Abstract
It has been established that increasing the role of technology in a service organisation can serve to reduce costs and often improve service reliability. It remains the case however that there is an important role for personalised relationships in the delivery of any service proposition. Throughout this paper both of these perspectives will be discussed and an attempt will be made to reconcile these apparently opposing views. The key managerial challenge exists in establishing an appropriate balance between remote and personal interactions where both customer and provider needs are met. Quantitative findings derived from over 2,000 retail bank customers categorised as high net worth and low net worth indicates that while all see Internet banking as important irrespective of their relationship status, neither group surveyed shows a desire to replace face-to-face interaction with e-banking solutions. The strategic and communications challenges in managing this paradox are discussed.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 862-878 |
| Journal | Services Industries Journal |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published (in print/issue) - 2005 |
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Keywords
- Internet banking
- communications
- migration
- remote interactions
- strategy