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.

“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.

Accommodating ethnic minority consumers during service encounters: the fine line

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Mady ◽  
John B. Ford ◽  
Tarek Mady
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Service Encounter ◽  
Service Encounters ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Quality Perceptions ◽  
Language And Ethnicity ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to examine the effect of intercultural accommodation efforts on service quality perceptions among ethnic minority consumers. Specifically, the paper postulates that during an intercultural service encounter, the impact of the service provider’s language and ethnicity on the consumer’s service quality perceptions is moderated by the level of service involvement, consumer acculturation and perceived discrimination, which, in turn, influence purchase intent. Design/methodology/approach A 2 × 2 between-subjects experimental design with an online nationwide consumer panel of Hispanic consumers was conducted where 377 participants were randomly assigned to a series of service encounter scenarios in the banking service context to manipulate accommodation efforts (yes vs no) and the level of involvement with the service (high vs low). Findings When such language and ethnicity accommodations were offered, highly acculturated minority consumers regarded the service encounter less favorably than low acculturated minority consumers. Moreover, during low-involvement service encounters, intercultural accommodations positively impacted consumer’s service quality perceptions compared to situations involving high-involvement services. Also, minority consumers with perceptions of past discrimination had less favorable evaluations of the service quality than when such perceptions were nonexistent when intercultural accommodation efforts were made by the service provider. Research limitations/implications The findings add to the sparse literature that examines the effectiveness of intercultural accommodation and focuses on the combined use of service provider’s language and ethnicity as a means to enhance service quality. Practical implications The study delivers cautions for service firms not to generalize the receptivity of intercultural accommodation efforts. Given the increasingly sizable segments of minority customers, this study offers insights for service providers to develop suitable recruitment strategies and training programs when devising effective ethnic targeting strategies. Originality/value This research is among the first to explain why the effect of target marketing is not homogenous by expanding the research on intercultural accommodations toward a new context considering service involvement levels among varied minority consumer groups.

scholarly journals Measurement And Consequences Of U.S. Tourists Perceptions Of Service Quality: A South African Hunting Safari Case Study

2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 33
Author(s):  
Xiliang Han ◽  
Laetitia Radder
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
South African ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Service Failure ◽  
The South ◽  
Perceived Service Quality ◽  
Quality Principles ◽  
Important Quality ◽  
Service Offering

This research verifies the usefulness of the service quality principles and the Basic Service Package elements of the Augmented Service Offering model in measuring perceived service quality of a complex wildlife tourist activity. In addition, it determines the existence of a quality-satisfaction and quality-intention link. The South African hunting safari serves as an illustrating example. As U.S. hunters constitute the largest cluster of non-domestic customers in the South African safari hunting industry, their perceptions of service quality and the resulting satisfaction and behavioral intentions can significantly impact the sustainable competitiveness and profitability of safari service providers. The results negate the applicability of the SERVQUAL model, but confirm the usefulness of the Augmented Service Offering model in measuring the service quality of the safari hunt and in identifying areas of service failure and adequate service performance. The regression analysis confirmed the existence of important quality-satisfaction and quality-intention links.

scholarly journals Service Encounter Mismatches: A Conceptual Framework Integrating It and Job Design

1970 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-85
Author(s):  
George Mechling ◽  
Beverly Little
Keyword(s):  
Human Resources ◽  
Service Operations ◽  
Job Design ◽  
Service Encounter ◽  
Service Encounters ◽  
Preferential Treatment ◽  
Services Sector ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Effective Service

As the services sector becomes a larger component of our national economy, itbecomes increasingly critical that the management of service operations isaddressed systematically. One concern is the interaction of service employeesand the technology making up the job design. Effectively matching job design andtechnology leads to effective service encounters, while mismatches cause shortrunor long run problems for the organization.Organizational mismatches between job design and supporting infrastructure,specifically the information technology (IT) selected, can give rise to the use andexercise of judgment and discretion by service encounter employees that from theviewpoint of the organization or the customer is extraordinary, conflicted or perverse.Perverse judgments debilitate the organization and degrade the quality of the serviceencounter. Conflicted and extraordinary judgments ultimately debilitate theorganization and may degrade the quality of the service encounter if some customersshould perceive others as having received preferential treatment. This paper exploresdynamics in managing operations, technology, and human resources that give rise tothe exercise of such judgments with the intent to construct a conceptual frameworkthat will explain such judgments and the behaviors that issue from them.

A Service Failure Modes Identifying Method to Realize Highly Reliable Services

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yusuke Kurita ◽  
Koji Kimita ◽  
Yoshiki Shimomura
Keyword(s):  
Failure Modes ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Service Failure ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Support Service ◽  
Target Market ◽  
Practical Case ◽  
Service Engineering ◽  
Service Failures

Recently, service has been recognized as an effective means to enhance customer satisfaction. The importance of service is widely accepted. According to this background, the authors of this paper have carried out conceptual research on service design from the engineering viewpoint. The series of this research is called “Service Engineering.” In order to achieve a successful service, service providers should maintain the quality of their service and always satisfy their customers. Namely, the provision of highly reliable service is essential for service providers to survive in the target market. In order to realize highly reliable products or services, in general, it is an effective approach to prevent failures from occurring in use phase. In this study, we aim to support service failure analysis in order to minimize the occurrence of failures. This paper proposes a method for identifying the states of service failures. Specifically, we define service failure and propose a procedure to identify the states of service failures with models that are proposed in Service Engineering. The proposed method is verified through its application to a practical case.

New aspects of research to assess and manage critical incidents in service encounters

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Padin ◽  
Göran Svensson ◽  
Carmen Otero-Neira ◽  
Nils Høgevold
Keyword(s):  
Service Provider ◽  
Critical Incident ◽  
Critical Incidents ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Service Encounter ◽  
Service Encounters ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Interactive Interface

Purpose – The objective of this paper is to describe the teleological actions needed to assess and manage critical incidents that cause negative emotions in service encounters. Teleological actions are movements into the future that are believed to be move either towards a predictable/known or unpredictable/unknown state or condition. The authors distinguish between, define and apply three categories: transformative – ad hoc and present-based actions; formative – pre-determined and past-based actions; and rationalist – goal-directed and future-based actions. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative study, based upon a two-phase approach applying convenience and judgemental sampling, was used. Focussing on one teleological theory, a process of abductive matching was applied throughout the study. Abductive matching refers to recurring themes, patterns and categories that are uncovered through the iterative processes of analysis. The teleological framework structured and guided the data collection and empirical observations. Findings – Seen through the perspective of teleological actions, the study enhances our understanding of the manner in which critical incidents generate negative emotions in service encounters. Through the same perspective, the investigation also reveals that the outcome of a negative service encounter depends upon the interactive interface between service provider and service receiver. Research limitations/implications – The teleological actions between service providers and service receivers in negative service encounters appear to be mediators between cause-and-effect on the one hand (critical incident and negative emotions) and a perceptual gap on the other (outcome of negative service encounter). The teleological perspective also provides numerous opportunities for further research in this area. Practical implications – Managers should strive to understand the teleological actions potentially undertaken by service receivers, so that they can deal with the teleological actions of their front-line staff accordingly. The interactive interface between a service provider and a service receiver is crucial in assessing and managing critical incidents. Originality/value – Based on teleological actions, the investigation provides both a valuable and complementary contribution on assessing and managing critical incidents and the negative emotions that are often triggered in the service-encounter interface between a service provider and a service receiver. Providers also need to educate their staff on what can occur and on how to react appropriately.

scholarly journals Embodied Value Co-creation: A Turn-taking Perspective on Service Encounter Interactions

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Per Echeverri ◽  
Nicklas Salomonson
Keyword(s):  
Value Creation ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Service Marketing ◽  
Service Encounter ◽  
Service Encounters ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
Turn Taking ◽  
Practice Approach

This article aims at advancing research on value creation in service marketing by applying theories of turn-taking and multimodality. It is argued that there is a need to uncover what is inherent in the prefix ‘co’ in value co-creation and that focus needs to be broadened, from perception of value to the production of value, that is, the specific reciprocal and embodied actions in service encounters. For the analysis, an empirical study of complex interactions between service providers and customers is used. A practice approach is applied, combining interviews and observations of interactants in situ. The article identifies four specific turn-taking patterns, ranging from ‘simple’ to ‘elaborated’, defined by their character and that uncover how the interactants reciprocally use multiple modes in the production of social outcomes. Theoretically, the study contributes to more fine-grained explanations to what explains the creation (and destruction) of value.

Senior Customers' Service Encounter Preferences

2011 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 475-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vassiliki Grougiou ◽  
Simone Pettigrew
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Service Encounter ◽  
Social Benefits ◽  
Service Encounters ◽  
Target Market ◽  
Demographic Profiles ◽  
The Social ◽  
Service Staff ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Past Experiences

Growing segment size and increasing affluence have resulted in a substantial increase in the purchasing power of the senior market. Seniors spend a higher proportion of their total expenditure on services relative to younger consumers, making them an important target market for many service providers. However, seniors' particular concern with the social aspects of service delivery has been recognized as an important managerial issue. To provide further insight into this issue, in-depth interviews and projective techniques were conducted with 60 Scottish seniors of diverse demographic profiles. The findings support previous research indicating that seniors may evaluate service encounters primarily according to the social benefits resulting from them. In the present study, the social benefits sought appeared to be largely determined by seniors' social identities, which were influenced by past experiences as customers and employees. A model of how seniors evaluate their service encounter interactions is suggested, and managerial implications and directions for further research are provided. In particular, the model emphasizes the need for service providers to appreciate the characteristics of frontline service staff that are conducive to satisfactory service encounters for seniors.

Language Preferences of Foreign Consumers in High and Low Involvement Service Encounters

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. English
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Service Encounter ◽  
Service Encounters ◽  
Mixed Method Research ◽  
High Involvement ◽  
Foreign Teachers ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Medium Level

This mixed method research was conducted to determine whether differences in the preference of language among foreign consumers in South Korea existed between low-involvement service encounters and high-involvement service encounters. A questionnaire was completed by 161 participants for this qualitative study. The findings indicated that all of the service encounters fell into either a high- or low-involvement in line with previous studies except for procuring a loan from a bank, which was a medium-level service encounter. In-depth interviews were conducted with 12 foreign teachers in South Korea from the pool of quantitative participants. The qualitative study results indicated that foreign consumers were willing to use Korean in a low-involvement service encounter; foreign consumers in a high-involvement service encounter preferred to speak English; overall, foreign consumers preferred to use Korean over their native language; the level of Korean the foreign consumer spoke affected whether they were willing to use the language; the offer of a 10% discount would not be large enough for foreign consumers to speak Korean; and foreign consumers stated they were not willing to pay a premium for a service in English. Recommendation from the study included foreigners learning the language, for foreigners to use Korean during service encounters, and lastly, for service providers to offer more services in English. 

scholarly journals UPAYA MENINGKATKAN KEPUASAN TAMU MELALUI SERVICE ENCOUNTER QUALITY DI KOTA BUKIT INDAH PLAZA HOTEL PURWAKARTA

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 1041
Author(s):  
Yuri Puspita Pratiwi ◽  
Ridwan Purnama ◽  
Dewi Pancawati Novelita
Keyword(s):  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Service Encounter ◽  
Service Encounters ◽  
Guest Satisfaction ◽  
Tourism Activity ◽  
Independent Variable ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Plaza Hotel

The Hotel is one form of accommodation that supports the tourism activity. Kota Bukit Indah Plaza Hotel a four-star hotel in Purwakarta regency has a decrease at the level of customer satisfaction. To increase the customer satisfaction, Kota Bukit Indah Plaza Hotel implementation the service encounter quality is a focus of the performance of the employees by providing the best quality of service delivery currently underway, in the event of contact between employees and individual guest are referred to as the service encounters quality. The purpose of this study was to determine service encounter quality at Kota Bukit Indah Plaza Hotel, the satisfaction of guest who stayed at Kota Bukit Indah Plaza Hotel, and the effect's service encounter quality of the guest satisfaction. In this study, the independent variable (X) was the service encounter quality that consisted of professionalism, civility, friendliness, and competence, and the dependent variable (Y) was individual guest satisfaction. This type of research was a descriptive and verification. The systematic random sampling technique was used to distribute 100 questionnaires for the respondents. The data were analyzed by using path analysis method. The results showed that the variables of service encounter quality had a significant influence on the individual guest satisfaction.

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