Employee and customer dissatisfaction in response to the automation of hypermarket checkouts: from voice to defection and negligence
Supermarkets have undergone significant technological innovations in recent years. The development of the self-service checkout (SSC) is aimed at reducing personnel costs and facilitating the management of staff at the checkout, whilst, at the same time, responding to the expectations of busy customers who wish to be more autonomous. We analyze the reactions of customers and employees to the automation of hypermarket checkouts with the help of the EVLN (Exit, Voice, Loyalty, Neglect) model developed by Hirschmann in his seminal work. We also use the technology acceptance model developed by Venkatesh and Davis. We rely on a single case study that focuses on a French hypermarket that is one of the most advanced in terms of the automation of self-service checkouts. The qualitative methodology adopted in this study is based on participant observation that took place over a three-year period. 29 semi-structured interviews were conducted with employees and we also carried out a content analysis of 184 customer complaints. The research allows us to consider the concrete expressions of voice, defection and negligence. The reticence expressed by both customers and employees relating to automation are explained using the technology acceptance model. Furthermore, we focus on the differences between the perceptions of staff and customers. The sources of dissatisfaction with regards to automation are not all the same and hence we perform a cross-analysis of the similarities and differences relating to those perceptions. The analysis of the co-production mechanisms of the service and the transfer of an organizational role to the customer is very rich. We also observe new forms of work intensification for cashiers. In this context of technological change, we emphasize the importance of mechanisms for listening to employees and customers. This research contributes to the revival of studies on the importance of voice in industrial relations in an economy that is increasingly service-oriented and characterized by a strong technological evolution.