Internet-Based Self-Services: Relational Aspects of E-Banking – a Private Client Survey Analysis1. IntroductionGlobalization and deregulations have increased competition in the market places. The increased competition, in turn, calls for that organizations continuously increase their productivity and decrease their costs. Investment in information technology is one important means to increase productivity and decrease costs. Advances in technology have changed the preconditions for service delivery dramatically in recent years, with tremendous potential impact on self-service options and on service support. Service providers employ technology at various stages in the service delivery processes and in service support operations to improve the quality and productivity in their service offerings (Blumberg 1994). These technology-enabled changes are changing the way service providers and their customers interact with each other (Dabholkar 1994). One influential form of technology-based self-service is Internet banking, which is denoted e-banking in the remainder of this report. Already more than two decades ago, Lovelock and Young (1979) highlighted that an overlooked way to increase productivity in service industries is to change the ways consumers interact with service provider firms. As the sheer presence of the customer is the dominant constraint on the efficiency of service systems (Chase & Tansik 1983), service managers can increase productivity by changing procedures at the point of delivery, such as replacing a bank teller with a machine. Since service industries typically involve the consumer in the production process, changing procedures at the point of delivery directly affect consumers. However, as Lovelock and You...
