
Business Economics and Public Policy Papers
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of this Version
1-2011
Publication Source
Marketing Science
Volume
30
Issue
2
Start Page
355
Last Page
367
DOI
10.1287/mksc.1100.0613
Abstract
Many firms have introduced Internet-based customer self-service applications such as online payments or brokerage services. Despite high initial sign-up rates, not all customers actually shift their dealings online. We investigate whether the multistage nature of the adoption process (an “adoption funnel”) for such technologies can explain this low take-up. We use exogenous variation in events that possibly interrupt adoption, in the form of vacations and public holidays in different German states, to identify the effect on regular usage of being interrupted earlier in the adoption process. We find that interruptions in the early stages of the adoption process reduce a customer's probability of using the technology regularly. Our results suggest significant cost-saving opportunities from eliminating interruptions in the adoption funnel.
Keywords
online banking, technology adoption, adoption process, online security, self-service technology
Recommended Citation
Lambrecht, A., Seim, K., & Tucker, C. (2011). Stuck in the Adoption Funnel: The Effect of Interruptions in the Adoption Process on Usage. Marketing Science, 30 (2), 355-367. http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mksc.1100.0613
Date Posted: 27 November 2017
This document has been peer reviewed.