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Today, traditional full service is increasingly replaced with technology-based self-service (TBSS), sometimes with no other option for service delivery. This study develops a conceptual model to investigate the impact of forcing consumers to use TBSS. The model is tested using an experimental design within railway (ticketing and travel information) contexts. The results show that forced use leads to negative attitudes toward using the TBSS as well as toward the service provider, and it indirectly leads to adverse effects on behavioral intentions. The findings also show that offering interaction with an employee as a fall-back option offsets the negative consequences of forced use, and that previous experience with TBSS (in general) leads to more positive attitudes toward the offered self-service, which can offset the negative effects of forced use to some extent.

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This study explores people's perceptions (i.e., positive and negative associations, mixed feelings) regarding the concept of 'bio-based' in general and specific bio-based products. This exploratory study is one of the first consumer studies in the field of bio-based research. Three focus group discussions were organized in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Italy, and The Netherlands (with 89 participants in total) in which projective techniques were applied.Results of these group discussions indicate that participants are unfamiliar with 'bio-based' as a concept. 'Bio-based' is most often associated with positive environmental issues as "naturalness" and "environmental friendly" but also with negative environmental associations and to a lesser extent with technological and health issues. Associations with 'bio-based' as a general concept and with particular bio-based products can be simultaneously positive and negative, which caused uncertainty and mixed feelings by the respondents. This idea highlights both the complexity of and a lack of familiarity with the concept of 'bio-based'. Consumers have a holistic perception of bio-based products, i.e., they combine their perception of different aspects of the product in an evaluation of the whole product concept (e.g., their perception of the original product, usability, production method, proportion of bio-based materials used, price, packaging material, and appearance). Discussions on 'bio-based' as a concept are more general and abstract, while discussions and associations related to bio-based products are more specific. This study's qualitative approach illustrates in detail the great variety in consumers' perceptions, which can be both cognitive and affective (including positive, negative and mixed feelings towards 'bio-based' as a concept as well as bio-based products).