Internet banking is a form of self‐service technology, costing millions of dollars, which leading retail banks have made available in the recent past. An understanding of why users are more accepting of Internet banking services should help bank managers implement this self‐service technology. This study identifies eight characteristics which influenced the rate of adoption. Two of these characteristics, namely accessibility and confidentiality, are new to the literature. The results show that adopters of Internet banking perceive the service to be more convenient, less complex, more compatible to them and more suited to those who are PC proficient. Adopters were also found to be more financially innovative. The perceptions that adopters had about social desirability, confidentiality, accessibility and economic benefits were viewed no differently when adopters were compared with non‐adopters.

The diffusion of Internet banking among Singapore consumers

Marketing scholars' interest in the influence of source countries on product evaluations has intensified during the past twenty-five years. As this research tradition has evolved, the literature has gradually gained more depth and sophistication. Nevertheless, research in this area lacks a common conceptual framework. Furthermore, research priorities with regard to the role of this area of inquiry within the broader field of consumer behavior, marketing and general business decisions have not been made clear. This article rationalizes the buying decision processes within the context of source-country influences and offers a conceptual framework for further development. In addition, it links country-level considerations to firm-level decisionmaking, thus providing a foundation for meaningful managerial decisions.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1057%2Fpalgrave.jibs.8490213.pdf

Customer Evaluation of Products in a Global Market

Purpose – The importance of packaging design and the role of packaging as a vehicle for consumer communication and branding are necessarily growing. To achieve communication goals effectively, knowledge about consumer psychology is important so that manufacturers understand consumer response to their packages. this paper aims to investigate this issue.Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines these issues using a conjoint study among consumers for packaged food products in Thailand, which is a very competitive packaged food products market.Findings – The conjoint results indicate that perceptions about packaging technology (portraying convenience) play the most important role overall in consumer likelihood to buy.Research limitations/implications – There is strong segmentation in which packaging elements consumers consider most important. Some consumers are mostly oriented toward the visual aesthetics, while a small segment focuses on product detail on the label.Originality/value – Segmentation var...

The importance of packaging attributes: a conjoint analysis approach

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.

Consumer Attitude and the Usage and Adoption of Home-based Banking in the United Kingdom

Theory and applications of the Delphi technique: A bibliography (1975–1994)

Awareness and understanding of consumers' attitudes towards foreign products can help in designing more effective product, price, promotion, and distribution strategies.

Country‐of‐Origin Stereotyping: A Case Study in the New Zealand Motor Vehicle Industry

Due to deregulation, the New Zealand retail banking environment is characterized by change, especially in the area of self‐service technologies. The success of these technology projects has been mixed, and one must question whether or not the suppliers of these technologies have a true understanding of consumer needs. Draws a comparison between what the consumers see as being important influences in the adoption or non‐adoption of retail banking self‐service technologies; and what the suppliers of these technologies (i.e. banking and technology experts) perceive as being important influences in the consumer adoption or non‐adoption of self‐service retail banking technologies. To achieve this, a review was conducted of the literature relating to consumer surveys which investigated why consumers do or do not adopt the main self‐service technology in retail banking: automated telling machines. The themes from this review were identified. A Delphi study was then conducted with New Zealand′s leading experts in...

Consumer adoption of self-service technologies in retail banking: Is expert opinion supported by consumer research?

Branding has traditionally been viewed as an essential tool for marketers to establish an identity for their products. Even products among the commodity range make use of branding to establish a position for themselves in the market. Recent times, however, have seen the emergence of unbranded or “generic” products. These products, which are usually sold at a price which is lower than their branded equivalents, are most often found in the area of low‐involvement grocery items. Previous studies of consumer perceptions suggest that while consumers see generics as being less expensive than their national branded equivalents, they are also seen as being inferior in quality. This research goes beyond comparing generic products to their national brand equivalents by comparing generic products to one another, in order to ascertain whether the “low price‐low quality” perception is more applicable to some generic products than others. A mail survey of 1,000 New Zealanders revealed that, in contrast to previous studies, generic consumers tend to be older and on a lower household income. The more standardized generics (such as rice) received more favourable ratings than the more processed generics such as coffee and shampoo, although there were significant differences in the respondents’ perceptions across different demographic groups. The results suggest that it is unwise for marketers to draw sweeping conclusions about consumer perceptions of generic products in general. Rather, each generic product, when compared with other generic products, has its own consumer perception and, therefore, each generic product requires different attention from different elements of the marketing mix.

Generic products: who buys them and how do they perform relative to each other?

The increasing provision of self‐service technologies such as automated telling machines (ATMs) in retail banking means that customers now have a variety of means of carrying out their banking business In many cases, the functions of these technologies overlap with the functions of the bank branch. Seeks to determine the form and function of the retail bank branch network in New Zealand, in the presence of these self‐service technologies, to the years 2000 and 2010 To achieve this objective, a Delphi study was conducted with leading experts from both banks and technology supplying companies The results indicated that in the short term the bank branch in its current from will remain very important. In the longer term, while the bank branch will still be very important, one can expect a reduction in numbers In part this reduction will be caused by the availability of remote banking technology which reduces the need for the bank branch The main city centres will supply customers with staffless branches – a b...

Towards a Branchless Banking Society

Builds on an article, which looked at tenant‐manager relationships in shopping centres, published by the authors in IJRDM, Vol. 24 No. 9. Using data from the same research project, this article compares the views of shopping centre and non‐shopping centre retailers. Despite many countries having seen a substantial growth in the number of shopping centres, not all retailers choose to locate within a shopping centre, and some retailers actively oppose shopping centres. A survey of clothing retailers in New Zealand showed that retailers in centres tended to have higher sales turnover than those outside centres. Retailers inside centres believed much more strongly that there are opportunities in locating within a centre. The main reasons for retailers not locating in centres were that the levels of rent are too high and the trading hours are too long.

Norman E. Marr

Papers

Country‐of‐Origin Stereotyping: A Case Study in the New Zealand Motor Vehicle Industry

Consumer adoption of self-service technologies in retail banking: Is expert opinion supported by consumer research?

Generic products: who buys them and how do they perform relative to each other?

Towards a Branchless Banking Society

Retailers’ views of shopping centres: a comparison of tenants and non‐tenants