MINISTRY OF EDUCATION STATE BANK OF VIET NAM AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH UNIVERSITY OF BANKING DINH THU QUYNH CUSTOMER ACCEPTANCE BEHAVIOR TOWARDS SELF- SERVICE BANKING: A STUDY IN VIETNAM SUMMARY OF PH. D THESIS Major: Business Administration Code: 9 34 01 01 HO CHI MINH CITY, 2024 1 CHAPTER 1.1 Reason for choosing the topic In the trend of economic integration and development, Vietnam has constantly improved and promoted industrialization and modernization of the country to develop Vietnam comprehensively and steadily. And the development of information technology and the Internet has created a new transaction method, which is transaction through self-service technology. The definition of self-service technology according to Meuter et al.
(2000) is a technological interface that allows customers to receive services without the direct participation of service company employees. In the banking sector, self-service banking, hereinafter referred to as SSB, refers to self-service services based on the bank's technology, where customers themselves perform financial transactions such as deposits and withdrawals, transfers, bill payments, loans, foreign exchange and asset management through self-service devices. Examples of self-service technologies in the banking sector include automated teller machines (ATMs), interactive transaction machines (ITMs), electronic funds transfer at the point of sale (EFTPoS), tablet integrations, cardless transactions, mobile banking, etc. In the era of Fintech and digital banking, understanding customer perceptions and acceptance of self-service banking is crucial for financial institutions and banks.
Self-service banking has emerged globally as one of the key business trends that facilitate customers to use their bank accounts more easily and efficiently (McGrath and Astell, 2017; Saxena et al. The adoption of self-service technology enables businesses to improve productivity, professionalism, and efficiency in the service process (Kelly et al. According to Ky Phong (2024) published in Finance Magazine, by the end of 2023, cashless payments reached about 11 billion transactions, an increase of nearly 50% compared to 2022. The total transaction value reached more than 200 million billion VND.
Of which, payments via the internet channel reached nearly 2 billion transactions, with a value of over 52 million billion VND (an increase of more than 56% in quantity and 5.8% in value compared to 2022); via mobile phone channels reached more than 7 billion transactions with a value of more than 49 million billion VND (an increase of more than 61% in quantity and nearly 12% in value compared to 2022); via QR code method reached nearly 183 million transactions, with a value of more than 116 thousand 2 billion VND (an increase of nearly 172% in quantity and more than 74% in value compared to 2022). The value of transactions via ATMs is about VND 2.6 million billion, down more than 9% compared to 2022. Online account opening has been implemented since the end of March 2021, to date, there have been nearly 27 million payment accounts opened electronically (eKYC) in operation and 12.9 million cards in circulation issued by eKYC. The ATM and POS network covers all provinces and cities across the country.
As of the end of November 2023, the whole market has 21,014 ATMs and 513,550 POS machines (up 0.89% respectively compared to the same period in 2022). Therefore, by converting transactions from direct interaction with tellers to self-service, banks can promote digital transformation to reduce the number of branches, reduce costs, improve customer loyalty and increase business efficiency. The unprecedented global Covid-19 pandemic has changed not only the way people live and communicate, but also the way people perform banking services. The temporary closure of branches or maintaining social distancing has caused customers to switch to self-service banking faster and more strongly than ever before.
Customers participating in self-service banking receive better customer experiences and higher customer satisfaction. In a post-pandemic world, the strong growth of self-service banking is predictable and it will no longer be mistakenly considered a secondary channel compared to the traditional channel. In addition, the pandemic that has occurred globally has caused severe financial and economic consequences as well as devastated the health, material and mental health of customers. Customers’ concerns about their personal finances and the future of the economy are driving them to seek easy, fast access to customer service and support when they need it.
The global health crisis will be contained, but the psychological and economic impact on banking customers will be long-lasting. The introduction of self-service technology in the banking sector has emerged as one of the important business drivers that helps customers to use their bank accounts more easily and efficiently (Saxena et al. Self-service technology has enabled bank customers to perform their banking transactions on a 24/7 basis based on their needs and convenience. The success of self-service technology can be reflected in the increased profitability of banks due to the introduction of self-service technology in banking 3 operations (Manikandan and Chandramohan, 2016).
Self-service technology also provides more consistent and stable services that are not affected by changes in service demand or employee morale (Weijters et al. Iqbal et al. (2017) pointed out that self-service technology improves customer satisfaction, thus facilitating effective onboarding of new customers. In addition to improving efficiency, self-service technology empowers both employees and customers through value addition.
The use of self-service technology provides customers with convenience in terms of location and time, which enhances customer experience, leading to customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is an attitude formed in the mind of the customer by comparing pre-purchase expectations with the customer’s perception of reality. Due to the importance and great benefits of implementing self-service banking, many studies have been conducted in the existing literature, both theoretical and empirical. The study by Gunawardana et al.
(2015) shows the impact of self-service technology service quality factors on customer satisfaction in banks. Iqbal et al. (2017) found that self-service technology (SST) service quality factors have a positive impact on customer loyalty and customer behavioral intention, and also showed the mediating role of customer satisfaction. Magotra et al.
(2019) presented a research model on the adoption of self-service technologies among bank customers. Maune (2022) studied the service quality factors of self-service technology and brand loyalty in the banking sector. The successful implementation of self-service banking depends on widespread adoption by consumers to justify the investment cost (Lee and Allaway, 2002). The need to understand consumer decisions regarding self-service banking has attracted the attention of many researchers to the factors that facilitate consumer acceptance (Curran and Meuter, 2005).
However, empirical studies on the impact of self-efficacy , risk perception and social influence on customer satisfaction in the context of self-service banking as well as the identification and measurement of the mediating role of behavioral intention between customer satisfaction and customer acceptance behavior towards self-service banking have not been studied by many previous authors. Therefore, research aimed at identifying service quality factors, customer perception factors on customer satisfaction, intention and customer acceptance behavior towards self-service banking is the key point for banks to design the most appropriate management strategies to accurately and maximally satisfy 4 customer needs. Therefore, the author has chosen to research the topic: Customer acceptance behavior towards self-service banking: research in Vietnam. General Objective The general objective of the thesis is to identify and measure the impact of service quality, customer perception factors on customer satisfaction, intention and acceptance behavior of customers towards self-service banking at Vietnamese commercial banks.
From there, it provides managerial implications to improve customer acceptance behavior in implementing self-service banking. Specific Objective The general objective is specified into specific objectives as follows: Firstly, to identify and measure the impact of service quality on customer satisfaction, intention and acceptance behavior towards self-service banking at Vietnamese commercial banks. Second, to identify and measure the impact of customer cognitive factors on customer satisfaction, intention and acceptance behavior towards self-service banking at Vietnamese commercial banks. Third, to identify and measure the mediating role of behavioral intention between customer satisfaction and acceptance behavior towards self-service banking at Vietnamese commercial banks.
Fourth, provide managerial implications to enhance customer acceptance behavior in implementing self-service banking at Vietnamese commercial banks. Research question The topic has three main research questions as follows: Firstly, what is the impact of service quality on customer satisfaction, intention and acceptance behavior towards self-service banking at Vietnamese commercial banks? Second, what is the impact of customer cognitive factors on customer satisfaction, intention and acceptance behavior towards self-service banking at Vietnamese 5 commercial banks? Third, what is the mediating role of behavioral intention between customer satisfaction and acceptance behavior towards self-service banking at Vietnamese commercial banks? Fourth, what managerial implications are proposed to enhance customer acceptance behavior in implementing self-service banking at Vietnamese commercial banks? 1. Object and scope of research 1. Research subjects and survey subjects Research object: The The impact of service quality, customer perception factors on customer satisfaction, intention and acceptance behavior towards self-service banking at Vietnamese commercial banks.
Survey subjects : Customers aged 18 and over who are using self-service banking services at Vietnamese commercial banks, focusing on large cities considered as the centers of regions from the North to the South, namely Hanoi, Hai Phong, Thua Thien Hue, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh, Binh Duong, Bien Hoa, Can Tho. With the survey subjects being customers who are using self-service banking services, they will have practical experiences in the process of using the bank's services to be able to make accurate assessments of which service quality factors of self-service banking and which social perceptions will satisfy them and will lead to whether they accept to use self-service banking again or not. The author chose to focus on large cities because in these areas with developed economies, the use of self-service banking will be more popular. Scope of research Regarding research space : The research topic is related to Vietnamese commercial banks, so the author focuses on major cities considered as the centers of regions from the North to the South, namely Hanoi, Hai Phong, Thua Thien Hue, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh, Binh Duong, Bien Hoa, Can Tho.
Research time : The primary data collection period for the survey is 6 months from July 2023 to December 2023. Research methods The topic applies mixed research methods: Qualitative research is conducted by group discussion and in-depth interviews with experts in the service sector to unify factors to build a theoretical research model and adjust, supplement concepts and perfect the scale in quantitative research. Through qualitative research, the goal of determining the impact of service quality, customer perception factors on customer satisfaction, intention and acceptance behavior of self- service banking at Vietnamese commercial banks will be solved. Next, a preliminary quantitative study was conducted to assess the reliability of the scale using Cronbach's Alpha coefficient and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to be able to adjust the scale, serving the official study with a larger sample size.
Finally, formal quantitative research was conducted by conducting a survey of customers aged 18 and over who are using self-service banking services at Vietnamese commercial banks focusing on major cities considered the centers of regions from the North to the South, namely Hanoi, Hai Phong, Thua Thien Hue, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh, Binh Duong, Bien Hoa, Can Tho. The collected data will be synthesized and analyzed using SPSS and Amos software. First, the data will be assessed for reliability using Cronbach's reliability coefficient. Exploratory factor analysis EFA to reduce a set of interdependent observed variables into a set of variables.
Confirmatory factor analysis CFA to assess the overall suitability of the research data , assess the quality of observed variables, and confirm factor structures. Finally, the analysis of the linear structural model SEM to analyze the multidimensional relationship between variables in the model. The results of the quantitative research will solve the goal of measuring the impact of service quality, customer perception factors on customer satisfaction, intention and acceptance behavior of customers towards self-service banking at Vietnamese commercial banks.