This paper seeks to develop our understanding of consumer attitudes towards bank delivery channels. Accordingly, a questionnaire was designed to obtain information about which delivery channels consumers had used when acquiring four types of financial service. This information was then contrasted with data on how these consumers would acquire the same services if they had to purchase them again at some time in the future. The questionnaire also obtained information about the factors which consumers believed to be important in encouraging and discouraging the adoption of home‐based banking. In concluding, the paper discusses and assesses some of the strategic implications of the study’s findings for financial service providers.

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Data envelopment analysis (DEA) was used to monitor and benchmark productivity in a chain of 15 hotels over a 12‐month period. Quarter results were compared with each other and with standard accounting data for the same period. In this way it was possible to identify and study units which showed anomalous behavour in terms of their measured productivity and gross profit. These were apparently related to factors other than size or staffing levels. Advantages and disadvantages of DEA are discussed, as well as its potential for the motivation and appraisal of local management and for optimizing budgetary control. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Purpose -The purpose of the paper is to examine bank customer involvement and the importance of risk when contemplating the purchase of financial products. Design/methodology/approach -The paper is a discussion of the literature on customer involvement, risk and interaction forms the basis for a series of focus discussion groups and facilitates the design of a questionnaire. The questionnaire is used to collect information on bank customer involvement and confidence when purchasing a comprehensive range of financial products. The data is analysed using cluster analysis. Findings -The paper finds that the clusters provide evidence to suggest that the market consist of a number of distinctive customer segments. Although the research suggests that the market might be changing and becoming more "active", the majority of bank customers are still essentially "passive".Research limitations/implications -The sample size means that it is not fully representative of the UK banking population. The findings also raise a number of issues, which require further research, such as, the possibility that customer involvement could be used as the basis for segmenting the customer base. Practical implications -There appears to be an overwhelming customer need for more product information and more involvement with banks. This has major implications for the banks in formulating and implementing relationship management strategies. Originality/value -The paper provides new insights into the importance of customer involvement when purchasing a range of financial products.

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