Adoption of self service bill payment technologies : a conceptual model

In many industries the concept of full-service is on a rapid decline. Self service either aided by technology or otherwise is dramatically altering the way many services are created and delivered. While Banking and Financial Service Industries (BFSI) continue to invest heavily in technology, use of technology mediated self service is spreading rapidly to other industries also. Increasing number of self service bill payment technology (SSBPT) applications can be found in both private and public sector. Credit & debit card companies, insurance companies, utilities like water, power, telecom etc., are in the forefront of SSBPT applications. However, available literature reveals over-emphasis on BFSI sector skewed towards a few types of Self Service Technologies (SSTs). Past studies have investigated both active and passive SSTs as well as demand based & supply based issues in adoption of SSTs. However, as SSTs spread to new services, to new cultural and organizational settings, further research is required. Based on a critical review of literature, this paper presents a number of research propositions which can be operationalised and tested empirically. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]