Adoption of TAM to Measure Consumer’s Attitude Towards Self-Service Technology: Utilizing Cultural Perspectives as a Moderator Variable
Authors: Azam Nour A. J. , Kabiraj Sajal , Shaoyuan Wang , Azam Mohammed I. A. 
Published: May 2023

Retail self-service technology (SST) has become increasingly valuable to both businesses and consumers in recent decades. Examples of Innovative retail advances include online shopping and self-scanning technologies. Although SSTs are becoming more popular in Western societies, the same is not true for developing ones. Modern retail advances like self-service applications were welcomed by some communities, while others were unwilling to adapt and adopt these inventions. In economies like Palestine, these cultural elements may play a significant role in the framework of social contexts and perceptions of merchant and consumer relationships.

The main objective of this study was to determine how culture and characteristics of internal and external incentive factors influence Palestinian customers’ attitudes towards self-service technologies. As an introduction to motivational factors, the cultural-self theory was explored to comprehend the relationships between customers’ attitudes towards using self-service technologies. The model suggests that intrinsic and extrinsic incentive factors, including perceived pleasure, technological anxiety and perceived timesaving, influence customers’ attitudes towards using self-service technologies.

According to this research, educated and employed Palestinian customers were more interested in having fun using self-service technologies than they were in saving time or being more useful. Thus, it is proposed that efficient marketing connection strategies concentrate on the enjoyable and pleasureable sides of using self-service technology. Palestinian customers in this research were eager to learn new self-service technologies, even though they had no previous experience; they were ready to cope with any fear they may have about adopting new technology. Hence, store managers should stress the training of their employees. To help customers switch from employee-assisted services to self-service. Appropriate self-service techniques must be incorporated by managers to maintain offering a decent, quicker and more reliable service. This may boost both profits and shop loyalty.

The literature is divided on whether SST research should focus on the moderator. Some research use TAM, which posits that usefulness and ease of use fully moderate the effects of various SST acceptance variables, whilst others postulate direct impacts on SST use. We look at the moderator to see how different antecedent conditions affect SST acceptance. Investigating the moderator function of cultural factors of use broadens our grasp of both the determinants of SST acceptance and the mechanisms through which these predictors exert influence.

This research contributes to increasing the base of learning about consumers’ shopping trends regarding self-service technology and addresses a gap in the literature on the potential of employing self-service technology in the Palestinian retail environment. Retailers wishing to improve their service offerings can use the results to provide customers with an additional way to buy products in-store. There is a need for future research that applies the model to a wide range of people, many types of self-service technologies, and merchants.