Are Street Vendors Really Innovative Toward Self-service Technology?

Abstract

Street vending has acquired great importance in present times. This study attempts to link consumer innovativeness (CI) to street vending -an ancient occupation now emerging as a new market form using technology and innovation. The study investigates the behavior of street vendors (a group hypothesized to enjoy more innovativeness than those with similar socioeconomic backgrounds) regarding adoption of self-service technologies (SSTs) in the retail banking industry. In addition to primary research instruments, in-depth interviews were conducted with representatives of the two groups under study (street vendors and formal wage workers) to determine their awareness levels, usage, primary sources of information and reasons behind the adoption of the three SSTs considered along with their dependence on opinion leaders for making adoption decisions. Findings reveal that compared to formal wage workers, street vendors exhibit lower levels of innovativeness toward SSTs, and consumers are driven by three prime correlates of age, gender and income. Further, informal groups of street vendors earn higher income despite being less qualified technically or otherwise than the formal sector wage earners within their social class. These results will help practitioners revisit their existing marketing strategies and policies to increase the reach of self-service technology among urban lower middle class in India.

Present and future of the use and impact of information and communication technology in informal microenterprises: Insights from India

“…A recent study (Kaushik & Rahman, ) about the use of ATMs, Internet banking, and self‐service kiosks among the street vendors in New Delhi showed poor usage, except for ATMs. Another study (Masiero, ) also reinforced the limited use of digital tools like mobile banking tools by the informal enterprises in Bangalore while attempting to integrate into a cashless society.…”

Tourist behaviour towards self-service hotel technology adoption: Trust and subjective norm as key antecedents

“…Usually, mutual interactions foster interpersonal relationships between customers and service employees (Kaushik & Rahman, 2015c), but this interaction and interpersonal relationships are absent during SST usage. However, this interaction is quite necessary for understanding the technicalities of service delivery through SSTs (Seth et al, 2005).…”

Untact: Customer’s Acceptance Intention toward Robot Barista in Coffee Shop

“…Dabholkar [43] mentioned the importance of human interaction for a customer in a service encounter; the study indicated that an SST fails to satisfy a customer's desire to interact with the service staff, which negatively affects its expected quality. Interaction promotes the interpersonal relationship between customers and the service staff [44]. However, the use of SST does not facilitate an interpersonal relationship and interaction, which is very essential for understanding the technology of service delivery through SST [17].…”