Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

“Untact”: a new customer service strategy in the digital age

  • Theoretical article
  • Published:
Service Business Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The Industry 4.0 era has brought a shift in consumers’ purchasing behaviors from traditional retailing to online and/or mobile channels, triggered by advanced digital technologies and an easy access to the global market. Smart digital devices and advanced technologies have enabled “untact” service, facilitating customer encounters without a face-to-face contact with employees. This study presents the concept of untact service based on a review of the literature on technology-enabled customer encounters with service providers and analysis of several real-world cases. The results indicate that untact services are becoming widespread in various areas of daily life, such as ordering food at franchise restaurants via digital devices, handling financial transactions without visiting a bank branch through e-banking apps, and using online or mobile order systems for a multitude of products/services. This study elaborates implications of untact service in terms of new opportunities and challenges involved when it is implemented as a new customer service strategy.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. K-Bank: https://www.kbanknow.com/ib20/mnu/PBKMAN000000.

  2. Sentbe: https://www.sentbe.com/en.

  3. Innisfree: http://www.innisfree.com/kr/ko/DirectPage.do?pageName=brand_brandMain.

  4. HYUNDAI: https://www.hyundai.com/kr/ko/brand/motorstudio.

References

  • Afuah A, Tucci C (2001) Internet business models and strategies: text and cases. McGraw-Hill, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Amar J, Raabe J, Roggenhofer S (2019) Customer first: personalizing the customer-care journey. McKinsey & Company, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Baines T, Lightfoot H, Benedettini O, Kay J (2009) The servitization of manufacturing: a review of literature and reflection on future challenges. J Manuf Technol Manage 20(5):547–567

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baseel C (2017) Kyoto ‘silence taxi’ service prohibits drivers from instigating small talk. RocketNews24. Japan Today, April 9. https://japantoday.com

  • Bell D (1976) The coming of post-industrial society: a venture in social forecasting. Basic Books, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bitner M (1990) Evaluating service encounters: the effects of physical surroundings and employee responses. J Mark 54(2):69–82

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bitner M (1992) Servicescapes: the impact of physical surroundings on customers and employees. J Mark 56(2):57–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bollard A, Larrea E, Singla A, Sood R (2017) The next-generation operating model for the digital world. McKinsey & Company, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Bordoloi S, Fitzsimmons J, Fitzsimmons M (2018) Service management: operations, strategy, information technology, 9th edn. McGraw-Hill, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Castillo M (2018) Facebook security breach allowed hackers to control the accounts of up to 50 million users. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/28/facebook-says-it-has-discovered-security-issue-affecting-nearly-50-million-accounts-investigation-in-early-stages.html. Accessed 28 Sept 2018

  • Cheatham B, Javanmardian K, Samandari H (2019) Confronting the risks of artificial intelligence. McKinsey & Company, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Cho C (2018) Coupang’s rocket delivery reaches 1 billion mark in 4 years. The Korea Herald. http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20180920000729. Accessed 20 Sept 2018

  • CNC (Collaboration and Cosmetic) News (2019). March 5, http://www.cncnews.co.kr/news/article.html?no=4600

  • De P, Hu Y, Rahman S (2019) Avoid these five digital retailing mistakes. MIT Sloan Management. https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/avoid-these-five-digital-retailing-mistakes/

  • Duduskar A (2017) Tech-obsessed American are more impatient today than five years ago. MARTECHSERIES. https://martechseries.com/mobile/apps-for-business/tech-obsessed-americans-are-more-impatient-today-than-five-years-ago/. Accessed 7 Aug 2017

  • Froehle C, Roth A (2004) New measurement scales for evaluating perceptions of the technology-mediated customer service experience. J Oper Manage 22(1):1–21

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guiry M (1992) Consumer and employee roles in service encounters. Adv Consum Res 19:666–672

    Google Scholar 

  • Hedwig M, Friedsdorf M, Goryunov Y, Niedermann F (2019) Omnichannel consumer interactions: a payer perspective. McKinsey & Company, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Horn I, Taros T, Dirkes S, Hüer L, Rose M, Tietmeyer R, Constantinides E (2015) Business reputation and social media: a primer on threats and responses. J Direct Data Digit Mark Pract 16(3):193–208

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hwang J (2019) The future of retail business. Influential, Seoul

    Google Scholar 

  • INO (International Labour Office) (2010) A skilled workforce for strong, sustainable and balanced growth: a G20 training strategy. International Labour Office, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan J, Richter W, Ware D (2019) Cybersecurity: linkpin of the digital enterprise. McKinsey & Company, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim R, Jeon M, Lee H, Choi J, Lee J, Kim S, Lee S, Seo Y, Kwon J (2018) Trend Korea 2018. Miraebook Publishing Co., Seoul

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim E, Libaque-Saenz C, Park M (2019) Understanding shopping routes of offline purchasers: selection of search-channels (online vs. offline) and search-platforms (mobile vs. PC) based on product types. Serv Bus 13(2):305–338

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Korea IT Times (2019) Over half of convenient O2O service of Korea is a white elephant. http://www.koreaittimes.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=90844. Accessed 19 May 2019

  • Lee D (2018a) Strategies for technology-driven service encounters for patient experience satisfaction in hospitals. Technol Forecast Soc Chang 137(12):118–127

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee S (2018b) Innovation: from small “i” to large “I”. Int J Qual Innov. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40887-018-0022-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee D (2019) Effects of key value co-creation elements in the healthcare system: focusing on technology applications. Serv Bus 13(2):389–417

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee Y, Han J (2013) The rise of single-person households and changes in consumption patterns. Korea Inst Ind Econ Rev 18(4):1–28

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee S, Lim S (2018) Living innovation: from value creation to the greater good. Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lee S, Olson D (2010) Convergenomics: strategic innovation in the convergence era. Gower, Burlington

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee S, Ribeiro D, Olson D, Roig S (2007) The importance of the activities of service business in the economy: welcome to the service business. Int J Serv Bus 1(1):1–5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee S, Lee D, Kim Y (2019) The quality management ecosystem for predictive maintenance in the Industry 4.0 era. Int J Qual Innov 5(4):1–11

    Google Scholar 

  • Lusch R, Nambisan S (2015) Service innovation: a service-dominant logic perspective. MIS Q 39(1):155–176

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luxton E (2016) 4 billion people still don’t have internet access. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org

  • Merlino J, Raman A (2013) Health care’s service fanatics: how the Cleveland Clinic leaped to the top of the patient-satisfaction surveys. Harv Bus Rev 91(5):108–116

    Google Scholar 

  • MGI (McKinsey Global Institute) (2017) Artificial intelligence: the next digital frontier?. McKinsey & Company, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryan A, Trumbull G, Tufano P (2011) A brief postwar history of U.S. consumer finance. Bus Hist Rev 85:461–498

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider R (2011) Climate change: an emergency management perspective. Disaster Prev Manage 20(1):53–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shostack G (1985) Planning the service encounter. In: Czepiel J, Solomon M, Suprenant C (eds) The service encounter: managing employee/customer interaction in service businesses. Lexington Books, Lexington, MA

    Google Scholar 

  • Sindwani R, Goel R (2015) Technology based self-service banking service quality evaluation: a graph theoretic approach. Int J Adv Sci Technol 80:1–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Solomon M, Surprenant C, Czepiel J, Gutman E (1985) A role theory perspective on dyadic interactions: the service encounter. J Mark 49(1):99–111

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sweeney J, Danaher T, McColl-Kennedy J (2015) Customer effort in value cocreation activities: improving quality of life and behavioral intentions of health care customers. J Serv Res 18(3):318–335

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • The Korea Economic Daily (2019) April 22. https://www.hankyung.com/

  • United Nations Secretariat (2018) World economic and social survey 2018: frontier technologies for sustainable development. United Nations Publication, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Vargo S, Lusch R (2004) Evolving to a new dominant logic for marketing. J Mark 68(1):1–17

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vargo S, Lusch R (2006) Service-dominant logic: what it is, what it is not, what it might be? In: Lusch R, Vargo S (eds) The service-dominant logic of marketing: dialog, debate, and directions. M.E. Sharpe, Armonk, pp 43–56

    Google Scholar 

  • Vargo S, Lusch R (2008) Service-dominant logic: continuing the evolution. J Acad Mark Sci 36(1):1–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vargo S, Lusch R (2016) Institutions and axioms: an extension and update of service-dominant logic. J Acad Mark Sci 44(5):5–23

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verleye K (2015) The co-creation experience from the customer perspective: its measurement and determinants. J Serv Manage 26(2):321–342

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Word Development Report (2016) Digital dividends. The World Bank, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Xie K, Wu Y, Xiao J, Hu Q (2016) Value co-creation between firms and customers: the role of big data-based cooperative asset. Inf Manage 53:1034–1048

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xue M, Hitt L, Chen P (2011) Determinants and outcomes of Internet banking adoption. Manage Sci 57(2):291–307

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao T, Liu Z (2019) Analysis of one-person households who is young’s characteristics in combination with social experience from the perspectives of interaction process in product use, social situation and public space. In: 8th international conference, DUXU 2019, held as part of the 21st HCI international conference, HCII 2019, Orlando, FL. July 26–31. In design, user experience, and usability, pp 557–576

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2018S1A3A2075240).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Business, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA

    Sang M. Lee

  2. College of Business Administration, Inha University, 100 Inharo, Michuhol-gu, Incheon, South Korea

    DonHee Lee

Authors
  1. Sang M. Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. DonHee Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to DonHee Lee.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lee, S.M., Lee, D. “Untact”: a new customer service strategy in the digital age. Serv Bus 14, 1–22 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11628-019-00408-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11628-019-00408-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation