Self-Service Information Systems adoption in the Western Cape:The influence of demographical factors

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The thesis explores the relationship between demographics and self-service information systems (SSISs), with SSIS considered as potentially technical, socio-technical or social. Alter (2008) is used to define SSIS and associated key concepts. In the literature reviewed, authors mainly focus on information systems as technology and rarely consider them as work systems (Alter, 2008) where systems could be technical, socio-technical or only social.Chapter one explains the research problem and reasoning for exploring demographics. It briefly explains the history of self-service (SS) and its importance. The chapter also briefly considers previous studies to address the problem and to identify gaps in the research.Chapter two summarises the literature on adoption and indicates where the emphasis is placed. It explores important concepts such as information systems (IS), SSIS and SS to clearly define the terms associated with adoption. It highlights that many studies are conducted in business environments or universities, not many include actual customers as participants in the use of information systems.Chapter three discusses the survey methodology used, as well as ethical considerations. It indicates how the chosen method ties in with the research question and the aim of the study, it explains how sampling was done and how questions were designed, and concludes with a discussion of common errors.Chapter four contains the findings of the survey. The sample consists of 305 cell phone users in urban parts of the Western Cape. According to the analysis, only one of the investigated generalisations is true. This generalisation focusses on gender. The analysis shows that the level of income has no influence on the use of the SSIS, or the selected channel. Although the level of education plays no role in SSISs, it does influence the selection of some channels linked to SSISs. Contrary to expectations, age plays a role in the adoption of SSISs and some channels associated with SSISs.The final chapter concludes with the potential interrelatedness of demographical factors that requires careful consideration in the design of future studies that measure adoption. It also recommends that future studies should be extended to include urban and rural areas within South Africa.Since customers are not charged for any support channel in the cellular industry, this coupled with the fact that participants were not forced to only consider technological tools, may have influenced the outcome of the survey. The reviewed studies only focus on a specific channel or technological tool and do not include all available channels. In the past, respondents had to choose from the available options presented in the surveys, which may not have been true reflection of the channels that they prefer. Based on these findings, this thesis makes recommendations for future studies to assist business with support optimization, transaction increase, cost reduction and profit maximisation.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University