Title: The diffusion of interactive technology at the customer interface

Authors: Philippa Ward, Barry J. Davies, Helen Wright

Addresses: Centre for Research in Service (CeReS), Gloucestershire Business, School, Pallas House, The Park, Cheltenham GL50 2QF, UK. Centre for Research in Service (CeReS), Gloucestershire Business, School, Pallas House, The Park, Cheltenham GL50 2QF, UK. Department of Retailing and Marketing, The Manchester Metropolitan University, Aytoun Building, Aytoun Street, Manchester M1 3GH, UK

Abstract: The pace of retail change has recently been accelerated by developments in technology. Multimedia and virtual reality - the ||interactive technologies|| - in particular, provide retailers with new productivity tools that have the potential to deliver competitive advantage. One of the areas of greatest retailer interest has been within the consumer durable and DIY sectors, which provide the focus of this research. This research obtains the expected future rate of the diffusion of interactive technology at the customer interface in the DIY, fitted furniture, brown and white goods sectors, using a modified Delphic poll and a forecasting procedure derived from an expanded version of the Bass model. Although the three expert types polled - academics, retailers and technology providers - did not concur completely, there was agreement that the diffusion of such technologies is imminent, and that the elements under consideration play an important role in these forecasts, as well as the type of panellist providing the predictions. Managerial implications of the forecasts are discussed, and the merit of the forecasting technique developed is explored.

Keywords: interactive technology; diffusion; consumer behaviour; retail applications; Delphi study.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSTM.2000.001567

International Journal of Services Technology and Management, 2000 Vol.1 No.1, pp.58-82

Published online: 04 Jul 2003 *

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