User evaluation of technology-enabled self-service kiosks: service assurance, environmental cues, and technology expertise

This study investigates how service assurance and environmental cues influence users’ post-adoption evaluation of self-service technologies (SSTs) and self-service kiosks (SSKs), incorporating the moderating role of technology expertise within the technology continuance theory (TCT) framework. Although prior research has examined initial technology acceptance, post-adoption evaluations in automated service environments remain underexplored. Data were collected from Korean consumers with prior experience using SSTs/SSKs, and structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied to test the proposed model. The results revealed that service assurance significantly affects both environmental cues and post-adoption evaluations, while environmental cues also exert a significant mediating effect between service assurance and post-adoption evaluation. Moreover, technology expertise moderates the relationship between environmental cues and post-adoption evaluation, indicating that users with higher technological proficiency perceive greater experiential value from well-designed SST environments. This study extends the TCT by integrating service quality and servicescape perspectives, offering a comprehensive understanding of how users’ cognitive and experiential factors interact in technology-mediated services. The findings also suggest practical strategies for managers to enhance customer experience by improving service reliability, optimizing physical design and atmospherics, and tailoring user support based on technology expertise. Overall, this research provides both theoretical advancement and managerial insights into sustaining positive user engagement in the evolving landscape of smart service environments.