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17 pages, 3843 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effects of Consumer Readiness on the Adoption of Self-Service Technology: Moderating Effects of Consumer Traits and Situational Factors

by Hyeon-Sook Shim, Sang-Lin Han and Joseph Ha

Sustainability 2021, 13(1), 95; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13010095 - 24 Dec 2020

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 5237

Abstract

Self Service Technology (SST] refers to technological interfaces that enable customers to produce a service independently, without service employees’ direct involvement. Because of the recent technological evolution and rising labor costs, most companies in the retail and service industries tend to use more [...] Read more.

Self Service Technology (SST] refers to technological interfaces that enable customers to produce a service independently, without service employees’ direct involvement. Because of the recent technological evolution and rising labor costs, most companies in the retail and service industries tend to use more technology-based SST options. This study tried to investigate the effects of technology readiness and consumer readiness on SST service quality, attitude toward using SST, and intention to use SST in the restaurants. This study verified that consumer readiness as well as technology readiness is a significant leading variable that influences perceived SST service quality that previous studies have not dealt with. The results of this study can provide various suggestions regarding the recent technology-based customer services from the practical point of view. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Services Management and Digital Transformation)

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18 pages, 1002 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Service Design Management and Organizational Innovation Performance

by Seonghye Lee, Hae Young Oh and Jeongil Choi

Sustainability 2021, 13(1), 4; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13010004 - 22 Dec 2020

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 10270

Abstract

With the transformation of the industrial paradigm from the manufacturing industry to the service industry, many companies have utilized “service design” as an innovative performance tool to enhance customer satisfaction while increasing organizational efficiency. While interest in the use of service design or [...] Read more.

With the transformation of the industrial paradigm from the manufacturing industry to the service industry, many companies have utilized “service design” as an innovative performance tool to enhance customer satisfaction while increasing organizational efficiency. While interest in the use of service design or its methodology has increased in organizations, research on the factors that influence organizational innovation and performance through service design is lacking. Therefore, this study aims to explore which service design management factors affect service innovation performance. For empirical analysis, a survey was conducted on Korean companies applying service design methodologies, and hypotheses were verified through partial least square structural equations modeling (PLS-SEM). According to the analysis, top management support and customer focus influenced concept transformation, and stakeholder collaboration and customer focus affected process improvement. Conceptual transformation and internal process improvement were shown to have a positive impact on perceived service innovation. Finally, innovative service outcomes, through the application of service design, satisfied customers, which in turn increased organizational performance. This study has great significance in that it addresses the application of service design to management activities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Services Management and Digital Transformation)

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15 pages, 498 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effects of the Antecedents of “Buy-Online-Pick-Up-In-Store” Service on Consumer’s BOPIS Choice Behaviour

by Kihyung Kim, Sang-Lin Han, Young-Yong Jang and Yun-Chang Shin

Sustainability 2020, 12(23), 9989; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12239989 - 29 Nov 2020

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4858

Abstract

We studied the effect of the antecedents of the buy-online-pick-up-in-store (BOPIS) service on consumer’s BOPIS choice and shopping behaviour. The convenience of BOPIS benefits retailers and consumers; therefore, we used online surveys of consumers and the unified theory of acceptance and use of [...] Read more.

We studied the effect of the antecedents of the buy-online-pick-up-in-store (BOPIS) service on consumer’s BOPIS choice and shopping behaviour. The convenience of BOPIS benefits retailers and consumers; therefore, we used online surveys of consumers and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2 (UTAUT2) model. The results of the study show that performance expectancy, trust, compatibility with BOPIS shopping, hedonic motivation and social influence affected the behavioural intentions in omni-channel BOPIS. However, price value and effort expectancy were not considered to be important factors in choosing BOPIS shopping. A moderating effect of the different age generations was analysed in the model. The managerial implications and the limitations of the study are also discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Services Management and Digital Transformation)

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13 pages, 1168 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Social Media Data Analytics to Enhance Sustainable Communications between Public Users and Providers in Weather Forecast Service Industry

by Ki-Kwang Lee and In-Gyum Kim

Sustainability 2020, 12(20), 8528; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12208528 - 15 Oct 2020

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2537

Abstract

The weather forecast service industry needs to understand customers’ opinions of the weather forecast to enhance sustainable communication between forecast providers and recipients particularly influenced by inherent uncertainty in the forecast itself and cultural factors. This study aims to investigate the potential for [...] Read more.

The weather forecast service industry needs to understand customers’ opinions of the weather forecast to enhance sustainable communication between forecast providers and recipients particularly influenced by inherent uncertainty in the forecast itself and cultural factors. This study aims to investigate the potential for using social media data to analyze users’ opinions of the wrong weather forecast. Twitter data from Korea in 2014 are analyzed using textual analysis and association rule mining to extract meaningful emotions or behaviors from weather forecast users. The results of textual analysis show that the frequency of negative opinions is considerably high compared to positive opinions. More than half of the tweets mention precipitation forecasts among the meteorological phenomena, implying that most Koreans are sensitive to rain events. Moreover, association rules extracted from the negative tweets reveal a pattern of user criticism according to the seasons and types of forecast errors such as a “false alarm” or “miss” error. This study shows that social media data can provide valuable information on the actual opinion of the forecast users in almost real time, enabling the weather forecast providers to communicate effectively with the public. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Services Management and Digital Transformation)

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27 pages, 2692 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Tender Management Relating to Imposition of Public Service Obligations on Scheduled Air Routes: An Approach Involving Digital Transformation of Procurement Procedures in Spain

by Antonio Martínez Raya and Víctor M. González-Sánchez

Sustainability 2020, 12(13), 5322; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12135322 - 1 Jul 2020

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3131

Abstract

The promotion of efficient and sustainable means of transport has been a key issue of public debate across the European Union (EU). Particularly, transport needs in peripheral and remote areas have a great importance for EU transport policies in order to ensure the [...] Read more.

The promotion of efficient and sustainable means of transport has been a key issue of public debate across the European Union (EU). Particularly, transport needs in peripheral and remote areas have a great importance for EU transport policies in order to ensure the mobility of goods and persons in these regions, and thus to achieve greater territorial cohesion in the member states concerned. Despite the remarkable efforts to improve the competitiveness of aviation in the EU single market, certain regional routes have traditionally suffered a lack of scheduled air routes. The internal market, once liberalized, has provided an instrument in order to ensure adequate transportation for the carriage of goods and persons in special cases. When this occurs, according to Regulation (CE) no. 1008/2008, national civil aviation authorities may impose a public service obligation (PSO) on specific air routes. In addition, this form of public intervention can lead to restriction on market access to one carrier, and even to the payment of compensation to the awarded airline through the launching of a tendering procedure for the operation of the required air service. In the case of Spain, this type of administrative concession has been shifting towards e-procurement processes by providing transparent electronic portals. This research aims, precisely, at encouraging a better understanding of how information technology may have systemic benefits to public bodies aiming to efficiently conduct a digital procurement ecosystem. To do this, the authors have analyzed the 23 PSO routes imposed so far, and the corresponding administrative procedures. The findings suggest that e-procurement has led to greater public transparency. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Services Management and Digital Transformation)

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19 pages, 1071 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Enhancing University Services by Extending the eIDAS European Specification with Academic Attributes

by Álvaro Alonso, Alejandro Pozo, Aldo Gordillo, Sonsoles López-Pernas, Andrés Munoz-Arcentales, Lourdes Marco and Enrique Barra

Sustainability 2020, 12(3), 770; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12030770 - 21 Jan 2020

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3896

Abstract

The European electronic IDentification, Authentication and trust Services (eIDAS) regulation makes available a solution to ensure the cross-border mutual recognition of electronic IDentification (eID) mechanisms among Member States. However, the basic set of attributes currently provided by each country only contains citizens’ personal [...] Read more.

The European electronic IDentification, Authentication and trust Services (eIDAS) regulation makes available a solution to ensure the cross-border mutual recognition of electronic IDentification (eID) mechanisms among Member States. However, the basic set of attributes currently provided by each country only contains citizens’ personal and legal attributes, preventing e-services to take full advantage of citizens’ domain-specific information, such as academic or medical data. In this article, we propose an extension of the eIDAS specification to support academic attributes as part of citizens’ profiles. In addition, we present an architecture to enable the connection of eIDAS nodes to national attribute providers to enrich citizens’ profiles with additional academic attributes. We have deployed the eIDAS extension in the specific case of the Spanish eIDAS infrastructure, and we have connected it to an attribute provider of the Technical University of Madrid (UPM). We have also improved a set of institutional services of that university by enabling the connection to eIDAS and enhancing the features offered to students based on their academic profiles retrieved from the eIDAS extended infrastructure. Finally, we have evaluated the resulting services thanks to real students from two different countries, concluding that the widespread adoption of the proposed solution in the academic services of European universities will greatly improve their quality and usability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Services Management and Digital Transformation)

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24 pages, 1255 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Text Analytics-Based Importance Performance Analysis and Its Application to Airline Service

by Seungju Nam and Hyun Cheol Lee

Sustainability 2019, 11(21), 6153; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11216153 - 4 Nov 2019

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 4547

Abstract

We introduce a new importance-performance analysis (IPA) methodology while making use of direct service experience perceptions represented by online reviews with numerical ratings. The proposed IPA, which we call the text analytics-based IPA (TAIPA), allows the real-time calculation of importance using the probability [...] Read more.

We introduce a new importance-performance analysis (IPA) methodology while making use of direct service experience perceptions represented by online reviews with numerical ratings. The proposed IPA, which we call the text analytics-based IPA (TAIPA), allows the real-time calculation of importance using the probability distribution of word frequency via the latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) application to online reviews, and of performance using numerical rating values. The importance is also adjusted with the help of a sentiment analysis of online reviews to provide more precise measurements for service experience perceptions. To ensure an evaluation of the entire service process, we employ service encounters, in which service experiences occur and thus most customer perceptions are created, as a set of attributes composed of LDA topics that contain direct perceptions of service experiences. We investigate statistical correlations between TAIPA calculations and typical benchmarks of firm performance in the air-transport industry to verify how effective the proposed TAIPA is with respect to the degree that customer satisfaction is represented. As a primary result, TAIPA is more effective than comparison targets in that it shows stronger correlations with firm performance. TAIPA is specialized in determining which service step (i.e., a one-to-one relationship with a service encounter) needs to be improved. Moreover, TAIPA is flexible in considering multiple competitors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Services Management and Digital Transformation)

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Review

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28 pages, 2476 KiB

Open AccessReview

Methodological Proposals for the Development of Services in a Smart City: A Literature Review

by Joel Serey, Luis Quezada, Miguel Alfaro, Guillermo Fuertes, Rodrigo Ternero, Gustavo Gatica, Sebastian Gutierrez and Manuel Vargas

Sustainability 2020, 12(24), 10249; https://doi.org/10.3390/su122410249 - 8 Dec 2020

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3966

Abstract

This literature review analyzes and classifies methodological contributions that answer the different challenges faced by smart cities. This study identifies city services that require the use of artificial intelligence (AI); which they refer to as AI application areas. These areas are classified and [...] Read more.

This literature review analyzes and classifies methodological contributions that answer the different challenges faced by smart cities. This study identifies city services that require the use of artificial intelligence (AI); which they refer to as AI application areas. These areas are classified and evaluated, taking into account the five proposed domains (government, environment, urban settlements, social assistance, and economy). In this review, 168 relevant studies were identified that make methodological contributions to the development of smart cities and 66 AI application areas, along with the main challenges associated with their implementation. The review methodology was content analysis of scientific literature published between 2013 and 2020. The basic terminology of this study corresponds to AI, the internet of things, and smart cities. In total, 196 references were used. Finally, the methodologies that propose optimization frameworks and analytical frameworks, the type of conceptual research, the literature published in 2018, the urban settlement macro-categories, and the group city monitoring–smart electric grid, make the greater contributions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Services Management and Digital Transformation)

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