The Impact of Cognitive versus Affective Aspects on Consumer Usage of Financial Service Delivery Channels

operation and the channel used to perform it: one way to overcome this weakness could be to
perform the research considering only one banking operation common to all channels.

One major avenue for future research concerns the analysis of channel choice
determinants, considering all the data collected. In this paper, we analyze a subset of the
usage decision (i.e., usage frequency), but it would be very interesting the study of the nature
and composition of the influences for bank delivery channel’s choice. Another aspect that
could be researched in future work would be to use the same regression model (with the same
predictors) between channels and analyze potential differences.

Another interesting opportunity for further research would be to study usage of the
delivery channel considering both the frequency of usage and the number of different
operations carried out within each delivery channel (or the relative proportion, as delivery
channels may differ in the banking operations allowed). This could be done separately, or a
usage index could be created describing the two aspects: usage frequency and breadth of
usage, using Zaichkowsky’s (1985) terms. Zaichkowsky (1985) defined breadth of usage as
the variety of use situations. A measure comprising the two facets of usage could extend the
knowledge of technology impact in usage behavior.

Managerial Implications

The research results have the potential to offer new and important insights concerning
customers’ usage frequency of bank delivery channels. The findings clarify the determinants
of this decision for each delivery channel, offering more and better information for banks, so
to allow them to better characterize their customer base. The enhanced customer profiles will
affect behavioral and evaluation outcomes. Some examples of how the research conclusions
will impact managers’ decisions can be suggested:

Significant affective factors for the debit-card users, such as ‘preference for dealing
with technological interfaces’ and ’desire for control’, illustrate that, for increasing usage,
bank communications for these users should emphasize the fact that usage of this interface
allows independent interaction, in which the user controls the interaction process without
having to deal with a bank contact employee.

Managers of the Internet-based channel have witnessed an increase in Internet usage
across service industries, although with lower growth rates than expected. To enhance these
usage rates, managers will have to capture what produces the desired behavior from
customers. From the research results, it can be seen that for Internet channel users, bank
managers can increase the likelihood of more frequent usage of the channel by clarifying the

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