Impact of technology-related factors on customer experience : the case of the Mauritian banking sector

Research integrating technology and customer experience (CX) in banking is limited to very few in the past decades. The banking sector has always been the first mover to adopt the technology. Banks invest in various technologies to introduce service delivery channels to its customers with the view to facilitate the banking operations, thus enhancing their experience. However, the technology penetration is not felt to the expected level. This study identifies the impact of technology-related factors on customer experience in the banking sector, more specifically in Mauritius. In the literature, no much was found in relating customer experience technology and banking. However, many studies show the importance of a series of factors that influence the behavioural intention to use technology in many sectors. Nine technology-related factors were investigated to find the relationship with the customer experience. Perceived usefulness of technology, perceived ease of use of technology, attitude towards the use of technology, technology as an enabler, barriers to acceptance of technology, the degree of technology maturity, trust on technology, cultural diversity of the customer and customer engagement were used independent variables. The use of technology acceptance model (TAM) originally developed by Davis (1989) moved through variations, and this model was used to develop the approach in this study. The evolution of TAM as a tool to study the behavioural intention to use technology was further reviewed to identify the technology-related factors that may influence the customer experience in banking sector. 

Using TAM, studies were carried in financial services, online services, mobile telephony, education and e-learning and e-services linked to health care. From the literature, it was found that the factors listed above do influence the behavioural intention to use technology. Data collection from 503 respondents as customers in the banking sector of Mauritius were used. The results show that perceived usefulness of technology, perceived ease of use of technology, attitude towards the use of technology, technology as an enabler, barriers to iii acceptance of technology, trust on technology and cultural diveristy do not have significant impact on customer experience at p < 0.05. Degree of technology maturity and customer engagement are found to have statistically significant impact on customer experience at p <0.05. 

The results of this study can be used to plan better and considers key factors while implementing new technology services in the banking sector of Mauritius. It can also help to reconsider the existing technology services implemented and review the approach to attain better customer experience. The study can be carried out in other 57 countries, mostly, those member countries of Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) for external validity as Mauritius is a member state of SIDS.