New service development: insights from an explorative study into the Turkish retail banking sector

Technology has become of one the most significant strategic weapons for banks to survive in increasingly competitive bank markets. Today, banks in Turkey are competing aggressively to introduce new types of products and services that are driven mostly by technology. Internet banking is the latest and most innovative technology based service offered by the banks in Turkey. Yet, as users of Internet banking actively participate in the service provision, a customer oriented design according to needs and skills of the various classes of consumers becomes a major necessity to accelerate the diffusion of the service. Against this background, this research examines the role(s) market research and technology play in the development of Internet banking services and how consumers are involved in this process. The key finding of this study is that the banks involved in this research were developing and introducing Internet banking services with very limited scientific market research. Technology had the dominant role in this process. Market research was utilised only after the commercialisation of the service had taken place. The conceptual framework developed for this research identified the three key roles consumers play in the development of Internet banking services. This study contributes to the existing literature by developing an innovative conceptual framework within the context of new service development. The key findings of this study provide implications for the banking industry and future research.