目前的研究顯示華人文化的消費者對高科技接受度比美國人低，企業也有研究指出華人使用自助式服務的機器偏低，例如機場的自助式登機就是一個很好的例子。 此外，本研究觀察華人到火車站並不會去使用自助劃位機器，寧願在火車站的櫃台排隊等候買票，而不去使用自助劃位機器，顯示出華人對於自助式服務的機器接受度較低。目前重大研究都關注於西方文化情境下，然而，對於華人會不會習慣去適應並使用自助服務科技還無法得知，因此，本研究的目的是要探討華人對自助服務科技應用的知覺。

華人文化具有特殊的特徵，存在著人際間的和平關係導向，而人際關係的結合是透過面對面接觸，當消費者透過自助服務科技傳遞而接受到的服務，消費者必須改變他們的態度和行為去適應這個新的服務模式，原因在於為何華人使用自助服務科技的意願比較低，然而，這原因便成為本研究最主要的議題。

本研究採用質性研究方法，此法隱喻抽取概念技術，此方式最適合運用在引導出消費者最深入心理的看法，此研究抽取不同年齡族群的樣本來探討華人對不熟悉的自助服務科技的適用性，即華人對量販店自助結帳機器的知覺應用。

本研究結果顯示出三大類別：1.外在知覺，2.內在知覺，3.期望，來解釋華人消費者對自助服務科技的知覺，其中1.外在知覺包含:先進科技、方便、自主和失業；2.內在知覺由機器和自我兩個子層面所構成；機器的屬性為：死板、乏人問津、麻煩，和只是機器；而自我子層面則由冷冰冰、未知，和不安心所構成。最後，3.期望分為引導、憧憬，和誘因。本研究結合上述三大類別，發展出華人對於自助服務科技應用知覺解釋模型。本研究結果的貢獻在於發展出新的模型，瞭解華人文化對於自助服務科技應用的知覺，這些深刻的瞭解帶給管理者實際上運用的含意，並找出提升自助服務科技應用的方法，而此研究也建設理論基礎，可提供未來研究的延伸。

Extant research finds consumers from Chinese culture less technology ready that their American counterparts. Industry research also finds comparatively low use by Chinese consumers for self-service technologies (SSTs) such as airport self check-in. Furthermore, the researchers’ observations find queues forming in service locations such as train stations while SSTs (ticket machines) stand comparatively unused.
Significant extant research reflects understanding towards adoption of SSTs in Western settings. However, we lack understanding of SSTs adoption in the globally significant culture of the Chinese. The objective of this study is to explore Chinese perceptions towards SSTs adoption.
Chinese culture has distinct characteristics. It is emphasizes a harmonious relational orientation in which social bonds form and are managed through such mechanisms as face-work. Face to face encounters between customers and service staff are managed through these cultural norms. When service is delivered through an SST encounter means customers have to change their attitudes and behavior to fit the new form of delivery. The reasons for reluctance of Chinese to do this is what concerns this study.
The researcher adopts the qualitative approach in the form of the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET). This technique is appropriate for uncovering consumers’ deeply held psychological perspectives. We sample different ages of respondents and explore perceptions of adopting an unfamiliar SSTs (i.e., hypermarket self-checkout).
The findings reveal three broad categories which explain Chinese consumer’s perception towards use of SSTs: outer perception, inner perception, and anticipation. There are 4 sub-dimensions in the outer perception: advanced technology, convenience, autonomy, and unemployment. Inner perception consists of two sub-dimensions of: the machine and the self. The machine has properties of pretty dead, desolate, troublesome, and just a machine. The self composes of cold, uncertainty, and unease. Last, anticipation, explains through the dimensions of guidance, look forward to, and incentive.
The researcher integrates the dimensions into explanatory model of Chinese perceptions towards adoption of SSTs. These findings are important because they develop new understanding of consumer’s perception of SSTs in the particular context of Chinese culture. These insights suggest both practical implications for managers seeking ways to increase SSTs adoption in this context. This work also is significant theoretical base that researchers can build from in the future.

Table of Contents
Table of Contents I
List of Figures III
List of Tables V
Chapter 1 Introduction 1
1.1 Research Background 1
1.2 Research Objective 3
1.3 Research Procedure 3
1.4 Definition of Terms 4
1.5 Structure of the Present Study 4
Chapter 2 Literature Review 6
2.1 Development of self-service technology in a Chinese cultural setting 6
2.2 The Influence of Chinese Culture on Self-Service Technologies. 10
Chapter 3 Research Methodology 13
3.1 Phase I: Find out general perceptions of SSTs. 13
3.2 Phase II: Pretest in discovering perceptions towards adoption of self-service technologies 17
3.3 Phase III: Official Data Collection ~ discovering perceptions towards adoption of self-service technologies 23
Chapter 4 Results 25
4.1 Phase III: Official Collection ~ Perception dimensions towards adoption of SSTs 25
Chapter 5: Discussion 45
5.1 Model of Chinese perceptions towards adoption of self-service technologies. 45
Chapter 6: Conclusions and Recommendations 48
6.1 Conclusions 48
6.2 Recommendations 48
References 50
Appendix A - Interview Guideline 56
Appendix B - Formal data collection ~ Interviewee Instruction Sheet 57

List of Figures
Figure 2.1 Service Delivery Process 8
Figure 3.1 Three-Phase research design 13
Figure 3.2 Research flow of Phase I 14
Figure 3.3 Research flow of Phase II & III 24
Figure 4.1 Respondent D “Taipei 101” 30
Figure 4.2 Respondent A “High-tech 3C stores” 30
Figure 4.3 Respondent G “Convenient like 7-11” 31
Figure 4.4 Respondent B “Very fast” 31
Figure 4.5 Respondent E “Save time” 32
Figure 4.6 Respondent B “Freedom” 33
Figure 4.7 Respondent A “Finding barcode ourselves” 33
Figure 4.8 Respondent C“Unemployed man sitting there” 34
Figure 4.9 Respondent H “Part-time worker” 34
Figure 4.10 Respondent E “Put me on fire” 35
Figure 4.11 Respondent G “Old soldiers never die; they only fade away” 36
Figure 4.12 Plastic food representing the “Machine is fake” Respondent E 37
Figure 4.13 “Few people on the mountain” Respondent B 38
Figure 4.14 “Desolated street” Respondent A 39
Figure 4.15 “Corner” Respondent B 39
Figure 4. 16 “Can’t touch your heart” Respondent C 40
Figure 4.17 “No interaction” Respondent E 40
Figure 4.18 “Complicated” Respondent A 41
Figure 4.19 “Complicated” Respondent E 41
Figure 4.20 Respondent F “Learning” 42
Figure 4.21 Respondent D “Instruction sheet” 42
Figure 4.24 Respondent G “RFID” 44
Figure 5.1 Model of Chinese perceptions towards adoption of self-service technologies. 46

List of Tables

Table 3.1 Respondent profiles of Phase I 15
Table 3.2 Findings of Phase II 16
Table 3.3 Phase II’s Respondents Profiles and Statics of Figures of Interview Data 19
Table 3.4 ZMET Interview Steps 21

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