Touch Versus Tech in Service Encounters

2020 ◽  
pp. 193896552095728
Author(s):  
Alei Fan ◽  
Anna S. Mattila
Keyword(s):  
Technology Use ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Optimal Level ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Mediation Effect ◽  
Service Encounter ◽  
Service Encounters ◽  
Frontline Employees

The emergence of various service technologies has reshaped how today’s customers interact with the service provider. The current research proposes a service matrix delineating various types of service encounters along two dimensions: touch (the extent to which customers directly interact with frontline employees) and tech (the intensity of technology use). Furthermore, we investigate the moderating role of relationship type (i.e., communal vs. exchange) in influencing customer evaluations of touch and tech type encounters and further identify the underlying mechanism. The results from the two empirical studies demonstrate the moderating effect of the communal relationship norms and the consequent mediation effect of warmth. This research lays the foundation for the future investigation of different service encounter management practices based on various levels of human factors and technology infusion. For service companies, our findings about the interplay of service encounter types and customer–company relationships will help them to better understand their customers and consequently provide an optimal level of service.

The Role of Digital Service Encounters on Customers' Perceptions of Companies

2010 ◽  
pp. 88-97
Author(s):  
Kristina Heinonen
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Study ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Service Encounter ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Service Encounters ◽  
Customer Perceptions ◽  
Digital Service ◽  
A Company ◽  
E Mail

The service encounter occurs whenever a customer interacts with a company personally or through technology through, for example, the Internet, e-mail, or telephone. Nowadays, customers frequently initiate the encounter as, for example, inquiries, information searches, and complaints are conveniently performed online. This article explores the role of digital service encounters on customer perceptions of companies. Digital service encounters in this article denote remote customer-company interactions via the Internet or e-mail. The focus is on active customers initiating interactions and on customer perceptions of company responses to these interactions. A conceptual framework that captures customer perceived service encounter value on two dimensions (responsiveness and personalization) is proposed. An empirical study exploring the value of company responses to digital contacts indicated that many contacts are responded to promptly and satisfyingly. However, there are also significant differences in the value of the service encounter. Some service encounters are perceived as unpersonalized, and some are even left without response.

Understanding tourists’ perception and evaluation of inter-cultural service encounters: a holistic mental model process

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 290-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Defang Zhao ◽  
Ingrid Y. Lin
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Mental Model ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Service Encounter ◽  
Service Encounters ◽  
Tour Guide ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Process Framework ◽  
Travel Agencies ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce a theoretical framework, the holistic mental model process, with major contextual factors (cultural, situation, cognitive and affective contexts) to help better understand tourists’ perception and evaluation of intercultural tourists–tour guide service encounters. Design/methodology/approach – Summary tables of an extensive literature review of previous empirical studies relating to intercultural service encounters, service encounter and service quality to help derive the holistic mental model process framework are included. Findings – Gaps from the previous literature were identified along with in-depth explanations as to how a holistic mental model process can be applied to tourists evaluating intercultural tourist–tour guide service encounters and the service quality of their overall travel experience. Research limitations/implications – The current conceptual framework of the holistic mental model process targets specifically on the intercultural tourists–tour guide service encounters. More in-depth empirical studies can be conducted focusing on specific variables of the intercultural tourist–tour guide service encounters and on the factor differences between specific cultures. Practical implications – This research has practical implications for travel agencies and tourism companies. Travel agencies and tour companies can apply the holistic mental model process framework to examine and analyze the influential variables between tourists and tour guide (i.e. cultural differences, etiquette, norms and behaviors), thus design better tour guide training programs accordingly. Social implications – Service encounter is a social activity that is influenced by the social environment. To achieve the best service quality, all parties, including tourists, tour guide, tour companies, host community, must understand cultural differences; work together in coordination and cooperation. Originality/value – This is the first study that provides an in-depth holistic mental model process by integrating major contextual factors to examine tourists’ evaluation of intercultural service encounters between themselves and tour guides.

It Went Downhill From There: The Spillover Effect from Previous Customer Mistreatment on Frontline Employees’ Service Delivery

2021 ◽  
pp. 109467052110490
Author(s):  
Yumeng Yue ◽  
Karyn L. Wang ◽  
Markus Groth
Keyword(s):  
Service Delivery ◽  
Spillover Effect ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Service Encounter ◽  
Service Encounters ◽  
Frontline Employees ◽  
Service Employees ◽  
Holistic Understanding ◽  
Past Experiences ◽  
Frontline Service Employees

Research indicates that a customer’s service experience is shaped by their past experiences with the firm. However, the extent to which past experiences with customers shape frontline service employees’ delivery of services has not been examined. We propose that the analysis of service encounters as discrete, independent units ignores possible linkages between customer experiences via frontline employees. Adopting a resource spill-over perspective across two studies, we find that employees’ experience of customer mistreatment compromised their subsequent service delivery. Using an experiment in Study 1, we find that these effects are mediated by changes in the employee’s self-control capacity. Using a field sample in Study 2, we find that these effects are moderated by the employee’s dispositional self-control capacity and their motivation to commit to display rules. Our findings show how service encounter outcomes can be shaped by distal service events and call for a more holistic understanding of the forces that shape service encounter outcomes. In particular, by highlighting the potential consequences, our findings challenge conventional work protocols that compel employees to persevere despite their experience of mistreatment. By detailing the mediating and moderating mechanisms of mistreatment spill-over in service organizations, we highlight the recovery mechanisms and practices that enable FLEs to remain resilient despite negative encounters with customers.

Uncovering the relationship between customer anger and frontline employees’ recovery performance in the service encounter

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jia Luo ◽  
Yongqiang Li ◽  
Yu Che
Keyword(s):  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Appraisal Theory ◽  
Curvilinear Relationship ◽  
Service Encounters ◽  
Frontline Employees ◽  
Bootstrap Analysis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Immediate Recovery ◽  
Recovery Performance ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms

Purpose Regarding the interpersonal influence of customer anger on frontline employees (FLEs) in service encounters, existing findings remain mixed. Building on emotion as a social information model and appraisal theory, this study aims to focus on two dimensions of customer anger – intensity and relevance with FLEs and examined their divergent effects on FLEs’ immediate recovery performance. Design/methodology/approach This study conducted a questionnaire survey of 366 Chinese FLEs in the hospitality and tourism industries. Hierarchical regressions and bootstrap analysis for nonlinear mediated relationships were used to test the hypotheses. Findings The results suggested a U-shaped curvilinear relationship between the intensity of customer anger and FLEs’ recovery performance and a positive linear relationship between relevance with FLEs of customer anger and FLEs’ recovery performance. Moreover, the mediating effects of FLEs’ emotional anger and cognitive perceived threat were confirmed. Practical implications Service managers should improve FLEs’ awareness of unconscious emotional contagion and encourage them to shoulder responsibility actively even if customer anger is not related to them. In addition, complaining customers can learn how to strategically express anger to get good remedies. Originality/value This paper examines the divergent effects of two dimensions of customer anger on FLEs, advancing the understanding of customer anger in the service interaction. It is also the first to suggest the U-shaped nonlinear effect of customer anger intensity on employees’ service outcomes and its underlying mechanisms, reconciling mixed findings.

scholarly journals Evaluating the Application of CSR in the High-Tech Industry during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Mathematics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (15) ◽  
pp. 1715
Author(s):  
Shih-Chia Chang ◽  
Ming-Tsang Lu ◽  
Mei-Jen Chen ◽  
Li-Hua Huang
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Multiple Criteria Decision Making ◽  
Sustainable Growth ◽  
High Tech ◽  
High Tech Industry ◽  
Continuous Growth ◽  
Csr Strategies ◽  
Corporate Social

Since its conception, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has seen continuous growth and become a highly discussed issue. In this paper, we propose an evaluation of how the COVID-19 pandemic could impact CSR applications. The pandemic has provided an opportunity for commerce to move on to being more authentic, to offer genuine CSR applications and to contribute toward dealing with pressing environmental and social issues. Hence, this purpose of the research is to obtain a better understanding of whether the integration of environment, social, corporate governance and economic (ESGE) aspects into CSR strategies can support sustainable development toward more sustainable growth during the COVID-19 pandemic. To meet this challenge, we offer a mixture multiple-criteria decision making (MCDM) model. Very few empirical studies have discussed CSR in the high-tech industry and proposed strategies and planning for ESGE efficiency. Using interviews with experts and a literature review, we identify the elements related to actual practices of the high-tech industry’s appraisal and the integrated MCDM techniques to suggest efficient enhancement models. The best worst method (BWM) and modified VIKOR are implemented to estimate the strategic weights and the gaps of the aspiration value. The results are valuable for classifying the priorities of CSR and are therefore helpful for those who are associated with high-tech industry management, practices and implementation.

A cross-linguistic study of metacommunication in online hotel reviews

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 445-470
Author(s):  
Irene Cenni ◽  
Patrick Goethals ◽  
Camilla Vásquez
Keyword(s):  
Hospitality Industry ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Service Failure ◽  
Specific Form ◽  
Service Encounter ◽  
Service Encounters ◽  
Correct Information ◽  
Linguistic Patterns

AbstractIn this study, we focus on a specific form of metacommunication found in an emerging digital genre: Hotel reviews posted on TripAdvisor. In particular, we investigate how tourists represent their service encounter interactions. The main goal of the present study is to identify what these digital metacommunicative practices reveal about communicative norms and expectations among groups of reviewers writing in three different languages. We analyzed a multilingual dataset of 1800 reviews written in English, Dutch, and Italian. The results reveal that reviewers commented upon a broad range of aspects when evaluating service encounters interactions, for instance, describing the quality of the interaction (e.g. polite, correct), or a lack of communication when a specific type of communication is expected (e.g. absence of greetings, or apologies after a service failure). Further, we found similar cross-linguistic patterns, such as appreciation for being able to communicate in one’s mother tongue during the hotel-guest encounter. At the same time, a few differences across languages emerged, such as the preference for precise and correct information within British reviews. Since service interactions are of fundamental importance for customer satisfaction, our findings contribute not only to the current research on metacommunication in digital contexts, but may also be significant for service providers in the hospitality industry.

scholarly journals Three-dimensional quantification of twisting in the Arabidopsis petiole

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuta Otsuka ◽  
Hirokazu Tsukaya
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sections ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Light Sheet ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Observation Angle ◽  
Differential Growth ◽  
Light Sheet Microscopy ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Twisting Angle

AbstractOrganisms have a variety of three-dimensional (3D) structures that change over time. These changes include twisting, which is 3D deformation that cannot happen in two dimensions. Twisting is linked to important adaptive functions of organs, such as adjusting the orientation of leaves and flowers in plants to align with environmental stimuli (e.g. light, gravity). Despite its importance, the underlying mechanism for twisting remains to be determined, partly because there is no rigorous method for quantifying the twisting of plant organs. Conventional studies have relied on approximate measurements of the twisting angle in 2D, with arbitrary choices of observation angle. Here, we present the first rigorous quantification of the 3D twisting angles of Arabidopsis petioles based on light sheet microscopy. Mathematical separation of bending and twisting with strict definition of petiole cross-sections were implemented; differences in the spatial distribution of bending and twisting were detected via the quantification of angles along the petiole. Based on the measured values, we discuss that minute degrees of differential growth can result in pronounced twisting in petioles.

Explanation information and source in service recovery initiatives

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 311-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Baker ◽  
Tracy Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Source Credibility ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Service Failure ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Service Recovery ◽  
Positive Outcome ◽  
Frontline Employees ◽  
Full Account ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Failure And Recovery

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to specifically consider two interactional aspects that are likely to contribute to the success of an explanation of why a service failed: the adequacy of information provided and role of the person providing the information. Design/methodology/approach – Two empirical studies were conducted using a between-subjects 2 (information: low vs high) × 2 (employee: frontline vs manager) experimental design. The first study was designed to better understand when the information provided might have a more positive impact on the customer. The second study was conducted to understand why the effects exist. Findings – In Study 1, an interaction effect was seen that suggests that the most positive outcome is when the manager (vs the frontline employee) provides a full explanation (vs limited explanation) of the mishap. Results from Study 2 indicate that source credibility is in play. Research limitations/implications – Participants were asked to respond to service failure and recovery scenarios using the same service context. The means of the outcome variables suggest that the recovery effort could be improved upon with other methods. Practical implications – Contrary to suggestions that frontline employees be responsible to resolve service failures, our studies reveal that service recovery initiatives involving an explanation only are best received when the manager provides the customer a full account of what went wrong. Originality/value – This research provides empirical evidence of when and why more information regarding the cause of a service failure is most positively received by the customer.

The evolution of stakeholder management practices in Australian mega construction projects

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 690-706 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Jing Yang ◽  
Sajani Jayasuriya ◽  
Chathuri Gunarathna ◽  
Mehrdad Arashpour ◽  
Xiaolong Xue ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stakeholder Engagement ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Stakeholder Management ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Stakeholder Analysis ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Project Teams ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Project Objectives

Purpose The complicated nature of megaprojects requires appropriate analysis of multiple stakeholders to achieve project objectives and to accommodate stakeholder interests. During the last two decades, many stakeholder theories and empirical studies have sprouted. Although previous studies have contributed to the development of stakeholder theory, it seems that these theoretical advances have not been fully adopted and acknowledged in practices, especially in megaprojects. The purpose of this paper is to explore the evolution of stakeholder analysis and engagement practices adopted in the Australian megaprojects over the last two decades. Design/methodology/approach Four mega construction projects are described and analysed in this study. Secondary data were first assembled in order to get general knowledge of each case. Interviews were conducted with the project directors. Project documents were collected from the project teams and reviewed. Wherever the project information was unclear, e-mails were sent to the directors and the team members to confirm the details. Findings Project teams have started to apply snowball rolling and stakeholder attribute assessment methods to analyse stakeholders. However, there is still a way to adopt the “network” analysis perspective because the project teams are reluctant to use complicated tools which need specialists’ assistance. The stakeholder engagement practices have evolved to an extent where the project teams monitor the dynamics of stakeholders’ requirements. Projects teams have identified the importance of continuity to manage stakeholders in these massive projects. However, a structured method selection mechanism for stakeholder engagement has not been developed. Originality/value This study will help academics to understand the adoption progress and status of stakeholder management methods.

“Can I go or should I stay?” A theoretical framework of social lock-in during unsatisfactory service encounters

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maarten Volkers
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Sunk Costs ◽  
Service Encounter ◽  
Service Encounters ◽  
Intention To Stay ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Quantitative Evidence ◽  
Decision To Stay ◽  
Lock In

PurposeThis article demonstrates that the type of service setting and the first interaction with an employee influences the customers' intention to stay or leave during an unsatisfactory service encounter, and that these effects are mediated by social lock-in, which describes the perception of a customer that exiting a service encounter early violates social norms.Design/methodology/approachThe hypotheses are tested with two scenario-based experiments using a collective (theater) and high-contact service (restaurant) (N = 1143; 1485).FindingsThe results suggest that social lock-in and the intention to stay are higher in a closed as opposed to an open setting and that the type of setting is, in fact, more important for the decision to stay than sunk costs. Moreover, customers are more likely to stay after an interaction with an employee.Research limitations/implicationsThis article contributes to the research aimed at explaining customers' decisions to stay or leave during an unsatisfactory service encounter. In doing so, the study highlights the constraining power of social norms in service encounters, which contributes to the research on the relationship between the social context and customers' behavior.Practical implicationsThis study suggests that service providers can manage servicescape cues and employee behavior to influence customers' social lock-in perceptions and their decision to stay on or to leave early.Originality/valueThis is the first study to provide quantitative evidence for social lock-in and its determinants in service encounters.

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