Investigation of Factors Affecting Consumers Use of Internet Banking in Australia - Case Study Example

Title: Methods in organizational research Name: Registration No: Institution: Course Code: Date of Submission: Summary A. Paradigm Assumptions in the Article An example of a paradigm assumption used in the study is the positivist assumption. This is an assumption that is based on realist ontology which assumes that there exist real objects in addition to the people who have the knowledge about a particular phenomenon (Bartram, 2005, p. 241). Generally, it assumes that there exists an object in reality. In this article this assumption is demonstrated by explaining how continued use of technology has resulted into the innovation of internet banking. It emphasizes that as a result of continued use of technology, man has been interested on how he can manipulate it to perform internet banking. This theory also suggests that people rely on the perception of the outside world to get information about a particular issue that need to be understood (Bhatnagar and Sharma, 2005, p. 176). In this article, it is observed that the author used articles and journals published by others so that he could believe the factors that affect consumer’s use of internet banking. This is contrary to the fact that he may have experienced the impact of factors such as availability of technology, capital resources and skills of using internet technology in internet banking. In methodology, this paradigm assumption states that positivists rely on experimental and manipulative methods so that they can understand a particular problem during research. In this article, it is found that the author used a primary research which is experimental so that he could understand the factors that determine the use of internet banking among respondents. The researcher achieved this by conducting a research in Sydney, Australia, where a number of respondents were interviewed. This is because primary research contains first-hand information that includes experiences and observations that have been made so that a particular problem can be understood (Boxall, Macky and Rasmussen, 2003, p. 19). Furthermore, the methodology of this paradigm assumption is based on formulation of hypotheses which are tested to understand the research question. In this article, it is found that the researcher has used a number of hypotheses so that a tentative solution can be obtained with respect to the research question. An example of these hypotheses include: Identified technology factors with significantly predict continued usage of internet banking over and above the influence of the demographic control variables. There are a total of 4 hypotheses that the research tries to unravel. Another example of a paradigm assumption in this study is critical or subtle realist paradigm. This is the assumption which assumes that the ability of an individual to know reality is not perfect and must involve a wide range of critical examinations so that the best understanding can be achieved (Ericksen and Dyer,2005, p. 97). In this article, it is found that the role of technological development on emergence of internet banking are investigated as well as the role of marketing practices on emergence of internet banking. In addition, this article involves an investigation of the shift from traditional product orientation to customer orientation is the main contributing factor to creation of internet banking. As a result, a number of ideas are generated which improves the researcher’s ability to explain the factors affecting the decision to perform internet banking. Another characteristic of this paradigm assumption is that the methodology section involves collection of data in natural settings that are more contextual (Green, Wu,Whitten and Medlin, 2006, p.294). This is observed by the fact that he research was conducted in Sydney where respondents who were internet bankers were interviewed. This ensured the results of the research complied with the experiences that these respondents had undergone in Australia as a result of involvement in internet banking. Another characteristic of this paradigm assumption is that it elicits participants to express their knowledge about a particular phenomenon through observations, interviews and texts (Van Gramberg, Gough, and McKenzie, 2006, p. 47). In this article, it is observed that the researcher used interviews and observations to collect data from internet bankers in Australia. As a result it was possible to understand their perceptions and views about the factors that affect the use of internet banking in the Australian context. B. Summary of Research Approaches The research problem in this study is the investigation of factors effecting consumers’ use of internet banking in Australia. This is achieved by conducting a review of literature regarding technological developments that have contributed to the implementation of internet banking as well as investigation of social factors that have enhanced the implementation of internet banking. The research hypotheses mainly focus on the possibility of technological factors affecting the usage of internet banking. In addition, the hypotheses try to determine the impacts of channel factors on predicting internet usage among participants in the study. Another area that the hypotheses try to investigate is the impact of social factors on the usage of internet banking over and above the impact of control variables, technology and channel factors. The main stakeholders in the research include banking organizations in Australia, the Finance department in Australia as well as the Information and communication technology department in Australia. This is because; the findings of this research can be used to recommend a practice in banking which will need the involvement of the above stakeholders. Furthermore, the general public in Australia is stakeholders in this research because the establishment of the factors affecting internet banking can be used to recommend whether they should be involved in internet banking. The research design involves the use of surveys that focuses on questionnaires. In order to implement this research design, the researcher distributed the questionnaire containing the research questions to the relevant participants so that they could fill the research questions and send them back to the researcher. The questionnaire was composed of questions pertaining to the manner in which respondents used internet banking and their demographic characteristics were collected. During data collection process, respondents who are not internet bankers are surveyed and their responses are analyzed in terms of factors affecting internet banking such as technological factors and social factors. This is followed by surveying respondents who are internet users. The same data is collected from respondents who are users of internet banking. The sampling method involved in the study involves selection of participants who were residents of Sydney so that more participants could be obtained from the banks that conducted their businesses in the city. The sample involved both users and non-users of internet banking. The measurement processes involved establishing the respondents who were users of internet banking and the impacts of factors such as technology, channels and value for money. The survey also involved open-ended investigation of respondents’ opinions about the use of internet banking. The impact of social factors such as influence from friends and value for money were also investigated. The emergence of technology among the residents of Sydney was explained as an example of a factor that promotes internet banking among residents of Sydney. The general conclusion of the research problem is that it focuses on the factors that affecting the use of internet banking by investigating how development of technology has contributed to the ability of bankers to implement the use of internet banking. In addition, the research problem investigates the role that has been played by social factors in affecting internet banking among Sydney residents. Another conclusion that the researcher drew is that as a result of the use of internet banking, banking institutions have been able to serve a number of customers compared to traditional banking methods. Furthermore, the research problem will contribute significantly towards understanding the trend in internet banking in Australia with more focus on Sydney. This will give bank operators a bearing whether to continue implementing the strategy of internet banking or not. Notes on the aspects of the article the Summary is relevant to: i. Factors affecting internet banking in Australia- This summarizes the main topic of the article ii. Technological development-summarizes the role that technologies have played in improving internet banking as explained in the article. iii. Social factors- summarize the role that social factors have played in improving internet banking as explained in the article. iv. Stakeholders –provides a summary of the benefits to be derived by the retail banking industry in Australia as explained in the article. v. Research design- provides a summary of the use of questionnaires used in the article vi. Data collection process- provides a summary of the methods in which questionnaires were distributed to respondents are the responses collected as explained in the article. vii. Sampling method- explains that the samples were obtained from Sydney as explained in the article. viii. Measurement process- provides a summary of the strategy used to determine internet bankers and differentiate them from non-internet bankers. ix. General conclusion- explains the role that technology and social factors play in affecting internet banking as explained in the article. Critique of the research There are a number of critical issues that can be explained in the manner in which the researcher has conducted the research. There are things that the author addressed well while there are areas where there were cases of the need to improve. These range from research design, data collection methods, handling of ethical issues and the nature of research instruments used. In the research design, it can be observed that the author used survey to conduct the research (Cooksey, 2013, p. 14). The use of questionnaire was effective method during data collection method because it ensured least cost was incurred in conducting the research. Furthermore, it ensured the researcher was able to collect information from respondents who were inaccessible physically. The limitation of this research design is that the researcher mainly collected responses from respondents in Sydney and ignored other towns. The results of the research would have been convincing if the researcher collected information from respondents in other towns other than Sydney. Various instruments are used in this study in order to achieve the objective of data collection and analysis. The use of questions regarding the habits of respondents towards the use of internet banking, their demographic characteristics, and general banking behavior ensured respondents could be guided on the exact answers they were supposed to provide. Consequently, the researcher was able to collect accurate and relevant data during the research. The use of questions that were organized into logical sections ensured the respondents could provide answers in a corresponding logical manner. Consequently respondents were able to answer all the research questions within a short time possible and send them back to the researcher for analysis. However, the research instruments would have been effective if the researcher provided the respondents with the option to ask questions regarding the areas they needed to be addressed with regards to the research questions. The sampling procedure used was effective because it enabled the researcher to collect responses from banks that are located within Sydney. As a result of a large number of banks within Sydney, it was possible to get both internet bankers and non-internet bankers. Furthermore, the researcher could conduct the research within a small area thus reducing transport cost and fatigue hence ensuring the research is conducted within a short time. The responses from these participants were important in understanding the factors affecting internet banking among Sydney residents. While it would be argued that the researcher only focused on Sydney, the results from the study conducted in Sydney can act as a bearing on factors affecting internet banking in other cities. Thus, the sampling procedure was efficient. The sampling procedure also ensured the researcher collected the information from respondents who have different demographic characteristics. Consequently, it is convincing that the outcome of the research could be used to explain the research question based on a particular demographic characteristic. This can be achieved by determining a particular demographic characteristic such as income and analyzing how level of income affects the use of internet banking. The area that the sampling procedure ignored is the illustration of the names of banks where respondents conducted their banking activities. It would have been informative if the research explained the factors affecting internet banking on the basis of the type of bank. There are a number of techniques used during data analysis which improve the accuracy of the data collected. An example of data analysis used is reliability analysis. This is the data analysis method which establishes whether the data collected is consistent with the observations conducted during the study. The analysis also involves investigation of responses based on demographic information such as age, gender, level of education, amount of income, ethnicity and occupation. As a result, it is possible to understand how these variables affect the use of internet banking. For instance, it enables the researcher create a bearing regarding the possibility of a person of a particular income using internet banking. As a result of this analysis, the researcher was able to know the data that was not consistent with the findings from the research so that it could be excluded from the subsequent analysis. The use of multiple regression process ensured the effect of one variable did not affect the validity of another variable. Handling of ethical issues was effective by ensuring respondents were not coerced to take part in the research. Furthermore, ethical issues were observed by ensuring respondents were allowed to provide their own opinions without a limitation in time. The researcher also ensured the respondents were not mentioned during the reporting of responses. This is an illustration of compliance with research ethic requirement of ensuring anonymity of respondents during a research. Thus, it can be concluded that the research was conducted in a right and professional manner and the researcher demonstrated conscience during the research process. However, the main concern with regard to ethical issues is that the researcher did not inform the respondents prior to conducting the research. Consequently respondents were not able to prepare adequately to take part in the research. Handling of quality issues consistent with the paradigm employed in the article has been effective. This is because, the data collection method employees the requirements of the paradigm assumption of critical or subtle realist paradigm. This is illustrated by the fact that there is critical examination of the data from the data collection process until the data analysis process. During data collection process, the researcher collects data from internet bankers as well as non-internet bankers. As a result, it is possible to conduct a critical analysis of the responses so that the right knowledge is obtained regarding the research question. Furthermore, there is compliance with quality requirements by conducting reliability analysis. As a result of the analysis, data that is inconsistent with the observations in the field are ignored so that those that are relevant are used for discussion and further analysis. However, quality issues would have been best addressed if the researcher conducted correlation analysis so that the manner in which one variable predicts another variable could be understood. This could have resulted into a better understanding of the research outcomes. The article has complied with the requirements of meta-criteria by first formulating the problem to be investigated after which it provides a literature review that explains previous studies on the research topic. This is followed by formulation of hypotheses that provide tentative answers to the research questions. The results are analyzed and discussed and a conclusion is draw. The level of the article in satisfying the meta-criteria is also effective based on the manner in which the researcher implements comparison of responses from internet bankers and non-internet bankers so that the right conclusion can be reached about the factors affecting internet banking in Australia. Furthermore, the use of both qualitative and quantitative methods during data analysis shows the competence of the researcher during data analysis. For instance, the researcher uses figures during computation of Cronbach’s Alpha values while the use of opinions and views are used during analysis of responses that do not require statistical calculation. The results from these analyzes are used to explain the implications of the research on the research problem. As a result of compliance of the article with meta-criteria, any person who tries to derive information from the article for personal use can benefit by understanding the question addressed by the article. References Bartram, T. (2005). Small firms, big ideas: The adoption of human resource management in Australian firms. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources 43(1): 137–54 Barrett, R. (2006). Employee relations in small firms. In Employee relations management: Australia in a global context, eds J. Teicher, P. Holland, and R. Gough, 99–116. Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Education Australia. Bhatnagar, J., and Sharma, A. (2005), The Indian Perspective of Strategic HR Roles and Organizational Learning Capability, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 16, 9, 1711–1739. Buckley, P. Minette, K., Joy, D. and Michaels, J. (2004). The use of an automated employment recruiting and screening system for temporary professional employees. A case study. Human Resource Management. Vol. 43, 2,3. pp 233 – 241. Boxall, P., K. Macky, and E. Rasmussen. (2003). Labour turnover and retention in New Zealand: The causes and consequences of leaving and staying with employers. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources 41(2): 195–214. Cooksey,R. (2013). Factors affecting consumers’ continued use of internet banking: empirical evidence from Australia. Australasian Journal of Information Systems Volume 18 Number1 2013 Edgar, F., and A. Geare. (2005). Employee voice on human resource management. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources 43(3): 361–380. Ericksen, J., and Dyer, L. (2005), Toward a Strategic Human Resource Management Model of High Reliability Organizational Performance, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 16, 907–928 Gilley, K.M., C.R., Greer, and A.A. Rasheed. (2004). Human resource outsourcing and organizational performance in manufacturing firms. Journal of Business Research 57: 232–40. Green, W.K., Wu, C., Whitten, D., and Medlin, B. (2006), The Impact of Strategic Human Resource Management on Firm Performance and HR Professionals Work Attitude and Work Performance, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 8, 3, 263–276. Katou, A., and Budhwar, P. (2007), The Effect of Human Resource Management Policies on Organizational Performance in Greek Manufacturing Firms, Thunderbird International Business Review, 49, 1, 1–35. Sheehan, C. (2009). Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources. 5 (5): 27-236. Som, Ashok (2008) Innovative human resource management and corporate performance in the context of economic liberalization in India, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 19:7, 1278 — 1297. Tyson, S. & Parry, E. (2002).Analysis and the success of online recruitment methods in the UK. Human Resource Management Journal, Volume 18, Issue 3, Pages 257-274. Young, S. (2005). Outsourcing in the Australian health sector. International Journal of Public Sector Management 18(1): 25–36. Van Gramberg, B., R. Gough, and D. McKenzie. (2006). Legal regulation of employment. In Employee Relations Management: Australia in a global context, eds J. Teicher, P. Holland and R. Gough, 198–232. Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Education Australia. Wall, T.D., and Wood, S.J. (2005), The Romance of Human Resource Management and Business Performance, and the Case of Big Science, Human Relations, 58, 4, 429–462. Wright, P.M., Snell, S.A., and Dyer, L. (2005), New Models of Strategic HRM in a Global Context, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 16, 875–881. Zheng, C., Morrison, M., and ONeill, G. (2006), An Empirical Study of High Performance HRM Practices in Chinese SMEs, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 17, 10, 1772–1803 Read More