Abstract

Abstract

Abstract
This article presents the results of a qualitative study of a Portuguese bank regarding customer use of Internet banking integrated in a multi-channel offering that includes high street branches, telephone banking, and automatic teller machines. The results show that performance evaluation is a key factor influencing channel use. Customers tend to use the different service delivery systems in a complementary way, taking into account their assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of each one. Customer characteristics, and the type of financial operation, are also identified as important factors influencing this process. These results indicate that, in a multi-channel context, customer satisfaction with Internet services depends not only on the performance of this channel in isolation, but also on how it contributes to satisfaction with the overall service offering. © 2003, MCB UP Limited

Abstract
The increasing usage of mobile technologies for service provision has created the need to understand customer mobile service experiences and to integrate designer's and technology's perspectives for the design of successful mobile services. This paper presents the results of a qualitative study with 44 mobile service customers, providing an in-depth understanding of the experience factors that contribute to design improved mobile services. The study' results indicate that traditional interface factors, such as usefulness and ease of use, continue to be important. However, the study reveals that contextual factors, such as the social environment and service atmosphere, are very important for the mobile service experience. These results reinforce the need to adopt a broader view of the experience factors for the effective design of mobile services.

Abstract

Abstract
The education of professional engineers has been mainly oriented towards the requirements of industry, although many graduates will start and end up working in service organizations. Services always involve interaction, either directly between people or using machines. Most services now require the use of technology, including self service machines, Internet and mobile equipments and may involve complex social and organizational issues. Although engineering programs have evolved in order to accommodate changes in the economy, new proposals must be taken into new graduate and postgraduate education. This paper proposes MESG1, a Master program in Services Engineering and Management compatible with the Bologna European framework. It is still a program to educate professional engineers, in the sense that graduates will be prepared to Conceive, Design, Implement and Operate (CDIO) complex value-added engineering systems. But MESG has a strong emphasis on: (i) understanding the innovative technologies now required for service provision, (ii) understanding the functional and the experience requirements of people using services, and (iii) management of the service CDIO process and understanding its value. Knowledge and experience about people and about business, in social-organizational environments, are important components in the advanced education of service engineers and managers.