Customer experience in online financial services: A study of behavioral intentions for techno-ready market segments

Purpose: Drawing upon research in consumer behavior, the purpose of this paper is to deploy an alternative way to predict behavioral intention with customer technology beliefs and experience in e-brokerage services. Design/methodology/approach: This study tests the proposed framework and relevant hypotheses with survey responses collected from 258 online investors. Findings: Technology-ready (TR) customer segments vary in their evaluations of customer-service interfaces; interface evaluations affect cognitive service experience; and interface evaluations and cognitive experience affect customers' behavioral intentions. Research limitations/implications: This study indicates that flow experience emerges as an important factor for achieving sustainable competitive advantages in e-brokerage services. The research findings and relevant hypotheses might not apply to low-credence services. Practical implications: The findings indicate that service designers need to examine the life cycle of the intended service offerings and customize corresponding service/product features based on customers' technology beliefs and personal characteristics, which can further lead to maximized flow experience and increased intention rate. Originality/value: The paper is among the first attempts to examine how psychographic features affect customers' experience and valuation of certain service system interfaces from service design perspective.