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The purpose of this study was to examine the determinants of sport consumers' mobile ticketing adoption by the technology readiness constructs and quality–satisfaction–behavioral intentions framework. A total of 295 participants were included in the analysis. Data analysis was performed using structural equation modeling and PROCESS macro. A content analysis was conducted to provide further insight into the proposed model using open-ended responses. The findings indicate that consumers' technology readiness alone was not a positive driver of mobile ticketing but suggest a role for technology readiness in promoting mobile ticketing, combined with service quality, satisfaction, and online ticket purchasing. The importance and originality of this study are that it confirms the sport context as a unique and effective vehicle in advancing existing knowledge of consumers' ticket consumption behavior via self-service technology across various disciplines. Also, the findings can be used to set out recommendations for policy or practice aimed at facilitating and sustaining mobile ticketing consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies customers entering automated self-service hotels in China and using a facial recognition kiosk for registration. Based on video recordings of 674 cases of customers checking in, we show that, as is common in self-service, customers need to do work that was previously done by hotel staff: They are working customers. We then argue that, when interacting with the facial recognition kiosk, customers are also doing something more: First, they present themselves to the machine by, for example adjusting their standing position or appearance; second, they perform for the machine by following its instructions, closing their eyes or opening their mouths; finally, they express various emotions towards the machine, such as anger or embarrassment. In sum, we show that customers are working not just with their bodies but also on their bodies, which are being disciplined by the machine. They become 'disciplined customers'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current research advances understanding of how consumers respond to embarrassing service encounters. Across a combination of field and online studies, the authors provide evidence that (1) consumers prefer self-service to human services when purchasing embarrassing products or services; (2) when self-service is not available, consumers respond more positively to a mechanistic service provider than to a personable service provider; and (3) if consumers must engage in embarrassing social interactions, they dehumanize service providers, perceiving them as more mechanistic and less capable of emotional reactions than when engaging in nonembarrassing service interactions. The authors also examine consumers' familiarity with the service provider as a boundary condition for the effect. Collectively, the results provide converging evidence for the proposed framework and have substantive implications for service management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a mixed-methods usability study of seven diverse Self-Service Technologies (SSTs). SSTs mediate many of our everyday interactions with individuals, businesses, and government organizations. Parking meters, transport ticket machines, electric vehicle recharge points, and fast-food ordering kiosks are all likely familiar examples of this category of technology, promising convenient access to products and services. Despite their ubiquity, many SSTs suffer from severe usability issues, the nature of which have not been explored to date by the HCI community. This study evaluates the interactions between users and a broad sample of SSTs, details the usability issues that occurred, explores their connections and consequences, and presents a set of design considerations that may lead to their remediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractMany struggle with adapting to widespread self-service technology (SST). Existing studies overlook user difficulties and their impact, neglecting the burden experienced. Little attention has been given to understanding the relationship between user burden, dissatisfaction with SST or store, and loyalty. We investigated situational factors affecting the SST user burden and its association with dissatisfaction, reuse, and revisit intentions. Additionally, we explored potential differences in these relationships between younger and older generations. Conducting a scenario-based survey of restaurant kiosk users (with varying numbers of people waiting) and utilizing Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) analysis (484 participants), we found consistent user burden variables influencing dissatisfaction with SST, but differing variables for dissatisfaction with store between age groups. Moreover, technology experience moderates this effect only in the elderly model. Our findings contribute to understanding negative aspects, such as user burden and dissatisfaction with SST, enriching SST literature and loyalty theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apparel co-design in online has emerged as a promising approach to enhancing customer experience by offering customised apparel. However, effectively communicating accurate product requirements through product configurators for co-design is a challenge for non-specialists. This study proposes an approach to improve the online apparel co-design by developing a natural language-based, self-service technology-enabled chatbot to effectively elicit customer requirements. The study was based on sports bra as a case study, with a Wizard of Oz approach used to characterise the chatbot requirements through a newly developed website. Thematic analysis was conducted on chatlogs generated by thirty participants who co-designed a sports bra with the assistance of a product expert. Key findings were used to develop a reference model based on a morphological box, which helps design and develop a chatbot on product configurators in the online apparel retail industry to enhance experience through effective customer requirement elicitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the world's population lives in countries that ban the self‐service sale of gasoline. Causal effects of this regulation can hardly be assessed in these countries due to a lack of policy changes, but a recent quasi‐experiment in the state of Oregon allows us to analyze the impact of the ban. From 1992 to 2017, the state of Oregon was one of two U.S. states that banned self‐service at gasoline stations. Oregon adjusted regulations at the start of 2018 to allow self‐service at gasoline stations in counties with populations below 40,000 individuals. I examine the repeal of this self‐service ban and its effects on gasoline prices. I apply a difference‐in‐differences design using high frequency data of gasoline prices and find that repealing the self‐service ban reduced gasoline prices by 4.4 cents per gallon in affected Oregon counties. This effect represents approximately $90 in expected annual savings for a household with three licensed drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary airport automation often takes the form of self-service interfaces which transform the work tasks of check-in and boarding. In effect, such interfaces redistribute substantive and complex service labour to passengers. This article rethinks contemporary automation through the lens of the interface and examines how such automation constitutes a spatially-extended and more-than-technological assemblage that reconfigures labour across the consumer-worker divide. Rather than drawing clear lines between agential humans and technical things, we examine human elements of the interface as also having technicity within the spatialities of automation. Drawing on interviews with passenger services personnel at the two largest airports in Beijing, China, we find that at self-service interfaces airport workers step out of the way to allow passengers to step up, interfacing directly with 'back-end' airport digital infrastructure previously limited to paid personnel. In place of routine transduction, the work of check-in and boarding agents becomes regulatory, i.e. assisting, trouble-shooting and understanding: the work that cannot be automated. This work includes handling those passengers that self-service interfaces exclude: passengers who stray from – or cannot adhere to – the form of the generic, skilled and legible PAX. In closing, we consider this paper's implications for future research on automation, spatiality and labour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the affordances of "scan and go" apps and their influence on the flow experience of retail customers to provide a unique insight into user–technology interaction. Through a constructivist ethnographic approach, the research examines how users' socially constructed perceptions and interpretations shape these interactions, and it emphasizes the role of the material and social environment. The research innovatively conceptualizes affordances as a flow process; it introduces an affordances flow funnel that encompasses three distinct stages: perceived affordances, actualized affordances, and affordance dichotomy. By following this process, the study improves understanding of user emotions and behaviors that range from apathy to excitement, from gratification to provocation, and from abandonment to absorption. Findings underline the importance of equipping users with support to navigate technological and environmental constraints, thereby ensuring successful affordance actualization. The research contributes to the literature by revealing a new affordance type, namely affordance dichotomy, and offers valuable insights for marketers and developers to enhance user experiences and absorption behavior. Recognizing its focus on scan and go apps within supermarket contexts, the study invites future research to extend this understanding to different contexts and technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase of immigrant employees in services has made intercultural service encounters a commonplace phenomenon. In these encounters, customers frequently use service employees' accent to infer their ethnic background, often eliciting cultural stereotypes. However, it is still unknown how accent-based stereotyping impacts customer participation (CP), that is, the degree to which customers engage in the service process by contributing effort, knowledge, and information to improve their service experience. Addressing this question in four experimental studies (N total = 1,027), we find that (1) customers contribute less to the service encounter voluntarily when the employee has an unfavorable foreign (compared to a local) accent, (2) the negative effects of unfavorable accents on voluntary CP are stronger than the positive effects of favorable ones, (3) accent-based employee stereotypes (superiority, attractiveness, dynamism) mediate the impact of accents on CP, (4) unfavorable accents impede even participatory tasks mandatory for service completion, and (5) accent effects on CP are dampened for customers with a high need for interaction and can be managerially neutralized through self-service options that offer customers higher control over the service delivery. Our findings inform staffing and training decisions for frontline service roles commonly undertaken by immigrants and assist the design of intercultural service delivery systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of self-service technology (SST), particularly self-checkout and self-scan services, has gained increasing attention from German retail. But to date, end-customer SST use has not developed extensively. The majority of German customers still prefer to use the traditional checkout service counter. The purpose of this paper is to explore how trust, fun, and usefulness can attract inexperienced prospective adopters and experienced customers to use SST. For this, our study investigated the intention to use an SST as a holistic system (self-scan and self-checkout) and considered trust in the SST technology for the first time. Also the interplay between fun and perceived usefulness has not been investigated before. The data were collected using an online questionnaire and in front of a German hypermarket that offers SST. The sample (n = 222) consists of both inexperienced and experienced customers. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling in SmartPLS4. Results demonstrate fun is a decisive factor for a holistic SST system that incorporates the task of self-scanning and self-checkout. This also holds for trust and perceived usefulness. With regard to experienced and prospective users, the results show different effects in the importance of both groups. Fun is crucial for prospective users. For experienced users, benefits and trust become more important for long-term usage. Trust is an essential aspect for both user types. Managerial implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing ICT skill shortages that have been plaguing the economy for years are likely to get worse. To combat this, there is a growing trend in the industry towards self-service data preparation, where the key objective is to build intelligent systems that enable business analysts and data scientists to prepare ad-hoc data sets themselves without needing help from IT staff. Systems and applications built by non-ICT professionals can raise issues. Once these end-user systems find their way into the daily operational 'life' of corporations, they can become integrated parts of key processes. Before long, it is adopted as part of vital production process outcomes. The ICT department may find itself eventually burdened by having to support something they never built, tested, or approved of as being part of their suite of production systems let alone corporate strategy. Whether this plays out or not, a more immediate concern is raised regarding the data integrity and process integrity of such 'self-serving' systems. How are these addressed by those operating outside the sphere of ICT? When it comes to diagnostic condition monitoring and data analytics, as well as decision-making in the engineering management environment, the size of data involved in decision making are significant, making it even more vital that data analytics and business insights can be gained fast using ICT capability that supports technical professionals in these business disciplines. Since 2013-2020, engagement with Universities, ASX listed companies, the Australian Federal Government, State Government, Australian Government Agencies, private companies, businesses, and individuals, many times as an auditor, has also assisted the researcher with gaining the insights and disciplines required for dealing with these types of challenges. The paper addresses the issue of quality control in the form of data integrity and process integrity for end-user (self-serving) built systems. It demonstrates how these challenges can be tackled by referring to one such self-service model that has addressed this quality control issue: The Adaptive Analytics Model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changing face-to-face services to technology-based self-service can pose several challenges. This study aims to analyze whether the characteristics of elderly consumers who like to interact directly can moderate intentions toward behavior using self-service technology. Data were collected using questionnaires distributed to 204 elderly respondents in two provinces in Indonesia. The results showed that perceived usefulness of self-service technology is more important to increase behavioral intention to use STT than perceived ease of use. In addition, the influence of behavioral intention on self-service use behavior will be more assertive in individuals who enjoy face-to-face interaction. This study emphasizes the moderating role of the need for interaction in the relationship between behavioral intention and the use of SST among older individuals in developing countries. Self-service technology can be an alternative for older adults in developing countries to get services without relying on human services. However, the usefulness of service technology must be conveyed to consumers as service users. This research was conducted during the transition period due to COVID-19. However, future research, conducted in more normal conditions, might yield different results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper delves into the dynamics of self-service technology (SST) with the plan to use it in fast-food restaurants, focusing on pivotal determinants that shape users' intentions to engage with these technologies. Leveraging the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) framework, the study investigates the influence of various variables such as performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, habit, facilitating condition, and technology anxiety on users' intentions to use self-service technologies. To gauge consumers' intentions regarding SST use when ordering food and drinks, we conducted a field survey, with 272 customers participating at one of the largest Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) outlets in Indonesia. The findings suggest that certain variables such as habit, influence the desire to integrate SST as well as performance and effort expectancy, whereas facilitating condition and social influence do not exert a significant impact. As anticipated, factors related to technology anxiety impede customers' intentions to use SST. These findings are anticipated to provide a better understanding of both academic research and practical implications for the use of SST within the fast-food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While general health and fitness-related self-service technologies, such as health and fitness apps and wearable activity trackers, are steadily increasing in popularity, there are increasing reports of the potential harm they can cause to consumer well-being. An overview and analysis of the "dark side" of general health and fitness-related self-service technologies is therefore timely and appropriate. In the present work, the authors systematically identify and review the existing literature on this topic across various disciplinary backgrounds. They summarize available knowledge concerning the potential adverse consequences for consumer well-being resulting from the use of health and fitness apps and wearable devices and propose a conceptual framework to explain the relationship between using such technologies and these negative outcomes. Based on these insights, the authors identify current research gaps concerning the dark side of general health and fitness-related self-service technologies and propose corresponding directions for future research. They also discuss the implications of these findings for marketers and public policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to test the effect that anthropomorphic framing (i.e. robot vs automatic machine) has on consumers' responses in case of service failure. Specifically, the authors hypothesize that consumers hold an unconscious association between the word "robot" and agency and that the higher agency attributed to self-service machines framed as robots (vs automatic machines) leads, in turn, to a more positive service evaluation in case of service failure. Design/methodology/approach: The authors have conducted four experimental studies to test the framework presented in this paper. In Studies 1a and 1b, the authors used an Implicit Association Test to test for the unconscious association held by consumers about robots as being intelligent machines (i.e. agency). In Studies 2 and 3, the authors tested the effect that framing technology as robots (vs automatic machines) has on consumers' responses to service failure using two online experiments across different consumption contexts (hotel, restaurant) and using different dependent variables (service evaluation, satisfaction and word-of-mouth). Findings: The authors show that consumers evaluate more positively a service failure involving a self-service technology framed as a robot rather than one framed as an automatic machine. They provide evidence that this effect is driven by higher perceptions of agency and that the association between technology and agency held by consumers is an unconscious one. Originality/value: This paper investigates a novel driver of consumers' perception of agency of technology, namely, how the technology is framed. Moreover, this study sheds light on consumers' responses to technology's service failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the imaging repeatability of self-service fundus photography compared to traditional fundus photography performed by experienced operators. Design: Prospective cross-sectional study. Methods: In a community-based eye diseases screening site, we recruited 65 eyes (65 participants) from the resident population of Shanghai, China. All participants were devoid of cataract or any other conditions that could potentially compromise the quality of fundus imaging. Participants were categorized into fully self-service fundus photography or traditional fundus photography group. Image quantitative analysis software was used to extract clinically relevant indicators from the fundus images. Finally, a statistical analysis was performed to depict the imaging repeatability of fully self-service fundus photography. Results: There was no statistical difference in the absolute differences, or the extents of variation of the indicators between the two groups. The extents of variation of all the measurement indicators, with the exception of the optic cup area, were below 10% in both groups. The Bland–Altman plots and multivariate analysis results were consistent with results mentioned above. Conclusions: The image repeatability of fully self-service fundus photography is comparable to that of traditional fundus photography performed by professionals, demonstrating promise in large-scale eye disease screening programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this commentary we explore how, in a market system that increasingly demands the participation of consumers as co-creators through self-service technologies, these technologies pose significant challenges to various consumers. We call this increase in demand the 'everyday-ification' of co-creation and consider its effect on consumers who are either unwilling or unable to co-create value. We look at how marketers are motivated to persistently replace human labor with technologies, not to primarily benefit consumers, but to discipline consumer labor and to maximize profits and shareholder value. Through this lens we examine five key issues with self-service technologies. First, we discuss how costs and benefits associated with self-service technologies are unequally allocated, before addressing how consumers' choices are managed, consumers' rising sense of powerlessness and increased vulnerabilities, consumers' service failure responsibilization, and the cybernetic bureaucracy of life through self-service technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The physical role of public libraries as providers of cultural services in support of leisure and entertainment has been diminished due to the rapid development of internet technology and mobile web access. Modern self-service libraries in the form of reading spaces have become important practical innovations and responses by public libraries; however, few studies focus on patron satisfaction with these self-service libraries, especially in Asia. In this article, we discuss the results of a quantitative survey exploring patron satisfaction with the "City's Study"—a form of self-service public library venue in Wenzhou, China. We also probe current problems with these self-service libraries and make suggestions to guide other public libraries that might create similar reading spaces in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 had a huge impact on the airport industry. Problem faced by airport industry shows that the use of Self Service Technologies is still below 25% of the total passenger movement. The result of this study is a conceptual model developed from the UTAUT2 and Technology Readiness model and adding three variables namely Perceived Trust, Perceived Enjoyment and Reduce Wasting Time to the conceptual model. The result shows that Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Habit, Optimism, Innovativeness, Reduce Wasting Times, Perceived Trust and Perceived Enjoyment that significantly affect the level of acceptance of Self Service Technologies. Another result of this study shows that Hedonic Motivation is not influenced the acceptance level of Self Service Technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic revealed a need for better collaboration among research, care, and management in Germany as well as globally. Initially, there was a high demand for broad data collection across Germany, but as the pandemic evolved, localized data became increasingly necessary. Customized dashboards and tools were rapidly developed to provide timely and accurate information. In Saxony, the DISPENSE project was created to predict short-term hospital bed capacity demands, and while it was successful, continuous adjustments and the initial monolithic system architecture of the application made it difficult to customize and scale. Methods: To analyze the current state of the DISPENSE tool, we conducted an in-depth analysis of the data processing steps and identified data flows underlying users' metrics and dashboards. We also conducted a workshop to understand the different views and constraints of specific user groups, and brought together and clustered the information according to content-related service areas to determine functionality-related service groups. Based on this analysis, we developed a concept for the system architecture, modularized the main services by assigning specialized applications and integrated them into the existing system, allowing for self-service reporting and evaluation of the expert groups' needs. Results: We analyzed the applications' dataflow and identified specific user groups. The functionalities of the monolithic application were divided into specific service groups for data processing, data storage, predictions, content visualization, and user management. After composition and implementation, we evaluated the new system architecture against the initial requirements by enabling self-service reporting to the users. Discussion: By modularizing the monolithic application and creating a more flexible system, the challenges of rapidly changing requirements, growing need for information, and high administrative efforts were addressed. Conclusion: We demonstrated an improved adaptation towards the needs of various user groups, increased efficiency, and reduced burden on administrators, while also enabling self-service functionalities and specialization of single applications on individual service groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we take issue with an idea of autonomous and efficient automation that is upheld through the paradoxical conjunction of a flawed vision of the technological fix and the under-acknowledged human work required to fill in the gaps between machines and users. Our argument is based on two case studies that sit at opposite tails of automation processes: the front end of self-service checkouts and the back end of content moderation. This juxtaposition allows us to surface three themes on how the hype around automation is enabled by human interventions: the ad-hoc sociality in situated practices of automation, the capture of mundane expertise, and the inverted assistance of humans to machines. We argue that this human fix is not a temporary repair of malfunction, but a permanent and constitutive feature of automated systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to evaluate the impact of utilization of self-service cash deposit machines (SSCDMs) on the financial performance of Tanzanian commercial banks, focusing on key parameters like capital adequacy, asset quality, management quality, earning ability, and liquidity. The research, conducted over six years (2017–2022), utilizes a CAMEL analysis and combines secondary data review with primary data collected through interviews. Four commercial banks' audited financial statements serve as the primary data source. The findings indicate a mixed impact of SSCDM utilization on bank performance, with some banks experiencing positive effects on capital adequacy and liquidity ratios, while others show performance fluctuations. Overall, SSCDMs are found to enhance operational efficiency and convenience, attracting more customers and increasing deposit volumes. However, potential liquidity management challenges are noted. This study contributes valuable insights to the evolving Tanzanian banking sector, aiding policymakers and bank management in informed decision-making regarding self-service banking technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to prepare a comprehensive self-service technology model that incorporates the hygiene and health issues throughout the restaurant industry amid pandemics. To this end, this study explores psychological responses to the environmental threat caused by COVID-19, which impacts attitudes toward self-service kiosks in the restaurant industry in terms of the theory of anxiety. This study utilizes a mixed-method sequential exploratory design. The qualitative phase found four psychological attributes associated with respondents' attitudes towards kiosks: anxiety towards COVID-19, timidity, perceived control, and intolerance for tardy service. Among the psychological attribute factors, anxiety towards COVID-19 was identified as the strongest predictor of customers' attitudes towards kiosks in the quantitative phase. This study attests that the anxiety mechanism works in explaining restaurant customers' attitudes towards kiosks in the restaurant industry. The comprehensive research model explains in a timely manner the value of kiosk service in rapid social and market changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ialam is the property of Arab Federation for Libraries & Information and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Self-service and offering services in public administration is a new concept that should be the basis of its service in the future. Here, we present a concept that should enable not only more efficient service but also the satisfaction of service users. Especially because it would provide them with the option to choose. To implement this concept effectively, it is necessary to implement intelligent public administration that can provide it. For this, we need knowledge bases and intelligent software agents. We will list some of the tools for implementing knowledge bases, and in one tool, we will create an appropriate database. We will use it to present the process of offering services. Here, we will mention the process of forwarding the "Birth Certificate" - a birth certificate that is part of self-service. We will mention offering a "Criminal Record Certificate" and "Title deed" as an example of offering services. These are a unique public administration data warehouse and a necessary means for user identification. There are also necessary legal prerequisites for implementing and using self-service and offering services in intelligent public administration. We also mention some of the research we conducted at the beginning of 2023. The research relates to the use of new technologies in public administration. How interested are service users in the Balkan countries in digital services and new concepts? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last couple of years, there has been an increasing need for Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) systems that do not require touching the devices to control them, such as ATMs, self service kiosks in airports, terminals in public offices, among others. The use of hand gestures offers a natural alternative to achieve control without touching the devices. This paper presents a solution that allows the recognition of hand gestures by analyzing three-dimensional landmarks using deep learning. These landmarks are extracted by using a model created with machine learning techniques from a single standard RGB camera in order to define the skeleton of the hand with 21 landmarks distributed as follows: one on the wrist and four on each finger. This study proposes a deep neural network that was trained with 9 gestures receiving as input the 21 points of the hand. One of the main contributions, that considerably improves the performance, is a first layer of normalization and transformation of the landmarks. In our experimental analysis, we reach an accuracy of 99.87% recognizing of 9 hand gestures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although self-service facilities (SSFs) have been used on a large scale worldwide, they can be easily contaminated by microorganisms from the hands of their sequential users. This research aimed to study the prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility/resistance of bacteria contaminating SSFs in Sakaka, Aljouf, Saudi Arabia. We randomly swabbed the surfaces of 200 SSFs, then used the suitable culture media, standard microbiological methods, and the MicroScan WalkAway Microbiology System, including the identification/antimicrobial susceptibility testing-combo panels. A high SSFs' bacterial contamination load was detected (78.00%). Ninety percent of the samples collected in the afternoon, during the maximum workload of the SSFs, yielded bacterial growth (p < 0.001 *). Most of the contaminated SSFs were supermarket payment machines, self-pumping equipment at gas stations (p = 0.004 *), online banking service machines (p = 0.026 *), and barcode scanners in supermarkets. In the antiseptic-deficient areas, 55.1% of the contaminated SSFs were detected (p = 0.008 *). Fifty percent of the contaminated SSFs were not decontaminated. The most common bacterial contaminants were Escherichia coli (70 isolates), Klebsiella pneumoniae (66 isolates), Staphylococcus epidermidis (34 isolates), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (18 isolates), and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (14 isolates), representing 31.53%, 29.73%, 15.32%, 8.11%, and 6.31% of the isolates, respectively. Variable degrees of reduced sensitivity to some antimicrobials were detected among the bacterial isolates. The SSFs represent potential risks for the exchange of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria between the out-hospital environment and the hospitals through the hands of the public. As technology and science advance, there is an urgent need to deploy creative and automated techniques for decontaminating SSFs and make use of recent advancements in materials science for producing antibacterial surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Near‐constant Internet access through desktop or mobile devices has turned self‐service support forums into the first port of call for users seeking to troubleshoot product or service issues. The firms providing these products and services also benefit from this trend since it reduces user support costs by diverting service requests away from costlier support channels, such as help desks. For the continued success of such a forum, however, the managing entity must ensure that users receive timely solutions to their inquiries quickly and regularly. We develop a mathematical model of a user forum's operations to obtain a "white box" view of a user forum and reveal the support system's dynamics. Then, using a large and comprehensive dataset of questions and answers from Apple's iPhone user forum, we empirically estimate the forum's performance to validate the predictions of the mathematical model. Our results demonstrate that the predictions closely match the forum's actual performance, with an error of less than 10%. We then propose and analyze an optimal threshold policy that boosts a thread to rekindle user interest and demonstrate the benefit of our intervention policy in managing the iPhone forum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many retailers are rushing into the click-and-collect (C&C) format, where shoppers place orders online and pick up the goods themselves later. The authors study the demand implications of C&C and postulate how different ways of organizing this format—each with its own convenience features—appeal to households with different shopper characteristics. Using two data sets, each covering the introduction of two C&C fulfillment types by a major grocery retailer in a large number of local markets, the authors compare the impact of in-store fulfillment (pickup at existing stores), near-store fulfillment (pickup at outlets adjoining stores), and stand-alone fulfillment (pickup at free-standing locations). The authors find that the shift in online consumer spending significantly differs between the three order fulfillment types, as does the impact on total spending. No one order fulfillment type systematically dominates; the effects depend heavily on shopper characteristics. The study's results provide guidance on which C&C fulfillment type(s) to operate under what conditions and caution retailers not to take the easy in-store route routinely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the gap between customers' expectations and real experiences with self-service kiosks from the perspective of a major Malaysian electrical service provider. The study focuses on the energy sector and aims to identify the differences between customer expectations and actual experiences with self-service kiosks. The findings show that there are significant differences in variables such as security/privacy, design, and convenience, although the effect sizes are small. The study suggests that by closing this gap, the energy provider can enhance customer satisfaction and manage customer experience. [Extracted from the article]

Purpose - The food sector has embraced new technologies in customer service, including self-ordering kiosks (SOKs). Such a service allows customers to select, customize, and pay for their meals through a device or kiosk. This study investigates customer satisfaction and intentions to reuse SOKs in the fast food context. Methodology/Design/Approach - This empirical study is based on quantitative research; an online survey with a self-administered questionnaire was designed to measure customer satisfaction and intention to reuse SOKs among adult Thai McDonald's customers in Bangkok. Findings - The results indicate that service quality dimensions, perceived value, and customer experience influence customer satisfaction, which in turn influences reuse intention. The results suggest that the fast food self-service ordering system is a unique service environment that requires its own focus in academic study and management. Practical implications - Management implications suggest that service standards for selfservice kiosks must be consistent with customer expectations during the customer-machine service encounter. Originality of the research - The study suggests that research needs to be responsive to the swift and ongoing changes in the technological environment, as these changes could affect customer experience; we also propose that more empirical research should be conducted in the Western context to examine differences in customer experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper's main objective is to evaluate that, if showing animated scenes of modern technologies used in airports all around the world, passengers will trust and adopt more of these technologies to make their flight harmonious and less time consuming. To form the preliminary ideas of self-service technologies, SITA's IT Insights will be thoroughly analyzed. All gathered information will lay out the foundation of the survey and the 3D visualization that will be addressed to old and new Romanian passengers of all ages. The 3D visualization will focus on creating scenes of pre-departure area from an imaginary airport to pressure the passengers to make new connections between all the types of self-service technologies and traditional procedures in airports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the findings of a research study on the impact of self-efficacy and satisfaction on the intention to continue using self-service technology at gas stations. The study found that perceived usefulness is positively related to both continuance intention and satisfaction. Additionally, satisfaction was found to have a significant influence on continuance intention. The study suggests that gas station operators can enhance customer trust, implement effective marketing strategies, expand and improve services, develop customer referral programs, innovate and enhance services, boost competitiveness, and establish partnerships and collaborations as strategic choices. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Technology is the property of Emerald Publishing Limited and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: The growth of self-service technologies (SST) in the retail sector has led to an increased prevalence of SST failures, and spurred academic debate on customer self-recovery of the failed services. This study sets out to explore why customers prefer or decline to engage in self-recovery. A framework integrating elements from self-determination theory and theory of planned behavior is developed to explore the impact of motivational factors, attitudes and self-efficacy on self-recovery intention. Design/methodology/approach: Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the sample consisting of 297 users of retail kiosks in convenience stores. Findings: The results revealed that intrinsic motivation and identified regulation directly affect customers' attitude and intention to engage in self-recovery. Despite an insignificant direct relationship, external regulation impacted self-recovery intention through attitude. Further, the association between intrinsic motivation and self-recovery intention is moderated by self-efficacy. Originality/value: Much of the extant SST recovery literature has focused on company-rendered service recovery, providing little guidance to firms on how to promote self-recovery among customers. The integrated motivational-cognitive theoretical base in this study allows for a more differentiated inquiry into the factors shaping self-recovery intention, resulting in a deeper understanding of this topic. The novel insights will help retailers develop effective strategies for promoting self-recovery among users of retail kiosks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of ABI Technik is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this study, UTAUT2 is used to explore the use behavior by consumers regarding a self-ordering system. A total of 227 valid questionnaires were collected after being distributed with an effective recovery rate of 90.8%. Confirmatory factor analysis and a structural equation model were utilized via Smart PLS 2.0. The result shows that only several research hypotheses have significant effects. Among the adjustment variables, age and habits have a significant impact on user behavior. Experience and convenience conditions have a significant impact on use intention. Experience and habit have a significant impact on use intention. The overall model fit is excellent with high explanatory power. According to the research results, the public accepts self-service ordering technology systems in restaurants. The higher the level of pleasure after use, the higher the willingness to use the system in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the increase in the utilization of self-service technology (SST), which has become a significant trend in the service sectors, including food service, the factors affecting consumers' acceptance of and resistance to SST must still be identified. Thus, this study investigated the reactions of SST users to situational factors, namely control, convenience, time pressure, and order complexity, when ordering, evaluating, and opting for or against the service. The results revealed that the four SST situational factors significantly affected the perceived benefits, while only three (control, convenience, and time pressure) affected the perceived costs. The perceived benefits and costs positively influenced the perceived efficiency, which significantly affected the users' approach and avoidance behaviors afterward. This study contributes strategic managerial guidelines to service providers who aim to gain competitive advantages in the food service industry via SST. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The service recovery literature provides little guidance to firms on how users of self-service technology (SST) perceive assistance provided by human and non-human service agents following a service obstacle. This research responds by addressing two important research questions about SST recovery: (1) how are perceptions of assistance provided following a service obstacle influenced by a customer's psychological needs? and (2) does supporting the psychological needs of customers positively impact continuance intentions following a service obstacle? Design/methodology/approach: Data are collected to address the research questions via five experiments that explore how assistance provided by a non-human (vs human vs no assistance) service agent contributes to perceptions of psychological support and continuance intentions following a service obstacle while volitionally using SST. Findings: The results show that while users of SST would prefer to do so without an obstacle requiring intervention of a service agent, if assistance is required then the psychological need support elicited from a non-human service agent was vital to an effective recovery. Further, the findings highlight some boundary conditions for this relationship, with the impact of customer perceived need support on continuance intentions found to be sensitive to fit between the task and assistance provided and the complexity of the task being completed. Originality/value: Much of the prior service recovery literature has emphasized the different types of tactics that can be used (e.g. apologizing, monetary compensation and explaining what happened), failing to appreciate the role of different types of service agents or the underlying psychological process that explain the relative merit of such tactics. The present research shows that for these tactics to influence continuance intentions, they must be provided by a relevant service agent and support a customer's psychological need for autonomy, competence and relatedness. The hypothesized impact of psychological need support on continuance intentions was also observed to be contingent upon the fit between the task and the type of assistance provided, where the level of task complexity attenuated this fit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is the relationship between truth, sense of self and being a professional in Japanese queer nightlife? For service industry professionals' spontaneity is not a fruitful quality to cultivate to establish oneself. Instead, commitment to customers' satisfaction and adaptability to their wants, needs and grudges are considered by customers and providers to be paramount qualities of a service professional. Drawing on my ethnography at Japanese-style gay bars in Shinjuku Ni-chōme (Tokyo) and other Japanese urban centers, and from studies on the Japanese self, religious practice and authenticity, I propose in-sincerity as an analytical tool to describe how service professionals orient their practice. At Japanese-style gay bars, in-sincerity represents a strict approach to work involving withdrawing parts of one's self and concocting subjunctive selves (customized versions of one's self that occupied an illusive 'as if' dimension) for customers' entertainment. The co-creation and reproduction of bar legends at Zenith bar exemplifies the surfacing of these subjunctive selves by inextricably entangling factual information and the imaginary worlds of both service professionals and customers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]