Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to examine bank customer involvement and the importance of risk when contemplating the purchase of financial products. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is a discussion of the literature on customer involvement, risk and interaction forms the basis...

ABSTRACTThis study is an in-depth empirical investigation that seeks to compare consumer expectations to perceptions in the delivery of service within community banks in the southern United States. It has as its aim to develop a useful instrument to evaluate service quality by comparing consumer...

Examines the traditional function of commercial banks as financial intermediaries between deficit and surplus sectors. Fundamental to this function has been the assumption that banks can intermediate at lower costs than those prevailing with direct financing arrangements, but developments in...

Suggests that the competitive threat faced by banks and building societies from direct banking and other technology‐driven distribution channels has serious implications for the future viability of their comprehensive branch networks. Costs associated with any significant reduction in branch...

Outlines previous research on the efficiency of financial institutions and builds on an earlier study of the relative efficiency of 190 UK bank branches by the authors to determine their size efficiency relationship and their determinants of relative inefficiency. Explains the data envelopment...