The impact of self-service technologies on interfirm relationships

Abstract

Technology has impacted the way businesses operate in a business-to-business (B2B) context and has influenced services by altering the way services are delivered (Bitner, Ostrom and Meuter, 2002). The increased use of self-service technologies (SSTs) could have a great impact on business-to-business relationships yet there is a shortage of research in the area (Johns and Perrott, 2008). Electronic banking, encouraged by banks as a way to reduce service delivery costs and improve service quality for customers, is one technology that has streamlined business transactions (Sathye, 1999; Hughes and Hughes, 2004). Banking has attempted to move what used to be a physical transaction to one that is virtual and this is having implications for relationships between banks and their customers. Despite this there is little understanding of the impact of self-service technologies on relationships in a business context; do they enhance or hinder these relationships? This thesis reviews the results and implications of an exploratory study conducted with a sample of Australian business bank customers and interviews with six Australian financial institutions. Findings indicate that two customer segments exist - a Transaction-Oriented segment and a Relationship-Oriented segment. Unlike existing literature that states bank customers prefer relationships (Eriksson and Marquardt, 2001), the findings indicate that this is only the case for one segment of business customers. This has implications for trust of the bank; however it does not appear to negatively impact on commitment to the relationship unless a better option becomes available. More broadly, the findings suggest that Relationship Marketing theory is applicable to relationship-oriented customers; however in the new business context of self-service delivery, traditional theory on relationships does not apply for transaction-oriented customers. Service-Dominant Logic is more applicable in a self-service business-to-business context due to its focus on value co-creation and customised offerings for customers.

Date of Award	2011
Original language	English