**1. Introduction**

Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of information systems in purchasing activities has become widespread. In the early stage of Amazon's e-commerce business, books that were low-involvement products were selected as trading products. As consumers have become accustomed to purchasing products online, the role of e-commerce has expanded, reaching even to the selection of several high-involvement products, such as insurance, jewelry, medical services, and real estate. Low-involvement products with relatively low anxiety levels vis à vis purchase results can be sold continuously through marketing methods with repetitive exposure. However, many factors influence the selection process of the consumer when making purchase decisions regarding high-involvement products with high consumer interest and high perceived risk [1]. Thus, consumers' innovation resistance (IR) to the purchasing decision-making process increases for high-involvement products. Considering that failure to make good purchasing decisions for high-involvement products causes grea<sup>t</sup> losses, it is natural for consumers to engage in progressive information searching activities. In addition, the consumers of high-involvement products tend to research the product in detail; thus, they educate themselves with detailed explanations of the product or recommendations from experts [2,3].

Service standards are a set of guidelines that reflect different situations in customer managemen<sup>t</sup> and help to reduce the errors caused by individual customers [4]. Setting

**Citation:** Kim, J.; Cho, A.; Kim, J. Effect of the Standardization of Service Platforms for High-Involvement PropTech Services. *Sustainability* **2022**, *14*, 5036. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14095036

Academic Editors: Pierfrancesco De Paola, Francesco Tajani, Marco Locurcio and Felicia Di Liddo

Received: 12 March 2022 Accepted: 20 April 2022 Published: 22 April 2022

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**Copyright:** © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

this guideline is effective in achieving consistency in service quality. When a customer purchases a service, the potential risk associated with the purchase may be higher than expected. This discrepancy can be attributed to the characteristics of service as a purchase. Service quality is highly dependent on people; therefore, the accompanying risks when providing services should be minimized through service production quality. Moreover, service standardization facilitates communication by providing a clear outline of the roles and responsibilities of an organization. Standardization encourages the better performance of both managemen<sup>t</sup> of employees and, by maintaining service quality, it helps to acquire customers' trust. Therefore, it is imperative to conceptualize an effective and systematic service quality standardization method [5].

This study focuses on the IR to information technology (IT) service acceptance, which has changed since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, personalization has been considered as another variable that contrasts with IR. Considering both system and service quality as antecedent factors that influence IR and personalization, a research model on the continuous intention to use IT services for high-involvement products has been suggested. Accordingly, we collected samples of people who use property technology services to acquire property.

This study proposes an extended technology acceptance model (TAM) that considers the preceding variables of the information systems (IS) success model to implement the standard platform for services. We believe that data analysis based on service users can verify the mediating effects of the proposed variables (i.e., IR and personalization). This study particularly observes system quality, the establishment of service standards processes proposed by companies, and service quality-defining standards. The demand for the personalization of services and IR, which is the degree to which consumers refuse to accept new technologies, have been proposed as mediating variables. In this study, we discuss innovation in a traditional service wherein IT is not internalized. Therefore, we focus on the situation wherein users who are familiar with the conventional service must be accommodated to the new service. In this respect, it can be understood that IR increases against system quality improvement. Considering that traditional real estate brokerage services center on real estate property, rather than on stakeholders, we believe that personalized services could be a differentiating factor moving in a different direction to innovation. This is because personalized services that offer user-centered information sharing, e.g., providing customized information to buyers and sellers, are important for sales.

This study explores three questions:


This study aims to identify the factors that influence the standardization of service platforms for high-involvement products in connection with the continuous intention to use IT services. The remainder of this paper is organized as follows: Section 2 explores the existing literature to build hypotheses anchored on previous studies, and Section 3 presents the research model and methods. Section 4 presents the results analyzed via partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and, in Section 5, conclusions and implications based on the study are presented.

#### **2. Literature Review and Hypotheses**

#### *2.1. Service Standardization*

Service innovation is achieved by organizing innovation as a systematic process [6]. A systematic process is required to ensure sustainable service quality. Furthermore, various recent technology approaches are required, such as IT. More importantly, customers should accept new services and the disruption should propagate. It is imperative that sustainable innovation is achieved so that both the customer and service provider can accept the innovative infrastructure [7].

The use of digital technology is not only innovative but also the most efficient and reliable method of managing risk. Turning a product into a service requires the use of digital technology. Sklyar et al. [8] analyzed the effects of digital services on the manufacturing industry and found that, at a macroscopic level, efforts to maximize the utility of digital technology in line with service application strategies are important. Sklyar et al. [9] analyzed the effect of the digitization of services on the participants of the service network. Immonen et al. [10] proposed scenario-based service requirements engineered to establish the sustainability of digital services. Digitizing services reduces inefficiency in the market and enables environment optimization for both service providers and customers.

The standardization of services enables a detailed comparison and contrast of services, thus providing a structural and realizable service framework [11]. A visible service platform adequately reflects the application of IT in addition to environmental changes. Smedlund [12] classified service platforms as business models, provided a categorization of such service platforms, and proposed a sustainable service construction plan. Löfberg and Åkesson [13] also analyzed the groundwork of successful service platforms and proposed a service framework comprising a service module, the integration of resources, and value creation. Not only do firms participate in service platforms, but service providers, consumers, and all related personnel also work together to create value in the process. Aulkemeier et al. [14] conducted research to establish service platforms on the Internet. They sugges<sup>t</sup> the importance of an e-service platform that integrates both physical and intangible services. Moreover, they emphasized the specialization and division of work through extended research in the e-service supply chain field.

#### *2.2. Service Platforms*

Several methods should be considered for a service platform using IT. Some studies have focused on the application of IT to service platforms [15] or online-to-offline e-commerce service platforms that consider standardization in an online business platform [16]. Further studies on service standardization have led to reappraisals of service quality. Service standardization needed for service quality enhancement identifies the rate of satisfaction, and is utilized as a resource for establishing a sustainable business ecosystem [17]. Finally, the service platform is evaluated by customers, and satisfied customers remain loyal to the service platform [18]. It is important to identify the factors that satisfy customers in a standardized service platform and reflect such changes in the process. The service platform, in particular, simultaneously needs to meet both the customer's and service provider's needs.

Based on the extended TAM, we aim to analyze the specificities of the system and ascertain service quality. System quality reflects the standardized platform provided by the producer, and it aims to quantify the level of service that the customer individually recognizes. When the producer proposes innovation, the model selects certain parameters, such as the rate of customers' resistance to new technology and customers' personalization needs, in order to frame an efficient service platform. This research takes the TAM as a baseline model, (1) adds a leading variable to propose an extended TAM, and (2) analyzes the effect of the subordinate parameters. The leading variable is derived from the IS success model, and system quality and service quality are chosen as extra parameters.

## *2.3. TAM*

The TAM, proposed by Davis [19], explains the process of customers' acceptance of new technology based on the rational theory of action. The TAM takes recognized utility and recognized accessibility as independent parameters, and analyzes their effects on behavioral intent. This study considers the complexity of the model and selects the leading variable. After further reviewing the factors in the previous literature, system quality adopts security and data co-ownership, while service quality elects IR and efficiency as contributing factors.

Delone and Mclean's [20] IS success model recognizes service, system, and information quality as the preceding variables. The IS success model is currently being applied in various research fields, particularly as the mobile environment expands [21]. This model is used to evaluate the effect of mobile commerce on consumer satisfaction by analyzing the service process [22,23] and its effect on user satisfaction by improving the education service system [24] to enhance the IT service quality of the enterprise [25].

A simplified model was constructed with two variables (i.e., system quality and service quality) including the information quality of system and service quality and, based on this model, an integrated relationship was derived [26]. Focusing on system quality and service quality is useful for enhancing the understanding of service processes and performing systematic analysis. Xu et al. [27] analyzed the effects between e-service variables and the causes of intention to use, while Pratiwi and Mujadilah [28] analyzed user satisfaction with banking services in mobile environments. Thus, this study identified the system quality and service quality for the standardization of service providers as antecedent variables; subsequently, we derive the following hypotheses:

**Hypothesis 1 (H1).** *System quality influences perceived usefulness.*

**Hypothesis 1a (H1a).** *Security influences perceived usefulness.*

**Hypothesis 1b (H1b).** *Information sharing influences perceived usefulness.*

**Hypothesis 2 (H2).** *System quality influences perceived ease of use.*

**Hypothesis 2a (H2a).** *Security influences perceived ease of use.*

**Hypothesis 2b (H2b).** *Information sharing influences perceived ease of use.*

**Hypothesis 3 (H3).** *Service quality influences perceived usefulness.*

**Hypothesis 3a (H3a).** *Innovativeness influences perceived usefulness.*

**Hypothesis 3b (H3b).** *Efficiency influences perceived usefulness.*

**Hypothesis 4 (H4).** *Service quality influences perceived ease of use.*

**Hypothesis 4a (H4a).** *Innovativeness influences perceived ease of use.*

**Hypothesis 4b (H4b).** *Efficiency influences perceived ease of use.*

#### *2.4. Extended TAM*

The TAM has been studied extensively and is evolving in several areas. To enforce changes in corporate work processes through the adoption of IT, research on the TAM has been widely conducted. The TAM is used by organizations to analyze the impact of changes made to improve the efficiency of e-procurement [29,30] and derive strategies to improve consumer satisfaction with e-commerce and increase revisits [31]. This model has also been applied to understand the use of mobile applications to attain service process efficiency [32] and to comprehend the digital behavior of various consumers in relation to the spread of financial technology services [33,34].

The TAM has been extended and utilized in various forms. Through extended studies on the propensity and characteristics of individual students in e-learning services, researchers have attempted to derive an efficient educational method for introducing new technologies [35,36].

The extended TAM has been studied in various service fields; it has been suggested, for example [37], to help adopt and utilize social media consumers, and to create an extended

model [38] considering the characteristics of the service field for virtual reality. Researchers have conducted research on telemedicine, including additional variables considering the characteristics of the medical service [39], and have attempted to introduce mobile-based monetary services in developing countries [40]. In this study, the TAM is used as a basic model to extend system quality and service quality and analyze the influence of mediators. Therefore, the following hypotheses have been established:

#### **Hypothesis 5 (H5).** *Perceived usefulness influences continuous intentions of use.*

#### **Hypothesis 6 (H6).** *Perceived ease of use influences continuous intentions of use.*

## *2.5. Mediating Variables*

In this study, two variables that were expected to have opposite effects were considered as mediators (i.e., personalization (hereafter, PER) and innovation resistance (hereafter, IR)). Notably, IR is a personal reaction to consumer services and arises from various causes, such as the type of product, environment, and individual tendencies. Furthermore, IR affects an individuals' rational choice, regardless of satisfaction in the context of consumer service acceptance [41]. Individual differences occur in tendencies to resist innovation, and service providers must consider the individuals who adopt new services [42]. In particular, the spread of new services based on new IT has a significant influence on the market entry of companies. Considering that there is a need to induce the rapid introduction of services to consumers, it is very important to consider how to tackle IR.

Lukkanen et al. [43] analyzed the differences in opinions according to the age of consumers using mobile banking. They suggested that the perception of the value of new technology was independent of consumers' age, but that the acceptance of information on new technology differs according to age. Matsuo et al. [44] studied consumers' IR to Internet banking services, showing that consumer experiences can reduce IR. Kaur et al. [45] analyzed the reasons why consumers do not adopt services even when there are many benefits, such as the convenience of mobile paymen<sup>t</sup> solutions.

Recently, new services in the digital environment have been widely introduced, and research is being actively conducted to analyze the barriers to new businesses owing to consumer IR. Tang and Chen [46] conducted a study on the obstacles to new market opportunities of resale commerce. Some studies that have identified IR as a barrier to the spread of new services sugges<sup>t</sup> the adoption of massive open online courses [47], the acceptance of users' online shopping in e-commerce [48], and the provision of food delivery applications [49] as potential solutions.

Therefore, we expect that IR as a mediator will have a negative effect on the introduction of new services.

**Hypothesis 7 (H7).** *Innovation resistance will mediate the relationship between system quality/service quality and perceived usefulness/perceived ease of use.*

**Hypothesis 7a-(1) (H7a-(1)).** *Security influences innovation resistance.*

**Hypothesis 7a-(2) (H7a-(2)).** *Information sharing influences innovation resistance.*

**Hypothesis 7b-(1) (H7b-(1)).** *Innovativeness influences innovation resistance.*

**Hypothesis 7b-(2) (H7b-(2)).** *Efficiency influences innovation resistance.*

**Hypothesis 7c (H7c).** *Innovation resistance influences perceived usefulness.*

**Hypothesis 7d (H7d).** *Innovation resistance influences perceived ease of use.*

In contrast to IR, PER is a mediator that is expected to have a positive effect on the introduction of new services. Notably, PER increases consumer service satisfaction and delivers greater value to consumers. [2]. The personalization of services is a powerful way to retain customers by increasing customer loyalty [50]. The advent of Internetbased services has enabled the use of various types of personalized services, such as online shopping activities [51] and the personalization of services in the field of Internet banking [3]. Recently, research has been conducted on the personalization of services in the smart environment of mobile technology [52], including mobile banking [53] and online retail convenience facilities [54] that offer extended personalization services. With the development of IT, personalized services are being provided in various data-based mobile environments. However, previous studies on this topic lack an analysis of the level and degree of personalization, and do not reflect the characteristics of individual service users. Personalization can be a powerful tool to satisfy consumers, but it cannot solve every issue; thus, various environments, factors, and consumer characteristics must be considered [55]. The hypotheses that consider personalization as a mediator are listed as follows:

**Hypothesis 8 (H8).** *Personalization will mediate the relationship between system quality/service quality and perceived usefulness/perceived ease of use.*

**Hypothesis 8a-(1) (H8a-(1)).** *Security influences personalization.*

**Hypothesis 8a-(2) (H8a-(2)).** *Information sharing influences personalization.*

**Hypothesis 8b-(1) (H8b-(1)).** *Innovativeness influences personalization.*

**Hypothesis 8b-(2) (H8b-(2)).** *Efficiency influences personalization.*

**Hypothesis 8c (H8c).** *Personalization influences perceived usefulness.*

**Hypothesis 8d (H8d).** *Personalization influences perceived ease of use.*

Figure 1 shows the proposed conceptual model and eight hypothesized relationships. Figure 1 also represents an integrated conceptual model constructed to evaluate the relationships between the constructs and mediation effects.

**Figure 1.** Research model.

#### **3. Research Methodology**

#### *3.1. Research Design*

In this study, a structural equation model was used to determine the effect between variables through statistical analysis. Structural equation models are generally useful for examining the influence between several variables. In this study, the standardization factors of the service platform were derived and the effect of the mediating variables affecting the consumer's acceptance of new services was confirmed.

This study was designed using PLS-SEM platform for the standardization of services. Based on the extended TAM, the variables of the IS success model were used to explain the relationships between the variables, and the effects of the mediating variables were analyzed. The study procedure was as follows: first, we checked the preliminary considerations such as latent variables, the path of the model, and the number of samples required. Second, we evaluated the reflective measurement models such as the indicator loadings, internal consistency reliability, and discriminant validity. Third, we evaluated formative measurement models such as convergence validity, indicator collinearity, statistical significance, and relevance of the indicator weights. Finally, the structural models and robustness levels were checked.

#### *3.2. Case Study*

In Korea, PropTech services have emerged since 2018, and more than 300 service providers currently deliver services to customers. PropTech services combine advanced technology and real estate, and their use has increased as a result of the extensive implementation of social distancing [56]. PropTech services, originating from a platform that provides real estate information, have diversified from real estate development to building design and construction, and the numbers of service providers and investments in this area are also rapidly increasing [57]. Although PropTech has not ye<sup>t</sup> reached the level of developed countries, many people know and have experience in using PropTech services [58]. Since the PropTech service platform can provide personalized services [59] based on a standardized system, it was considered the most suitable field for the purpose of this study.

#### *3.3. Sample and Research Instruments*

In order to determine the minimum sample size, the inverse square root method proposed by Kock and Hadaya [60] was used.

$$n\_{\min} > \left(\frac{L\_{\text{sc}}}{|p\_{\min}| }\right)^2$$

According to the formula for the minimum sample size proposed by Kock and Hadaya [60], the minimum number of samples required would be 155 considering a significance level of 5% and a minimum path coefficient of 0.2.

In order to derive a more accurate sample number, we used the software G\*power 3.1.9.7 (Jochen Grommisch, Düsseldorf, Germany) to calculate sample size [61]. The minimum sample size is provided with the following settings: Fˆ2 = 0.15; a = 0.05; number of predictors = 4; and power set to 80% [62]. The sample size required to test this model was found to be 85. In the PLS-SEM, 524 respondents satisfied the minimum sample size for the survey [63,64].

Based on the expanded TAM, the model was expanded by adding the variables of the IS success model, and the effect of the mediating variables of innovation resistance and personalization on the acceptance of new services was analyzed. There are few empirical studies surrounding PropTech and, therefore, this study proposed an extended model to analyze the effect on the continuous intentions of use by analyzing the path coefficient to derive the standardization factors of the service platform. In addition, the mediating variables were added and studied to analyze the impact on the acceptance of service platforms using new technologies.

The survey was based on the related previous literature [65–67]. Some of the phrases were edited and amended according to the PropTech service. Specifically, the study tried to refine the survey tool by eliminating questionnaires with low correlation. The final survey comprised topics on security (four items), information sharing (six items), innovativeness (four items), efficiency (eight items), innovation resistance (four items), personalization (three items), perceived usefulness (six items), perceived ease of use (six items), and continuous intention to use (seven items) (Table 1).

To achieve the most accurate response, a pilot study was carried out on 38 academic personnel and PropTech service experts. The pilot group completed the survey and suggested a slight modification to the survey language used. After integrating the proposed modifications, we finalized the survey with a 7-point Likert scale and decided to use closed answers. Moreover, we found that the respondents had already used PropTech services in the past, which contributed to a better alignment of the survey.
