Potentials and Boundaries in Frontline Service Encounters Through the Infusion of Technology

Recent literature discusses the increasing relevance of technology-infusion in service encounters, but only a few studies empirically investigate the impact of technology-infusion within the interaction of the frontline employee service (FES) and the customer. Based on the assumptions and implications of Social Interaction Theory (SI), the findings of a quasi-experiment online study (N = 944) indicate a strong negative influence of the level of perceived barrier due to technology-infusion on the evaluation of the competence of the FES. Moreover, we adapt and extent SI theory towards the context of a technology-infused service encounter in order to emphasize the relevance of the customer’s evaluation of FES competence and its impact on customer satisfaction with the FES. Besides, we show that non-technology-infused service encounters will create the lowest barrier from customer perspective. However, interestingly, our results imply that customers value technology-infusion in service encounters, which is reflected in a higher willingness to pay.