The power of information on customers’ social withdrawal and citizenship behavior in a crowded service environment

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuqin Wei ◽  
Tyson Ang ◽  
Nwamaka A. Anaza
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Social Withdrawal ◽  
Citizenship Behavior ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Service Experience ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Employees ◽  
Service Environment ◽  
Extended Service

PurposeCrowding in service environments is a constant concern for many firms due to the negative consequences it has on consumers and companies alike. Yet, scant empirical research exists on firm-generated initiatives aimed at improving customer service experiences in crowded situations. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how information, a managerially actionable variable, influences social interactions (in the form of customer social withdrawal and citizenship behavior) and service experience.Design/methodology/approachTwo experimental studies were conducted using an extended service context.FindingsThis research demonstrates that receiving information about crowds in advance results in heightened social withdrawal, which improves customer service experience. However, providing consumers with a platform to share crowding information increases customers’ citizenship behavior toward service employees and other customers, which, in turn, improves customer service experience.Practical implicationsFor extended service encounters (e.g. air travel) where social interactions are inevitable, companies should encourage customers to share their real-time experiences with other customers in hopes of creating more positive social interactions (e.g. citizenship behavior) within the crowded environment.Originality/valueExisting investigations of crowding stem from an overemphasis on the physical and atmospheric aspects of the environment by treating crowds as a “fixture” in the servicescape, rather than as “active participants” involved in the crowding environment. While the mere presence of crowds alone has negative effects, this research takes it a step further by examining interactions among and between customers and service employees within the crowded service environment.

The role of servicescape and social interaction toward customer service experience in coffee stores. The case of Vietnam

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 619-637 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quynh Xuan Tran ◽  
My Van Dang ◽  
Nadine Tournois
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Service Experience ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Interaction Quality ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Customer Satisfaction And Loyalty

Purpose This study aims to investigate the effects of servicescape on customer satisfaction and loyalty – centered on social interaction and service experience in the café setting. Design/methodology/approach Data for this study were collected from approximately 1,800 customers at 185 coffee stores located in the three largest cities in Vietnam through the self-administered questionnaires. Findings The research findings pointed out the significant impacts of café servicescape on social interaction quality, including customer-to-employee interaction (CEI) and customer-to-customer interaction (CCI). Social interactions and servicescape were shown to remarkably influence customer experience quality, customer satisfaction and loyalty. Moreover, the study confirmed the interrelation between service experience, satisfaction and loyalty in the café setting. Practical implications This study provides marketers and service managers a deeper understanding of improving customer satisfaction and loyalty through the control of servicescape attributes and social interactions in café contexts. Originality/value This research explores the significant impacts of café servicescape on social interaction quality (CEI and CCI). Additionally, it provides insights within the role of social interactions to customer’s affective and behavioral responses in service settings, especially the CCI quality.

Does transformational leadership always matter in frontline service roles?

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 733-751 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keo Mony Sok ◽  
Phyra Sok ◽  
Lan Snell ◽  
Pingping Qiu
Keyword(s):  
Customer Service ◽  
Service Performance ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Employees ◽  
High Level ◽  
Frontline Service Employees ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Frontline Service

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of frontline service employees (FSEs) motivation (enjoyment of work and driven to work) and ability (customer service ability) in the relationship between TFL and employee service performance. Design/methodology/approach This is a survey-based study which involves 534 FSEs and 135 supervisors in a hair salon setting. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings Results show that TFL is significantly related to employee service performance; this relationship is enhanced with the presence of driven to work; yet, it is neutralized with the presence of enjoyment of work. Further, the three-way interaction of TFL, enjoyment of work and customer service ability as well as TFL driven to work, and customer service ability are negatively associated with employee service performance. Practical implications The results advance service managers’ understanding of the importance of FSEs motivation and ability if they are to fully reap the benefits from their FSEs. The role of leader is not always effective in all situations. FSEs with high level of enjoyment of work and customer service ability would least rely on the guidance and support from the supervisors. Originality/value This research is one of the first to examine the role of subordinate’s characteristics (motivation – enjoyment of work and driven to work and ability – customer service ability) as the key moderators in the relationship between TFL and employee service performance.

scholarly journals Towards a circumplex typology of customer service experience management practices: a dyadic perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasin Sahhar ◽  
Raymond Loohuis ◽  
Jörg Henseler
Keyword(s):  
Customer Service ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Service Industries ◽  
Customer Journey ◽  
Service Experience ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Knowledge Intensive ◽  
Five Phases

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to identify the practices used by service providers to manage the customer service experience (CSE) across multiple phases of the customer journey in a business-to-business (B2B) setting.Design/methodology/approachThis study comprises an ethnography that investigates in real time, from a dyadic perspective, and the CSE management practices at two service providers operating in knowledge-intensive service industries over a period of eight months. Analytically, the study concentrates on critical events that occurred in phases of the customer journey that in some way alter CSE, thus making it necessary for service providers to act to keep their customers satisfied.FindingsThe study uncovers four types of service provider practices that vary based on the mode of organization (ad hoc or regular) and the mode of engagement (reactive or proactive) and based on whether they restore or bolster CSE, including the recurrence of these practices in the customer journey. These practices are conveniently presented in a circumplex typology of CSE management across five phases in the customer journey.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper advances the research in CSE management throughout the customer journey in the B2B context by showing that CSE management is dynamic, recurrent and multifaceted in the sense that it requires different modes of organization and engagement, notably during interaction with customers, in different phases of the customer journey.Practical implicationsThe circumplex typology acts as a tool for service providers, helping them to redesign their CSE management practices in ongoing service and dialogical processes to keep their customers more engaged and satisfied.Originality/valueThis paper is the first to infuse a dyadic stance into the ongoing discussion of CSE management practices in B2B, in which studies to date have deployed only provider or customer perspectives. In proposing a microlevel view, the study identifies service providers' CSE management practices in multiple customer journey phases, especially when the situation becomes critical.

Examining the influence of strategic profit emphases on employee engagement and service climate

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 152-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn (“Casey”) Findley Musgrove ◽  
Alexander E. Ellinger ◽  
Andrea D. Ellinger
Keyword(s):  
Employee Engagement ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Service Industries ◽  
Service Organizations ◽  
Job Engagement ◽  
Service Climate ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Employees ◽  
Working Environments ◽  
Effective Service

Purpose – Research suggests that employee engagement favorably influences the provision of customer service, that high levels of service employee engagement are rare, and that firms' strategic profit emphases affect engagement and service climate. This study responds to calls for research that identifies drivers of employee engagement and foundational issues that promote effective service climates within service organizations. Design/methodology/approach – A survey method is utilized to assess data from 502 key informant service employees from multiple service industries. Findings – The findings indicate that service organizations' revenue enhancement and cost containment strategic profit emphases differentially influence employee engagement, and that organizational and job engagement differentially influence service climate. Research limitations/implications – Data comprised of individual service employees' perceptions of their firms' strategic profit emphases and service climates are utilized. Although it is conceivable that some respondents' perceptions of these variables may be misguided, the study findings are based on a large sample of experienced service employees from multiple service industries. Practical implications – The findings suggest that the most effective approach for promoting effective service climate is to hire service employees with a track record of job engagement and then focus on encouraging organizational engagement by creating working environments that support, value, and reward service quality. Originality/value – Managers increasingly realize that how firms treat service employees critically affects customer service quality. However, relatively few studies examine service employees' perceptions of their own engagement and their organizations' working environments. This research incorporates social exchange theory and concepts from the fields of strategy and organizational behavior to assess service employees' perceptions of their organizations' strategic profit emphasis and its influence on engagement and service climate.

Service with a conscience: moral dilemmas in customer service roles

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 689-711 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana Yagil ◽  
Tamar Shultz
Keyword(s):  
Customer Service ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Personal Values ◽  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Moral Emotions ◽  
Moral Decision Making ◽  
Moral Conflicts ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Employees ◽  
Moral Decisions

Purpose Service employees are frequently exposed to moral dilemmas as a result of their boundary role, attending to the interests of both the organization and customers. The purpose of this paper is to explore organizational and personal values that generate moral dilemmas in the service context, as well as emotions related to employees’ moral decisions. Design/methodology/approach Using the critical incidents technique, data were collected from service providers about moral dilemmas in the workplace. The data were analyzed independently by each author, with an agreement rate of 84-88 percent. Findings The results show that service employees confront dilemmas as a result of conflicts between the following organizational and personal values: standardization vs personalization; profit vs integrity; and emotional display rules vs dignity. Moral decision making involves emotions generated by customer distress, negative emotions toward customers, and emotions of guilt, shame, or fear. Originality/value Little research has studied moral conflicts in service encounters from employees’ perspective. Using a qualitative approach, this study explores the role of personal values and moral emotions in such processes.

Customers' relational models as determinants of customer engagement value

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Velitchka D. Kaltcheva ◽  
Anthony Patino ◽  
Michael V. Laric ◽  
Dennis A. Pitta ◽  
Nicholas Imparato
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Customer Relationship ◽  
Customer Engagement ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Relational Models ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Firm ◽  
The Social ◽  
Different Types

Purpose – The authors apply Alan P. Fiske's relational models framework to customers' engagement with service firms – specifically, they propose that customers who hold different relational models for the service firm are likely to engage with the firm in dissimilar ways, thus generating different types of customer engagement value for the firm. Fiske's relational models framework is eminently suitable for studying customer-service firm engagement because it is widely adopted in the social sciences as a rigorously developed framework for conceptualizing social interactions. Design/methodology/approach – The article bridges Fiske's relational models framework and Kumar et al.'s customer engagement value framework, and conceptually demonstrates that customers employing different relational models for the service firm are likely to generate different types of customer engagement value for the firm. Findings – The article demonstrates conceptually that customers' relational models, schemata, and scripts influence how consumers engage with the firm and the type of customer engagement value accruing to the firm. Research limitations/implications – This research has implications for service firms' relationship strategies. First, service marketers can determine the desired customer engagement value(s) and then craft their customer relationship strategy so that it maximizes those engagement value(s). The article suggests relationship strategies that service firms may implement for encouraging customers to adopt different relational models. Originality/value – No research has bridged relational models theories and customer engagement value theories.

Reimagining customer service through journey mapping and measurement

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (10) ◽  
pp. 2387-2417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles H. Patti ◽  
Maria M. van Dessel ◽  
Steven W. Hartley
Keyword(s):  
Customer Service ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Model Development ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Customer Journey ◽  
Service Experience ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Important Challenge ◽  
Taxonomic Approach ◽  
And Performance

Purpose How can customer service be so bad in an era when companies collect endless data on customer interactions? The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the important challenge of elevating customer service delivery by providing guidelines for when and how to select optimal measures of customer service measurement using a new decision framework. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses a comprehensive, multi-dimensional review of extant literature related to customer service, journey mapping and performance measurement and applied a qualitative, taxonomic approach for model development. Findings A process model and customer journey mapping framework can facilitate the selection and application of appropriate and relevant customer service experience metrics to enhance customer service experience strategies, creation and delivery. Research limitations/implications The taxonomy of customer service metrics is limited to current publicly and commercially available metrics. The dynamic nature of the customer service environment necessitates continuous updates of the model and framework. Practical implications Selection of customer service performance measures should match relevant stages of the customer journey; use perception-based, operational and outcome-based metrics that track employee and customer behaviours; improve omni-channel measurement; and integrate data-sharing and benchmark measurement initiatives through collaboration with customer service communities. Originality/value A reimagined perspective is offered to the complex challenge of measuring and improving customer service, providing a new decision-making framework for customer service experience measurement and guidance for future research.

Foreign or domestic: who provides better customer service?

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amit Poddar ◽  
Timucin Ozcan ◽  
Ramana Kumar Madupalli
Keyword(s):  
Customer Service ◽  
Service Recovery ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Employees ◽  
Service Excellence ◽  
Customer Evaluations ◽  
Interaction Factors ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Service Representative

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of customer service employees’ (CSEs) competence and service recovery outcomes on service evaluations of foreign and domestic CSEs. Design/methodology/approach – Three experiments were conducted to test and validate the proposed hypotheses. The participants were told a cover story that they were either listening to (Study 2) or reading (Studies 1 and 3) a real conversation between a customer service representative of a bank and a customer and the authors wanted their views about the service encounter. While country of origin (COO) and competency were common independent variables across three studies, Study 2 included service recovery with a full refund and Study 3 had both full and partial refund and apology offered or not. Findings – Results from three experiments show that while competent CSEs are evaluated the same, regardless of their COO, the domestic CSE is evaluated more negatively than the foreign CSE when both are incompetent. The authors also find that when competent CSEs deliver no service recovery, the foreign CSE evaluations are significantly lower than the domestic one. Study 3 results show that this effect is mediated by participants’ ethnocentric beliefs. Research limitations/implications – For implications, this study provides a deeper understanding of the role of COO in services contexts. Future researchers can utilize the findings to investigate the important role that expectations play in determining service excellence and how it affects the COO effect. Practical implications – The paper provides managers in both offshoring client and provider firms with an understanding of the effects of offshoring on employee evaluations. It discusses the relevance/irrelevance of COO on the customer evaluations of service employees. Originality/value – The study investigates an under researched phenomenon – offshoring of services. This paper is one of the few looking at the role of different interaction factors, such as competence, recovery on service evaluations.

Emotional labor of customer service employees in China

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-16
Author(s):  
Yuyan Zhang ◽  
Alexandra Luong
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Emotional Labor ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Surface Acting ◽  
Chinese Sample ◽  
Deep Acting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Employees

Purpose The current study aims to examine the antecedents and outcomes of emotional labor strategies (i.e. surface acting and deep acting) among service employees in China. The study proposed employees’ perceived closeness with customers and customers’ socioeconomic status will predict deep acting and surface acting, respectively. It further examined the mediating role of emotional labor between perceived customer attributes and employee well-being (i.e. burnout and job satisfaction). Design/methodology/approach One hundred and one employees at a jewelry store in China completed a survey regarding their perceptions of customers, use of emotional labor and well-being (e.g. job satisfaction and burnout). Correlational and regression analyses were conducted to examine the predictors and outcomes of different emotional labor strategies. Findings Perceived closeness with the customer group predicted employees’ use of deep acting, whereas perceived customer socioeconomic status did not predict the use of surface acting. Deep acting was negatively related with burnout, whereas surface acting did not predict burnout. Deep acting mediated the relationship between perceived closeness with customers and burnout. Practical implications To maintain employee well-being, organizations can promote a service climate to enhance employees’ perceived relationship with customers. Originality/value The study specifies the interpersonal context in which employees use different emotional labor strategies; the perceived closeness with customers predicts less burnout via the use of more deep acting. This study also supplements the existing research on emotional labor based on a Chinese sample; deep acting predicts employee well-being.

Employee revenge against uncivil customers

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 636-649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akanksha Bedi ◽  
Aaron C.H. Schat
Keyword(s):  
Customer Service ◽  
Critical Incident ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Employees ◽  
Service Employee ◽  
Blame Attribution ◽  
Blame Attributions ◽  
Attributions Of Blame ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This study aims to examine the relations between service employee blame attributions in response to customer incivility and revenge desires and revenge behavior toward customers, and whether employee empathy moderated these relations. Design/methodology/approach The authors used survey data based on the critical incident method provided by a sample of 431 customer service employees. Findings The results suggested that blaming a customer was positively associated with desire for revenge and revenge behaviors against the uncivil customer. In addition, the authors found that blame was less strongly associated with desire for revenge when employees empathized with customers. Finally, the results show that an employee who desired revenge against the uncivil customer and who empathized with the customer was more – not less – likely to engage in revenge. Practical implications The authors found that when employees experience mistreatment from customers, it increases the likelihood that they will blame the offending customer and behave in ways that are contrary to their organization’s interests. The results suggest several points of intervention for organizations to more effectively respond to customer mistreatment. Originality/value In this study, the authors make one of the first attempts to investigate the relationships between service employee attributions of blame when they experience customer incivility, desire for revenge and customer-directed revenge behaviors. The authors also examined whether empathy moderates the relations between blame attribution, desires for revenge and revenge behavior.

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