To automate or not to automate? Is that the question?

Abstract

Managers fear that not only are consumers less satisfied and loyal when they use technology-based interfaces but that increased satisfaction may not necessarily result in higher loyalty. The underlying assumption is that technology is responsible for differences in evaluative processes used to judge electronically provided services, which affects customer satisfaction and loyalty and the link between the two. We bridge the gap in services literature by comparing an existing model of loyalty across three different interface types- human, automated phone, and Internet- to find support that technology does not alter the established relationships. The study contributes by identifying the role of technology in these relationships and the relative importance of constructs in predicting loyalty.