An assessment of the impact of self-service technology (SST) on firm performance: Case study of a bank in Zimbabwe (2009–13)

Abstract

The evolving and widespread information infrastructure worldwide has created a digital economy and enabled the development of electronic commerce. This profligate emerging economy is bringing rapidly mutable technologies, aggregating business knowledge intensity, and crafting virtual supply chains for service delivery channels such as self-service technology (SST). The unswerving consequence is a shifting of the balance of power towards customers’ needs. This paper aims to reveal why Zimbabwean banks are failing to capitalise on the usage of SSTs, despite similar products doing well in developed countries. A case study of a local bank in Zimbabwe was used and data were collected using questionnaires from bank clients, workers, and management. The results indicate that there is a lack of confidence in using banking services. The banks are failing to tap into the informal sector for the largely unbanked market. The banked population is not sufficiently large for the banks to create a critical mass, but they continually try to increase their footprint through the use of traditional banking methods and hence increasing cost. The paper concludes by proposing strategies on the best ways of capitalising on technology as a game-changing strategy.