Digital service flexibility and performance of credit unions

Abstract

Despite growth of information technology (IT) enabled services, how IT provides flexibility in service rendering and delivery, remains a relatively unexplored area of research. In this study, we investigate how digital service flexibility (DSF) influences performance of credit unions – an exemplary set of service oriented firms. We identify three dimensions of digital service flexibility: (1) basic digital service flexibility (basic DSF), (2) customer-oriented digital service flexibility (customer DSF), and (2) transaction-oriented digital service flexibility (transaction DSF). We argue that transaction DSF complements the basic DSF in influencing the performance, whereas customer DSF has a negative moderation effect on basic DSF and performance relationship. Using an archival data set, we find empirical support for the hypothesized relationships; and discuss contributions and implications of the findings.