is able to help the readers understand the topic. The quality of the paper is determined on its ability to generate understanding, and to that regard the researchers are successful. Determining validity is also different in qualitative research. Validity is related to reliability and in qualitative research, this is determined by the trustworthiness of researcher and the quality of the research.
Who would care about these findings
The research can provide useful information to practitioners and academicians. The comparison is useful for illustrating how SSTs have changed consumer perceptions. Managers can the resultant perceptual mapping to better understand their services, and to possibly reposition them in the minds of the consumers. The paper offers useful information that can be considered in developing self-service technologies and improving traditional services.
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