Publication Type

PhD Dissertation

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

6-2022

Abstract

A rapidly ageing customer base, and an acceleration in the adoption of self-service technologies (SST) are two major trends which are set to have an increasing impact on how companies manage and satisfy customers. While there has been a rich body of work studying the effects of ageing and SST usage on customers, research on how they might affect cumulative satisfaction appears to be limited. The ageing literature tends to focus on cognition and decision-making processes, while SST research tends to be narrowly focused on SST evaluation and adoption. Our understanding on how ageing affects how satisfied customers are with service providers, and how SST usage within a complex multichannel environments affects cumulative satisfaction appears to be limited. To bridge this gap, we conducted two studies using data from the Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore.

Study 1 looked at how ageing cohorts affects the established antecedents of customer satisfaction, namely customer expectations, perceived quality, and perceived value. The study also looked at how the inflation experience of ageing cohorts affects perceived value. Contrary to data from the American Customer Satisfaction Index which found an older-more- satisfied phenomena, our study found ageing cohorts to be less satisfied, with a consistently negative effect on all three antecedents. The velocity and magnitude of inflation was also found to have a negative effect on perceived value, with ageing cohorts positively moderating the effects of inflation velocity on perceived value. The findings highlight the potential neglect of senior customers, and provides guidance on how cohort experiences may be an important factor for managers to think about when considering how best to manage an increasingly ageing customer base.

Study 2 looked at how different channel user types moderated the established relationships between perceived quality and customer satisfaction, and customer satisfaction and loyalty. Previous research tends to focus on the retail sector, and only on digital SST and offline customers. Studies on the effects of different channel user types within more complex multichannel service environme nts was surprising limited. Using survey data from the banking and telecommunications industry, the study compared the moderating effects of digital SST customers, multichannel customers, and offline customers, on the two established relationships. Across both industries, when compared to offline customers, the quality- satisfaction and satisfaction-loyalty relationships were found to be weaker for digital SST customers. Both established relationships were also found to be strongest among multichannel banking customers when compared with the other two channel user types. As more companies embark on a multichannel strategy by digitally transforming how they serve customers, the differentiated effects found in Study 2 provides managers guidance on how best to manage their channel mix.

Keywords

customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, ageing, customer experience, channel, perceived quality, customer expectations, perceived value, self-service technology, digital, multi-channel, banking, telecommunications

Degree Awarded

PhD in Business (General Management)

Discipline

Business and Corporate Communications | Marketing

Supervisor(s)

HAN, Jin-Kyung

First Page

1

Last Page

174

Publisher

Singapore Management University

City or Country

Singapore

Copyright Owner and License

Author

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