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INTRODUCTION
Organisations operating on the Internet are considered as service providers and the Internet is one big service (Zeithaml et al , 2009, p. 17). The Internet facilitates communication and shopping through computer-mediated environments and it is a market where a large variety of new technologies and interdependent products are introduced (Yadav and Varadarajan, 2005). It can also be a discontinuous innovation process and lead to new product developments. Following the introduction and acceptance of Internet shopping, new technological interfaces developed by banks, such as Internet banking, are innovative delivery and communication channels where new products and services are introduced. These innovations have facilitated interaction and the building of relationships between banks and their customers (Tapp and Hughes, 2004).
New technologies, and especially the developments of self-service technologies, present several challenges for banks in terms of their customer relationships. Banks that offer Internet banking services can benefit from lower costs due to the utilisation of less human and physical resources and the potential of economies of scale in bank operations (Shi et al , 2008). Consumers transferring their communications with banks from traditional offline to online can engender cost and time savings benefits (Shi et al , 2008) at the expense of various risks, such as security issues (Durkin, 2007). Consequently, banks need to alter their operations and internal and external communication media, and such major changes can encounter resistance.
A number of articles present investigations of the determinants of Internet use for a variety of services. Such studies typically examine either one Internet service in isolation or assume away structure or order between Internet services. This article argues that there is a sequence of Internet usage choices, with consumers first becoming familiar with the Internet for their shopping experience, and once proficiency in this area has been achieved consumers will then consider using the Internet for banking services. On the basis of the idea of a conditional and sequential link between Internet shopping and Internet banking, we proceed to examine empirically the factors that influence the rate of Internet banking adoption through the use of a case study. Our results support the assumption of association between Internet banking and Internet shopping, and once sequencing has been integrated into the modelling approach we identify...