Conclusion

Finally, it is time to make a few concluding remarks on the basis of the discussion in chap-ter 7. In addition, the most fundamental principles of the electronic insurance services-In addition, the most fundamental principles of the electronic insurance services-cape model depicted in Figure 31 are encapsulated.

The key principle of the electronic insurance servicescape suggested in this study is that information as well as other content of the electronic servicescape should be made more visual for the customers by using “ illustrative attributes”, such as lively colors, illustrating pic-tures, and even animations. In this regard, this study suggests that the visual outlook is the first layer of the electronic servicescape that the customer observes when entering into it.

However, it needs to be noted that as one of the most crucial characteristics of insurance business is creating trust among the customers, “illustrative attributes” should be used ap-propriately in a way that the nature of insurance would not be jeopardized. In this regard, examples referring to the novel approach on designing electronic insurance service envi-ronment (see chapters 4.4 and 7.2) as well as “insurance cover evaluator” service concept (see chapter 5.3) provide feasible guidelines what this could mean in practice.

Moreover, the electronic insurance servicescape model suggests that service providers should pay attention to organizing information. Otherwise customers operating through self-service technologies (SSTs) may feel uncomfortable since there is no physical service contact available from whom to ask for advice(s) if the information content cannot be understood. Related to this, one of the most fundamental paradoxes related to designing the electronic insurance servicescape refers to the amount of information. As the empiri-cal results reveal there should not be too much information on the Web. Otherwise the customers might get confused as is discussed in chapter 7.1. Nor should too little infor-mation be provided since customers might perceive the electronic service environment untrustworthy to some extent, as discussed in the chapter 7.2. In this regard, visualization of the information may certainly be a feasible solution as the discussion on, for instance, the

“insurance cover evaluator” service concept in chapters 5.3 and 7.3 establishes. This study proposes that “information” is the second layer of the electronic servicescape.

Further, “interactive features” play a crucial role in providing the customers with “tools”

(i.e. navigational elements) for operating in the electronic servicescape. Also from the per-spective of maintaining the customers in the electronic service environment, and avoiding situations in which the customer has to contact a service provider, the interactivity is a particularly important feature of the electronic servicescape in supporting customers’ flu-ent operations (i.e. supportive elemflu-ents).

However, while operating in the electronic servicescape (e.g. searching for information or making transactions) customers may face such extensive problems that supporting ele-ments are not enough to solve them. In this regard, personal assistance, i.e., the possibility for contacting a service provider should be offered to the customers. Personal assistance should be put visibly available and it should be accessible anytime. Moreover, this study emphasizes that personal assistance should be versatile. In this regard, this study also rec-ommends newer forms of assistance, such as a chat-service, alongside with more traditional contact manners (e.g. telephone, e-mail).

In this chapter the electronic insurance servicescape was introduced and discussed.

The model depicted in Figure 31 describes the conceptual dimensions and the structure of the electronic servicescape as the customers perceive them. However, little is yet discussedHowever, little is yet discussed about the customer-friendliness in the light of the empirical results of the study. In the next chapter I will discuss the customer-friendliness approach more thoroughly by introducing the characteristics creating appealing electronic insurance service experiences.

8 THEORY DEVELOPMENT II:

APPEALING ELECTRONIC INSURANCE SERVICE EXPERIENCES

Now, when the essential conceptual dimensions and the structure of the electronic vicescape are described one could ask: then what? I agree: then what. The electronic ser-vicescape model provides an answer to the question: “what the customers desire to see when entering into the electronic (insurance) servicescape”. However, the electronic ser-vicescape model as such, does not tell much about customer-friendliness which, in this context, refers to the general characteristics affecting customers’ intentions to enter into the electronic (insurance) servicescape and operate in it.

Concerning the developed artefact for designing a customer-friendly electronic insur-ance servicescape introduced in chapter 5.4, the prior theoretical discussions on creating service experiences (e.g. Pine and Gilmore 1998b; Tax and Stuart 2004; Edvardsson et al.

2005; Stuart 2006) from the service management point of view, and technology accep-tance of customers (e.g. Davis 1989; Moon and Kim 2001; Chen and Tan 2004) from the IS research point of view are combined. In addition, the theoretical discussion is comple-mented with empirical evidence referring to the “traditional versus novel typology” (see chapter 4.4) and “insurance cover evaluator” service concept (see chapter 5.3). Thus, the suggested framework indicates the creation of appealing electronic insurance service experi-ences from customers’ point of view.

The most fundamental objective of this chapter is to empirically identify and explain the characteristics for creating appealing electronic insurance service experiences. This is il-lustrated in Figure 32. As a guideline for deriving such characteristics from the empirical data the assisting data analysis question was set as: “what kinds of characteristics indicating the creation of appealing electronic insurance service experiences can be discovered from the empirical interview data?”

In this regard, three fundamental experience characteristics were discovered. These comprise: clearness, trustworthiness, and attractiveness. Each of the three characteristics is individually elaborated in chapter 8.1. After that, the dynamics between the concepts

Prior Theories

5 Artefact for designing a customer-friendly elec-tronic servicescape

Conducting focus

group interwies Evaluation 6 Logic for evaluating the

developed artefact

(i.e. causal relationships) are depicted and discussed in chapter 8.2. The entire empirical discussion is concluded in chapter 8.3, in which a model for designing a customer-friendly electronic insurance servicescape is proposed. Finally, as managerial implications are an essential part of the design research methodology chapter 8.4 provides a practical view on applying the model for designing a customer-friendly electronic insurance servicescape to business development purposes.