Guest editorial

Introduction

To increase customers' interactions, satisfaction and retention, many firms have gradually integrated online, mobile and offline services in their offerings. Hence, customers are delighted to have different options and use different channels during the purchase process. Customers might fully rely on online channels to make a decision, solely prefer mobile channels, exclusively use offline channels or use a few or all of these different channels in a sequential or simultaneous way during their purchase experience. The importance of each channel type (i.e. online, mobile or offline) in the decision process may differ from one customer to another. Since customers increasingly interact with firms through myriad touch points in multichannel contexts, understanding their experience is critical for firms. The ultimate objective of customer experience management is to enhance relationships with customers and build customer loyalty.

The aim of this special issue is to develop a strong understanding of customer experience in a multichannel banking context. The banking sector is one of the business areas where a multichannel strategy is often considered. Despite its maturation, some customers are either still skeptical about the usefulness of online/mobile banking or limit their use to simple operations (e.g. checking accounts). The present special issue endeavours to find how banks can fruitfully use their multichannel services to increase customers' positive experience and reinforce their relationship with them.

This special issue includes six articles and it is structured as follows. It opens with a systematic review that provides a state-of-the art summary on mobile banking (m-banking) adoption covering a period from 2005 to 2019 (Souiden et al., 2021). Then, two studies on mobile banking in developing countries are presented. The first is authored by Raman and Aashish (2021) and investigates the antecedents of mobile payment systems in India. The second is authored by Karjaluoto et al. (2021) and examines Mauritian consumers' consumption values within the context of m-banking services. Then, the special issue presents three studies that investigate new research trends in mobile and digital banking services. These are chatbots (Eren, 2021), webrooming (Shankar, 2021) and quick response (QR) codes (Liu et al., 2021).

Through a systematic review of m-banking services, Souiden et al. (2021) suggest an integrated model that can be used for new research avenues to broaden the body of knowledge on m-banking. The main determinants of m-banking adoption/use were grouped into five perspectives: (1) m-banking attributes-based perspective, (2) customer-based perspective, (3) social influence-based perspective, (4) trust-based perspective and (5) barriers-based perspective. The m-banking attributes-based perspective mainly refers to the use of concepts that are related to the (perceived or expected) characteristics of m-banking (e.g. perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use, facilitating conditions, compatibility, hedonic motivation, price value (or perceived costs), task-technology fit). The customer-based perspective refers to the traits, demographic characteristics, attitudes, emotions and cultures of customers that play a crucial role in explaining m-banking adoption. The social influence-based perspective emphasizes the role of social influence (in the UTAUT), subjective norms (in the theory of planned behaviour (TPB)), interpersonal influence and peer groups in explaining PU, attitude, intention of using m-banking. As for the trust-based perspective, it emphasizes the role of trust, perceived security, perceived privacy, as a prerequisite to m-banking adoption. Finally, the barriers-based perspective comprises all factors that act as obstacles (e.g. usage barriers, value barriers, risk barriers, tradition barriers, image barriers) to the adoption of m-banking.

This systematic review supports the superiority of both the TAM and the UTAUT in m-banking adoption. For Souiden et al. (2021), this dominance should not lock the door to the emergence of other theories in the m-banking field. The authors add that replicating and rehashing existing models may overlook certain potential aspects needed to understand m-banking adoption and use. For instance, previous studies on m-banking mostly emphasize the functional aspect of m-banking services/channel, while the affective aspect is often overlooked. According to the authors, emphasizing the role of less tapped variables such as emotional attachment, entertainment and enjoyment may elucidate our understanding of the m-banking experience. They add that m-banking should not be investigated as an isolated channel; instead, assessing consumers' previous experience with other offline and online channels and adopting a more integrative approach might lead to an interesting research avenue and would better illuminate our comprehension of m-banking adoption and use.

Two papers studied m-banking issues in emerging (India) and developing (Mauritius) countries. In the first paper, Raman and Aashish (2021) investigate drivers of the continuance usage of mobile payment systems (MPS). They argue that digital payment applications are thriving in India and are increasingly being used as a substitute for cash, checks and plastic money. Based on a study amongst 612 Indian respondents from four cities (New Delhi, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Kolkota), they report that, on the one hand, service quality, attitude, effort expectancy and perceived risk are significant determinants of the continuance intention of using MPS. On the other hand, perceived trust, convenience and social value were found to have no effect. The authors contend that engaging with consumers and facilitating their continuance usage of MPS are extremely important strategic decisions for firms offering such services. Firms promoting the continuous usage of their MPS would not only foster varied and contemporary financial services but also increase their consumers' loyalty.

In the second paper, using the theory of consumption values as the research framework, Karjaluoto et al. (2021) study the effect of values on trust in service providers and on intentions of using m-banking services. The authors further explore how m-banking adoption may vary according to urban vs rural consumers' consumption values. Data were collected from 246 individuals living in Mauritius. The results show that functional, epistemic and emotional values have a significant impact on consumers' intention of adopting m-banking. The functional value is found to be the most important driver of the intention of adopting m-banking and the social value is found to moderate the effect of the functional value on the intention of using m-banking. Furthermore, functional and emotional values significantly influence trust.

The study by Karjaluoto et al. (2021) sheds light on the differences that may exist between urban and rural consumers' consumption values and how these values drive them to adopt m-banking. For instance, the effect of the functional value on trust is found to be stronger for urban than rural customers, while the effect of the emotional value on trust is found to be stronger for rural than urban customers. Furthermore, the epistemic value was found to have a significant impact on rural consumers' intention of using m-banking. For both groups, urban and rural, trust is a significant mediator between the functional value and the intention of using m-banking. Thus, the functional value's role in driving the use of m-banking services is significantly dependent on trust in the services.

The authors contend that consumption values along with trust are key to the adoption of m-banking in a developing country. They conclude that market heterogeneity between urban and rural consumers suggests that consumption values and benefit segmentation can help m-banking service providers to develop marketing programmes that are more effective, and managers should target rural and urban consumers with distinct communication strategies.

The next three papers in this special issue discuss some recent trends in e-banking and m-banking. In the study by Shankar (2021), the main research objective is to examine the drivers of webrooming intentions. Consumers' webrooming behaviour implies the usage of online channels for collecting information before buying through an offline channel. Although omni-channels provide flexibility and convenience for consumers, service providers find it challenging to properly manage consumers over different channel types. Consumers' channel switching behaviour is one of the critical issues a firm may encounter in an omni-channel environment. According to Shankar (2021), only scant studies have examined webrooming behaviour in the services contexts, but none has investigated it in the banking sector. They argue that banks find it challenging to efficiently track consumers' journey over online–offline platforms and offer adequate marketing programmes that enhance their overall experience. Considering the dearth of research investigating the effect of convenience on webrooming intention in the omni-channel banking context, the study by Shankar (2021) has set a threefold objective. First, it assesses the impact of convenience on consumers' webrooming intention in the banking service context. Second, it investigates the mediating effects of both perceived hedonic and utilitarian values in the relationship between convenience and webrooming intention. Third, it investigates how these mediating effects are moderated by consumers' perceptions of security concerns.

Based on a sample of 534 participants at various branches and ATMs in four major cities in India (New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru), the results show that access convenience, search convenience, benefit convenience and post-benefit convenience all have a significant impact on consumers' webrooming intention. Furthermore, the perceived hedonic value and perceived utilitarian value are found to significantly mediate the effects of convenience dimensions on webrooming intention. The mediation effects, in turn, are found to vary according to consumers' perceived security concerns. This study contributes to the consumer behaviour literature by proposing a comprehensive conceptual model that explores consumers' webrooming behaviour in the financial services context. By offering offline and online channel services, banks seek to improve their retailing services and increase consumers' reach. As webroomers process information online and then avail themselves of the banking services offline (i.e. at bank branches), this study's results might help banks design more efficient omni-channel strategies.

In the study by Eren (2021), the focus is on the drivers of customers' satisfaction with chatbots. For many businesses, artificial intelligence (AI) becomes an important element of the contemporary customer experience. In the banking sector, many organizations are increasingly using AI, such as chatbots, to develop and endorse customer-centred strategies. Chatbots are virtual customer assistants that may be a substitute for face-to-face or voice interactions (branch or call centre). Using the expectations conformation theory, the author attempts to show how customer expectations, performance perceptions, confirmation of customer expectations, perceived trust and corporate reputation influence customers' satisfaction with chatbots. Based on a sample of 240 Turkish customers, the results show that perceived performance, perceived trust and corporate reputation all have a significant direct impact on customer satisfaction with chatbot use. The latter, however, is found not to be significantly influenced by customer expectations and confirmation of customer expectations. Customer expectations are found to have an indirect impact on satisfaction with chatbot use through perceived performance.

Assessing customer satisfaction with digital platforms, such as chatbots, is an important matter for banks seeking to create a competitive advantage in the contemporary digital era. In many countries, particularly in the emerging and developing ones, chatbots services are still in the introduction stage. Banks should be aware that with chatbots, customers can anytime and anywhere interact with machines/applications (e.g. text messages, voice chats) to ask for information, make an appointment, enquire about a product/service, etc. Thus, chatbots would contribute to offering personalized and customized assistance. Banks may greatly benefit from this trendy service, which can have a significant influence on customers' satisfaction by providing fast and prompt personalized digital services. In return, banks would save some costs associated to customer services, improve their efficiency, extend their marketing reach, better manage their customers' relationships and increase customers' loyalty.

In the last article of this special issue, Liu et al. (2021) attribute a particular interest to QR code payment. Mobile payment forms have undergone many changes and QR code payments have grown substantially in recent years. Building on self-determination theory, Liu et al. (2021) investigate the effect of autonomous vs dependent forms of QR code mobile payment on the payment experience. The authors argue that there are two forms of QR code payment method: autonomous payment (i.e. the customer scans the merchant's QR code and then transfers money to the merchant) and dependent payment (i.e. the merchant scans a customer's QR code and then the customer authorizes the merchant to transfer the money). They conducted four studies amongst undergraduate students to examine the effect of mobile QR code payments on payment pleasure. The results show that customers derive more payment pleasure from autonomous payments compared with dependent payments, and that the sense of control mediates the effect of the payment form on payment pleasure. More specifically, autonomous payments lead to more payment pleasure by giving customers the sense of control (i.e. perception of the ability to influence the process and outcome of the payment). Indeed, product involvement moderates the mediating effect of the sense of control on the relationship between payment form and payment pleasure. This research enriches the relevant literature on the payment experience (pleasure). These findings contribute to the literature on the payment form and the payment experience (i.e. payment pleasure), and the study provides insights to merchants into choosing the appropriate payment method and managing the customer payment experience.

The systematic review and the five empirical studies contribute to enhancing our understanding of consumer experience in multichannel banking contexts. They also highlight many understudied topics. In the following, we recommend that scholars consider these research avenues:

1. Study the adoption and continuance use of e-banking and m-banking services in developing countries;

2. Use a combination of different theories (e.g. technology acceptance theory, TPB, innovation diffusion theory and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology) and their adaptation to study the adoption of e-banking and m-banking in developing countries;

3. Develop more conceptual studies emphasizing the constructs (drivers and outcomes) of m-banking usage intentions;

4. Adopt multiperspective approaches to study m-banking usage, based on functional, hedonic and social aspects;

5. Develop an understanding of the value co-creation process within a multichannel banking context;

6. Evaluate the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic situation on adoption and continuance use of online-mobile banking compared to face-to-face banking;

7. Examine and analyse acceptance, intentions and attitudes towards m-banking amongst different segments of consumers, based on age (e.g. younger vs older), gender, geographic location (e.g. urban vs rural) and types of adopters (e.g. early adopters vs laggards);

8. Develop a cross-culture conceptual model and examine differences using multicountry data;

9. Develop a strong understanding of the impact of AI (e.g. chatbots) on customer experience (e.g. satisfaction and loyalty) in the banking context;

10. Study the drivers (e.g. demographic and psychological characteristics) of the consumer intention of exhibiting a webrooming behaviour in the banking context.