| Recently, self-service technologies (SST), technological interfaces that allow customers to act as a producer and a consumer of services without direct communication with an organization's employees, have drawn attention from practitioners. While many organizations have been able to take advantage of these self-service technologies, others have failed to do so. Research in the field of self-service technologies is relatively new and has not been fully explored. This dissertation contributed to the literature, specifically in the topic of self-service technologies utilization through the investigation of behavioral intention and customer's attitudes---technology anxiety, need for interaction with service employees, and expected service quality. Hypotheses were developed and tested.;The self-checkout of retail stores, one type of self-service technologies, was used in this study. In this study, a paper-based survey was used, and data collected from 600 actual retail customers were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results of the study indicated that the expected service quality of the self-service technology and the need for interaction with service employees significantly influence customer's intention to utilize self-service technology. Moreover, the need for interaction with service employees was also found to be a predictor of the expected service quality of the self-service technology. However, the results revealed that technology anxiety does not have a significant impact on intention to use self-service technologies.;This study provided suggestions concerning managerial issues in the design of self-service operations. When attempting to improve utilization of self-service technologies, managers must ensure that the designed self-service technologies provide quality services. Also, managers must understand that individuals are different by nature and some of these individuals will not use self-service technologies; therefore, it is important to a have traditional or full service options available for the customers. |
