Purpose This paper aims to examine consumers’ adoption of mobile technology to facilitate their banking services and activities, and to investigate the factors influencing their adoption and engagement. Design/methodology/approach An online survey is used to test proposed relationships between factors and consumers’ mobile banking adoption. Structural equation modeling is performed to analyze consumers’ intentions toward mobile banking. Findings Traditional technology acceptance model factors – perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use – are identified as effective factors in influencing consumers to adopt mobile technology for facilitating banking services. Moreover, technology safety concerns, including reliability and privacy factors, are found to play an important role in motivating consumers to embrace mobile banking. The “fun” feature of the technology and consumers’ innovativeness characteristics are considered important in influencing mobile banking adoption. Trust in the banks has its predominant role in mobile technology adoption for banking services. Practical implications A bank gaining trust from its clients is key to active adoption of mobile banking technology. Bankers are advised to pay more attention to reliability and privacy features when designing and promoting mobile banking technology to consumers. Moreover, advertisements to bank clients should stress the “fun” aspects of the mobile banking apps to attract them to the use of mobile banking technology. Originality/value This paper investigates the factors influencing bank consumers to adopting mobile banking apps to facilitate their banking services. Nine key factors in the technology adoption area are examined to provide a comprehensive understanding of bank clients’ use of mobile banking apps, which advances the understanding of mobile technology applied in the banking industry in the literature.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to offer a discussion, definition and comprehensive conceptualization of the smart service experience, i.e. the way guests and customers in hospitality and tourism experience and value the use of personalized and pro-active services that the intelligent use of data and technology enable. Design/methodology/approach Based on prior research on service experience, smart services and the differences between regular and smart services, this paper develops a conceptual framework in which the smart service experience is the central construct. Findings The characteristics of smart services (the intelligent, anticipatory, and adaptable use of data and technology) permit customers to experience services that previous conceptualizations of the service experience could not capture. The smart service experience provides empowerment, a seamless experience, enjoyment, privacy and security, and accurate service delivery. The paper also discusses challenges that service firms face in employing smart services, and proposes a future research agenda. Practical implications Both academics and practitioners expect smart services to revolutionize many industries such as tourism and hospitality. Therefore, research is needed to help understand the way customers experience smart services, what values they derive from them and the way service firms can employ them sensibly to enhance customers’ experiences. Originality/value This paper synthesizes insights from the literature on customer experience, smart services and co-creation into a conceptualization of the smart service experience, and distinguishes it from previous conceptualizations of regular services.

Purpose This paper aims to develop a theoretical model to understand co-creation/co-destruction of value through customer engagement in online channels. It also investigates the contributing factors. Design/methodology/approach The qualitative approach uses the critical incidents technique to answer the research questions. The authors identify 350 critical incidents in which customers expressed online customer engagement-induced value co-creation or co-destruction experiences. The factors and resulting propositions are identified through data analysis. Data coding and analysis are facilitated by using MAXQDA 12. Findings Co-creation through positively valenced engagement behaviors may occur when customers are delighted, feel valued, experience reciprocity, receive organizational incentives, are solicited for feedback, can count on service recovery efforts and interact with helpful, empathetic, polite and responsive employees. Co-destruction through negatively valenced engagement behaviors emerges from rude employee behaviors, indifference, confrontation with company representatives, technological failure, the lack of complaint outlets and customers’ desire for revenge. Practical implications Selecting and training employees to be helpful, polite, responsive and empathetic toward online visitors can trigger co-creation. Communication between firms and customers should boost customer approval and delight. Organizations can offer incentives, reliable service delivery and a recovery design to stimulate visitor participation. Soliciting feedback requires sound technological support and direct communication links with visitors. Originality/value This study presents the conditions and framework contributing to the duality of customer engagement-induced co-creation and co-destruction values in online channels from the customer, organizational, employee, service design and technological perspectives. It also addresses how value is co-created or co-destructed through examples.

No abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to distinguish between two types of nostalgia, examine their effect on emotions and explore the relationships between nostalgic emotions evoked by past hotel experiences and consumers’ brand attachment and willingness-to-pay. Design/methodology/approach This study was based on a sequential explanatory mixed-method design. An online scenario-based experiment was complemented with online structured interviews. Findings The results indicate that both personal nostalgia and historical nostalgia evoke positive emotions (upbeat/elation and warm/tender). However, emotions evoked by personal nostalgia are less intense than those evoked by historical nostalgia. Positive emotions successfully predicted brand prominence and brand-self connection. Brand prominence, but not brand-self connection, was positively related to consumers’ willingness-to-pay. Research limitations/implications The study’s findings suggest that hotel brands that focus on creating extraordinary memories, and brands with more historical themes, elicit more positive emotions among hotel customers. This, in turn, makes customers more likely to recall that hotel brand in the future and translates into higher willingness-to-pay. Originality/value This study is among the first to establish and test a conceptual model that connects nostalgia, nostalgic emotions, brand attachment and willingness-to-pay in the hotel industry context. As such, it is a rare attempt to explain the role of personal and historical nostalgia in hospitality research.