Determinants of self-service technology adoption and implementation in hotels: the case of China

Abstract

Few research models have examined organizational levels of self-service technology (SST) application. Based on prior research and focus-group discussions with 30 hotel practitioners, this study proposes a conceptual framework regarding the SST application process in hotels, which divides the process into three stages: adoption decision, implementation, and customer acceptance. The findings show that most hotels in China have taken wait-and-see attitudes toward innovative SSTs and that customers tend to remain unfamiliar with such devices. Results suggest that hotels should begin replacing traditional services with SSTs from non-face-to-face service encounters. The findings further indicate that the influencing factors at each stage vary somewhat, as task characteristics appear to influence the implementation stage but do not affect adoption decisions. Additionally, customers' travel purposes and their unique needs impact their acceptance of SSTs. The findings provide novel insights to guide future research on technology adoption and offer constructive practical guidance for hoteliers.

How hotels adjust technology-based strategy to respond to COVID-19 and gain competitive productivity (CP): strategic management process and dynamic capabilities

“…Little is known about how and when hotels make decisions on the application of technology-based contactless services in response to COVID-19 (Kabadayi et al, 2020). Organizational application of technology is much more complicated than customer acceptance and warrants further research investigation (Liu et al, 2020). A hotel's investment in technology involves adoption decisions, practical implementation and customer feedback (Liu et al, 2020).…”

“…Organizational application of technology is much more complicated than customer acceptance and warrants further research investigation (Liu et al, 2020). A hotel's investment in technology involves adoption decisions, practical implementation and customer feedback (Liu et al, 2020). Moreover, technological factors, organizational facets, environmental context, customer differences and task characteristics all exert influence on hotels' adoption and implementation of SST (Liu et al, 2020).…”

“…These technologies have a common feature: they allow customers to receive or produce services independent of the direct involvement of service employees, thus gaining the name SSTs (Meuter et al, 2000). Although prior research has focused on organizational and individual adoption of SSTs (Kim and Qu, 2014;Liu et al, 2020), investigation concerning the effectiveness of SSTs in a disrupted environment and the extent to which these SSTs were newly introduced in response to COVID-19 or had been in usage before the pandemic for Competitive Productivity (CP) is scarce.…”

Customer preferences and self-service technologies:hospitality in the pandemic context

“…Over the past few years, there has been an increase in the usage of technology which encourages more customers to seek information and companies to offer adaptation (Lee et al, 2016;Liu et al, 2019;Mastorakis et al, 2015;Zailani et al, 2015).…”

Extending the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to Explore Customer’s Behavioral Intention to Use Self-Service Technologies (SSTs) in Chinese Budget Hotels

“…One interesting fact is that Chinese customers expect high service quality, even in budget hotels. Liu et al (2019) points out Chinese customers tend to have high service expectations. Since some large hotels or chain hotels in China have attempted to deploy SSTs in (Liu et al, 2020), this study helps to highlight effective ways to encourage the use of SSTs.…”