Chapter 9 A conceptual model of the effects of emotional labor strategies on customer outcomes

Abstract

The aim of the research reported in this article was to develop a conceptual model that links emotional labor strategies performed by service employees to a number of relevant antecedents as well as to a variety of customer outcomes. We link emotional labor directly to the customer domain by examining how customers experience and react to emotional displays of service employees. Thus, we expand current emotional labor research which has predominantly focused on employee and organizational outcomes but has offered limited theoretical guidance as to how customers may be directly affected by emotional labor in the service delivery process. Specific research propositions are developed that offer insight into the antecedents and potential impact of emotional labor strategies on customer behavior. Managerial and research implications as well as avenues for future research are discussed from the perspective of emotional labor theory.

Citation

Groth, M., Hennig-Thurau, T. and Walsh, G. (2006), "Chapter 9 A conceptual model of the effects of emotional labor strategies on customer outcomes", Zerbe, W.J., Ashkanasy, N.M. and Härtel, C.E.J. (Ed.) Individual and Organizational Perspectives on Emotion Management and Display (Research on Emotion in Organizations, Vol. 2), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 219-236. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1746-9791(06)02009-8