Showing papers in "Journal of Service Research in 2011"
TL;DR: The authors explored the theoretical foundations of customer engagement by drawing on relationship marketing theory and the service-dominant (S-D) logic, and developed a general definition of CE, and distinguish the concept from other relational concepts, including participation and involvement.
Abstract: In today’s highly dynamic and interactive business environment, the role of “customer engagement” (CE) in cocreating customer experience and value is receiving increasing attention from business practitioners and academics alike. Despite this interest, systematic scholarly inquiry into the concept and its conceptual distinctiveness from other, associated relational concepts has been limited to date. This article explores the theoretical foundations of CE by drawing on relationship marketing theory and the service-dominant (S-D) logic. The analysis also examines the use of the term “engagement” in the social science, management, and marketing academic literatures, as well as in specific business practice applications. Five fundamental propositions (FPs) derived from this analysis are used to develop a general definition of CE, and distinguish the concept from other relational concepts, including “participation” and “involvement.” The five propositions are used in the development of a framework for future r...
2,390 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a conceptual framework for investigating the antecedents and consequences of service innovation is proposed, and the authors test their proposed model using data from a sample of luxury hotels and find that collaborating with customers fosters innovation volume but not radicalness (and vice versa for collaborating with business partners).
Abstract: Research to date on service innovation is rooted primarily in traditional new product development focusing on tangible goods. In this article, the authors invoke insights from the emerging service-dominant logic (SDL) perspective and propose a conceptual framework for investigating the antecedents and consequences of service innovation. They then develop a set of hypotheses pertaining to potential predictors of two distinct facets of service innovation (volume and radicalness) and the impact of the latter on two measures of firm performance (revenue growth and profit growth). They test their proposed model using data from a sample of luxury hotels and find that (a) collaborating with customers fosters innovation volume but not radicalness (and vice versa for collaborating with business partners); (b) a firm’s customer orientation—both directly and in interaction with innovative orientation—contributes to innovation radicalness; (c) collaborating with contact employees enhances both innovation volume and r...
600 citations
TL;DR: Multilevel Service Design (MSD) as discussed by the authors is a new interdisciplinary method for designing complex service systems that synthesizes contributions from new service development, interaction design, and the emerging field of service design.
Abstract: The proliferation of complex service systems raises new challenges for service design and requires new methods. Multilevel Service Design (MSD) is presented as a new interdisciplinary method for designing complex service systems. MSD synthesizes contributions from new service development, interaction design, and the emerging field of service design. MSD enables integrated development of service offerings at three hierarchical levels: (a) Designing the firm’s service concept with the customer value constellation of service offerings for the value constellation experience; (b) Designing the firm’s service system, comprising its architecture and navigation, for the service experience; and (c) Designing each service encounter with the Service Experience Blueprint for the service encounter experience. Applications of the MSD method are described for designing a new retail grocery service and for redesigning a bank service. MSD contributes an interdisciplinary service design method that accommodates the cocreat...
593 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors test the following path model: "organizational responses (compensation, favorable employee behavior, and organizational procedures) → justice perceptions (distributive, interactional, and procedural justice) → post-complaint satisfaction (transaction-specific and cumulative satisfaction) → customer behavioral intentions (loyalty and positive word of mouth [WOM]).
Abstract: Service recovery is a crucial success factor for organizations. Thus, many studies have addressed the issue of post-complaint behavior. Conducting a meta-analysis, the authors test the following path model: ‘‘organizational responses (compensation, favorable employee behavior, and organizational procedures) → justice perceptions (distributive, interactional, and procedural justice) → post-complaint satisfaction (transaction-specific and cumulative satisfaction) → customer behavioral intentions (loyalty and positive word of mouth [WOM]).’’ The results confirm this model as well as the mediating role of justice perceptions and post-complaint satisfaction. Surprisingly, the results also show that the common contention of distributive justice as the salient driver of service recovery is only true for transaction-specific satisfaction, which in turn reinforces positive WOM. Cumulative satisfaction, however, which is the primary antecedent of customer loyalty, even slightly more depends on interactional justice...
345 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the relative impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on consumer resistance to negative information when confronted with negative information about a firm is investigated. But, the results demonstrate that CSR may offer less of blanket insurance than other important marketing measures, such as customer orientation and service quality orientation.
Abstract: Despite increased research on the various effects of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the question of whether CSR is worthwhile for firms still remains to be addressed. Prior work suggests that CSR offers firms insurance-like protection against negative publicity due to greater levels of goodwill with various stakeholders. Yet, we still miss an answer to the following question: How effective, if at all, is CSR in insulating firms from scrutiny compared to other important marketing measures, such as customer orientation and service quality orientation? This study develops and empirically tests a theoretical framework that demonstrates the relative impact of CSR on consumer resistance to negative information when confronted with negative information about a firm. The results demonstrate that CSR shields firms from negative information about CSR practices but not information related to firms’ core service offerings. Managerially, the findings demonstrate that CSR may offer less of blanket insurance tha...
193 citations
132 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explain customer-firm and customer-employee relationships using attachment theory and find that insecurely attached customers who find interpersonal bonds with employees deficient, compensate for this deficiency by being more likely to bond with the service firm.
Abstract: Relational orientations vary across customers, so marketing activities should be customized to individual customers or market segments. However, little is known about the underlying processes that influence how customers bond with a service firm and its employees. This article explains customer-firm and customer-employee relationships using attachment theory. It provides theoretical and empirical evidence that customers with low levels of attachment anxiety and low levels of attachment avoidance perceive a service firm and service employee more positively—in terms of satisfaction, trust, and affective commitment—than customers with high levels. However, since a service firm and service employee are separate attachment targets, this study also tests whether customers have a similar propensity to bond with both. Insecurely attached customers who find interpersonal bonds with employees deficient, compensate for this deficiency by being more likely to bond with the service firm. Companies that measure custome...
113 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the role of a specific set of customer resources referred to as emotional intelligence (EI) in shaping customer response to service failure and found that the level of EI does predict consumer responses to service failures in terms of customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions.
Abstract: Superior customer service has always been recognized as a source of competitive advantage. But as the economic environment becomes more challenging, as switching costs become lower, and many service brands are experiencing difficulties, there is a compelling need to focus upon the quality of the customer experience in order to maintain competitive positioning. This is particularly important in those circumstances where services fail. Drawing upon the notion of the customer as a cocreator of his/her own service experience, this article examines the role of a specific set of customer resources referred to as emotional intelligence (EI) in shaping customer response to a specific set of circumstances: service failure. The results show that the level of EI does predict consumer responses to service failure in terms of customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions. Customer EI is identified as an important consideration for service managers in understanding how customers respond to service failure and service...
102 citations
98 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate how unrelated supporting service quality affects consumer delight, satisfaction, and, in turn, repurchase intentions, and they reveal that unrelated supporting services quality influences repurchase intention by affecting consumer delight rather than satisfaction.
Abstract: Supporting services that are related to the core service, such as hospitality and consultation, can enhance the value of a core service. Yet, firms also use supporting services unrelated to the core service to increase consumer satisfaction, delight, and repurchase intentions toward the core service. However, there is little empirical evidence on whether the use of unrelated supporting services has such anticipated effects. This article aims to investigate how unrelated supporting service quality affects consumer delight, satisfaction, and, in turn, repurchase intentions. The results from three experiments reveal that unrelated supporting service quality influences repurchase intentions by affecting consumer delight rather than satisfaction. Thus, unrelated supporting services can serve to delight (but not satisfy) consumers if they are positive, relevant to the consumer segment, and of high quality. In turn, these unrelated supporting services will also influence intentions to repurchase. Consumer deligh...
97 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that firms are collecting more information about their customers than ever before in an attempt to understand and better serve customer needs, at the same time, firms are becoming more vulnerable to the...
Abstract: Firms are collecting more information about their customers than ever before in an attempt to understand and better serve customer needs. At the same time, firms are becoming more vulnerable to the...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that recommending a service provider improves the current customers' loyalty to the provider and that positive word-of-mouth communication is not only effective for gaining but also for keeping customers.
Abstract: Research provides ample evidence regarding the impact of word-of-mouth (WOM) communication on recipients. Service providers increasingly attempt to harness this power of WOM by introducing referral reward programs and other marketing instruments that aim to stimulate positive WOM. However, scholars have neglected to research the possibility that providing WOM also has consequences for the sender. Building on self-perception theory, this article argues that recommending a service provider improves the current customers’ loyalty to the provider and that positive WOM is not only effective for gaining but also for keeping customers. By conducting experiments in two different service settings, it is demonstrated that providing a recommendation influences the senders’ attitudinal and behavioral loyalty. The effect is found to be stronger for customers with low expertise in the service category and little experience with the provider. This means that encouraging customers in the early stages of their customer li...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined how satisfaction levels of these three constituents are reciprocated in small-service settings and found that the effect of owner-franchisee's satisfaction on customer satisfaction is fully mediated by front-line employee satisfaction.
Abstract: In small-service settings, how do owner satisfaction, front-line employee satisfaction, and customer satisfaction relate to one another? The authors use generalized exchange theory (GET) to examine how satisfaction levels of these three constituents are reciprocated. The authors examine a European franchise system comprising 50 outlets, 933 employees, and 20,742 customers. Their results show two important findings. First, the effect of owner-franchisee's satisfaction on customer satisfaction is fully mediated by front-line employee satisfaction. Thus, managers of a service outlet can strongly impact the satisfaction and behavioral intentions of their customer base, even without direct contact with them. Second, the link between customer satisfaction and purchase intention is moderated by employee satisfaction at an outlet. The link between customer satisfaction and customer purchase intentions is almost twice as strong when employees are satisfied than when they are not. Thus, there is a "doublepositive effect:" not only does higher employee satisfaction at an outlet directly lead to higher customer satisfaction but it also indirectly strengthens the association between customer satisfaction and their repurchase intentions.
TL;DR: Results of the studies show that modularization increases both the perceived utility of an enhanced offering and the likelihood of trial for service extensions, and the strategic use of service process modularization to initiate new service development and manage customer fit in new service extensions.
Abstract: In this study, the authors integrate software engineering insights with research on service process design and product extensions to propose the concept of service process modularization and examine its influence on customer trial of service innovations. The authors conduct two experimental studies to investigate customer response to modular reuse and modular variation of service encounter processes in new offerings. Results of the studies show that modularization increases both the perceived utility of an enhanced offering and the likelihood of trial for service extensions. The effect of modular reuse versus variation, however, is contingent on the task complexity of the base service. Furthermore, expert customers prefer combined offerings that reuse familiar service processes, suggesting that practical considerations rather than variety are the main drivers of service utility and likelihood of trial. An important implication for managers and designers is the strategic use of service process modularizati...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate the impact of one relationship characteristic in the complaint management process: affective commitment, and they find that affectively committed customers exhibit higher complaint intention irrespective of the level of complaint barriers.
Abstract: Successful complaint management primarily depends on customers' willingness to voice their complaints and on companies' ability to adequately deal with these complaints. This article investigates the impact of one relationship characteristic in the complaint management process: affective commitment. Based on two studies, the authors investigate whether affective commitment moderates the impact of complaint barriers on complaint intention (a) and whether it moderates the link between complaint satisfaction and purchase behavior after the complaint (b). Results show that affectively committed customers exhibit higher complaint intention irrespective of the level of complaint barriers. Furthermore, affectively committed customers display little change in their postrecovery behavior, even after a service failure followed by an unsatisfactory recovery attempt. It seems that these customers are tolerant and want to help the provider improve their business. Affective commitment seems to amplify willingness to help the company by means of voicing dissatisfaction despite considerable efforts in doing so. Moreover, affective commitment buffers the negative effects of service failures on postrecovery behavior. Findings have important implications for managers. They highlight the necessity to measure customers' affective commitment. Based on that, tailored complaint systems can be designed, which help in achieving a more effective allocation of resources for customer recovery.
TL;DR: In this paper, a survey study of 328 warehouse-style retail stores, with multisource and time-separated data and controlling for contextual features, support both direct affective transfer and indirect effects via an objective performance measure (i.e., speed of response to customers' requests for help).
Abstract: Stores with more satisfied employees also have greater customer satisfaction (CS). Two theoretical mechanisms have been employed to explain why: affective transfer (i.e., emotional contagion) and performance motivation (i.e., extra-effort service behaviors). The authors provide a constructive replication of these relationships, while also arguing for an important boundary condition: store busyness. The authors suggest that in busy stores, employee attitudes (a) are less likely to be emotionally expressed by employees and “caught” by customers, and (b) are less likely to emerge as extra-effort performance, compared to slow stores. In a survey study of 328 warehouse-style retail stores, with multisource and time-separated data and controlling for contextual features, the authors support both direct affective transfer and indirect effects via an objective performance measure (i.e., speed of response to customers' requests for help). However, these associations depended on store busyness: store employee satis...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors show that it is not uncommon for customers to witness an employee behaving in an uncivil manner, which makes customers angry and creates desire to get back at the uncivil perpetrator and the firm.
Abstract: Employees sometimes engage in uncivil behavior in the workplace. We ask (a) How commonly do customers witness an employee behaving uncivilly? (b) What negative effects does customers' witnessing of an employee’s uncivil behavior have on customers and firms? (c) Why do these effects occur? The results of three studies suggest that it is not uncommon for customers to witness an employee behaving in an uncivil manner. It occurs in many industries. Moreover, witnessing such behavior makes customers angry and creates desires to get back at the uncivil perpetrator and the firm. These effects occur even when a manager’s uncivil comment is aimed at correcting a subordinate’s job-related offense and even when it is delivered offstage, outside of the customer servicescape. Finally, we demonstrate that these effects are driven by customers' concerns about deontic injustice from incivility (reaction to a wrongful misconduct that violates fairness standards). These results contribute to the literature on workplace inc...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that mission fulfillment influences key psychological states related to motivation (i.e., employee engagement), social identity (organizational identification), and emotional resources (emotional exhaustion).
Abstract: The way a firm fulfills its mission statement may play a role in internal marketing and affect important psychological job outcomes of employees. The conceptual model proposed herein argues that mission fulfillment influences key psychological states related to motivation (i.e., employee engagement), social identity (organizational identification), and emotional resources (emotional exhaustion). These psychological states in turn drive affective commitment and turnover intentions, two variables of continued interest to researchers and managers. The authors test this model empirically using data from 3,999 employees of a health care service system. The findings provide support for the hypothesized model rather than an alternative and shed light on an important tool for internal marketing. Besides suggesting avenues for future research, such as refining the concept of employee engagement and uncovering the antecedents of employees’ perceptions of mission fulfillment, this study demonstrates the importance o...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on a new service benefit derived from service usage, that is, self-efficacy increase, and propose that this benefit, which refers to feeling better about oneself while consuming a service, will reflect positively on service outcomes.
Abstract: The study focuses on a new service benefit derived from service usage, that is, self-efficacy increase, rather than self-efficacy evaluations as such. The authors propose that this benefit, which refers to feeling better about oneself while consuming a service, will reflect positively on service outcomes. The authors argue that self-efficacy can develop differently over time and this should be investigated to explain service evaluations more fully. Therefore, the authors separate effects related to self-efficacy level and change on value. Results show that the increase of customers’ self-beliefs in their capabilities during information search positively affects perceived value irrespective of self-efficacy levels or other costs and benefits. Self-efficacy increase is predicted by a firm’s strategic choice to help customers learn, the firm’s tactic to provide high-quality information, and the customers’ level of cognitive effort. In sum, the authors show that by fostering customers’ self-efficacy build up,...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors hypothesize that the way firms design (agent codesign and design acceleration) and implement (agent enablement) an internal customer service innovation has direct and joint effects on the magnitude of benefits of the innovation to customer service agents.
Abstract: During product recovery, firms rely on their customer service agents to recover customers’ product failures and deliver superior customer service. However, customers who contact the firm about a product failure often are dissatisfied, which makes customer service agents’ jobs challenging. Therefore, firms continuously try to improve their internal customer service operations to increase benefits for customer service agents and, by extension, their customers. The authors hypothesize that the way firms design (agent codesign and design acceleration) and implement (agent enablement) an internal customer service innovation has direct and joint effects on the magnitude of benefits of the innovation to customer service agents, termed internal innovation magnitude. The authors test the conceptual model using data on 38 internal customer service innovations at a Fortune 500 high-technology firm. The findings extend the internal marketing literature by demonstrating that service employees represent a critical sour...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors report that seniors spend a higher proportion of their total expenditure on s... and that growing segment size and increasing affluence have resulted in a substantial increase in the purchasing power of the senior market.
Abstract: 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 s...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors draw on the service climate and Big Five personality literature to examine the association between a service employee's personality and perception of service climate, and find that personality traits correlate positively with service climate.
Abstract: This study draws on the service climate and Big Five personality literature to examine the association between a service employee’s personality and perception of service climate. The authors furthe...
TL;DR: This paper analyzed how a salesperson's regional dialect influences the efficacy of services selling and found that four dialect effects are derived from theories of information processing, accent prestige, and accent prestige.
Abstract: This research analyzes how a salesperson’s regional dialect influences the efficacy of services selling. Four dialect effects are derived from theories of information processing, accent prestige th...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the challenges of field service workers with virtual team technology that enables them to deliver services more efficiently and take part in new service development, however, the “out-of-off...
Abstract: Firms increasingly equip field service workers with virtual team technology that enables them to deliver services more efficiently and take part in new service development. However, the “out-of-off...
TL;DR: Using attribution and balance theories, the authors argue that service employee-customer relationship transgressions are events that can damage particular service relationships, and they argue that such transgressions can damage service relationships.
Abstract: Using attribution and balance theories, the authors argue that service employee-customer relationship transgressions are events that can damage particular service relationships. The results of two ...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors develop and test a multilevel framework for the motivation spillover principle, which holds that the three components of Vroom's motivation theory transfer from managers to CSRs.
Abstract: Motivating customer service representatives (CSRs) to their highest performance levels is major task of service unit managers. However, previous studies focused on the impact of leader behavior on follower motivation, while the influence of leader motivation on follower motivation has not been investigated yet. Thus, the authors develop and test a multilevel framework for the motivation spillover principle, which holds that the three components of Vroom’s motivation theory transfer from managers to CSRs. The authors apply this framework to the context of service technology adoption and test it with a
matched multilevel sample of 387 service unit managers, 1,018 CSRs, and objective company records. The results support the notion of a motivation spillover from managers to CSRs, which exists incrementally beyond the direct effect of manager’s adoption behavior on CSR’s adoption. However, not all motivation components transfer unconditionally but are contingent on charismatic leadership and manager-CSR similarity - a finding that implies for researchers that an undifferentiated view of motivation in multilevel settings might not suffice. For organizations, the findings suggest that managers are important multipliers of motivation and thus organizations should direct their motivation efforts toward middle-level managers, as they might turn into serious roadblocks to CSR motivation.
TL;DR: In this paper, augmented conjoint analysis methods were used to predict the effects of different metered pricing plans on consumer behavior and company's profit, showing that the optimal two-part pricing plan yields 36-49% higher profits than optimal pay-per-use or flat rate pricing plans.
Abstract: Metered pricing plans for services enable companies to increase their profits. Yet measuring consumer preferences for different forms of metered pricing is difficult, because metered prices simultaneously influence three consumer decisions: to purchase the service, to choose a particular pricing plan, and to use a particular quantity. These decisions strongly influence the number of customers that use the service, their usage, and profit. This article develops and validates augmented conjoint analysis methods that capture the interplay among these three decisions and allow for predicting the effects that different metered pricing plans have on consumer behavior and company’s profit. The empirical study reveals that the optimal two-part pricing plan yields 36–49% higher profits than optimal pay-per-use or flat rate pricing plans. Consumers' reactions to changes in metered pricing plans are very heterogeneous. The fixed fee of a two-part pricing plan strongly influences the number of subscribers but hardly ...