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In the competitive retailing environment, retailers who provide service experiences that stand out from the competition can gain a competitive advantage. Increasingly, an important aspect of the service experience involves product returns, in particular, the fairness of returns policies and procedures. Previous research studies support that interpersonal justice and informational justice relate positively to consumer attitudes and behaviors. In this paper, the authors examine the relative effects of interpersonal justice and informational justice on return satisfaction, positive word-of-mouth (PWOM) and trust. Additionally, the authors examine the moderating effects of returns process convenience and returns policy restrictiveness as indicators of procedural justice.

A scenario-based experiment methodology was used to test the relationships of interest.

Results support that the effects of interpersonal justice on the outcome variables are stronger than the effects of informational justice. There is also support for a moderating effect of returns process convenience on the relationships between interpersonal justice and each outcome variable, as well as partial support for the moderating effect of returns policy restrictiveness on the relationship between interpersonal justice and PWOM.

The research extends previous work on the effects of justice on customer outcomes. Results support the importance of retailers treating customers with fairness during the returns experience and further support the benefits of providing a convenient returns experience.

Due to the worldwide internet usage and online presence of businesses, digital marketing is an integrated part of the overall marketing strategy. One of the main investments in this field is the investment on more creative content that engages more potential customers. Online brand communities (OBCs) are used by businesses as a tool to have higher rates of engagement. Many researchers have developed customer engagement (CE) models to better understand it, but the transition economies like the countries of the Balkan are somehow left aside. Due to this identified gap in the literature, this paper aims to provide a model explaining the drivers and outcomes of CE, specifically on OBCs.

The research is based on primary data collected with an online questionnaire. Sample consisted of 764 respondents from four Balkan countries (Kosovo, North Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro). Data were analyzed using SPSS Statistics and IBM AMOS 26. To test the research model and hypotheses, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used.

First, the study found a positive impact of entertainment and customer satisfaction, and celebrities’ endorsement in CE. Furthermore, the results revealed a positive impact of CE on customer purchase intention and customer loyalty.

The research findings aim to help businesses of Balkan countries to better understand the importance and operation of CE in OBC.

This paper enriches the existing digital marketing literature of transition economies with a model of online CE.

This paper aims to (1) identify the different performance drivers (lead indicators) and outcome measures (lag indicators) investigated in the literature concerning the four balanced scorecard (BSC) perspectives in operations management (OM) contexts and (2) understand how performance drivers and outcome measures (and substantiated perspectives) are related.

We undertake a systematic literature review of the BSC literature in OM journals. From the final sample of 40 articles, performance drivers and outcome measures have been identified, and the relationships amongst them have been synthesised according to the system dynamics approach.

Findings show (1) the most relevant performance drivers and outcome measures within each BSC perspective, (2) their relationships, (3) how the perspectives are linked through the performance drivers and outcome measures and (4) how the different measures relate systemically. Accordingly, four causal loops amongst identified measures have been built, which – jointly considered – allowed for the creation of a dynamic strategy map for OM.

This study is the first one that provides a comprehensive and holistic view of how the different performance drivers and outcome measures within and between the four BSC perspectives in OM relate systemically, increasing the knowledge and understanding of scholars and practitioners.

Since banks do not sell tangible products, they rely heavily on customer interactions and retention, which requires service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Banks must innovate and develop new services and expand customer engagement efforts beyond stores, kiosks, direct mail and websites to include social media, mobile applications and location-based services in order to meet their customers’ growing demands. A multi-channel strategy that integrates the offline and online presences of banks can increase quality, customer satisfaction and loyalty. This paper aimed to use a service quality scale to: (1) examine the association between service quality and customer satisfaction; (2) examine the association between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty; (3) examine the indirect association between service quality and customer loyalty through customer satisfaction; and (4) examine the mediation effect of multi-channel integration quality in the relationships between service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.

The data was obtained from banks in Saudi Arabia. The analysis was based on an online survey of 265 Saudi bank customers. The multi-channel integration quality model and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) were used to test the proposed hypothesis and conduct the analysis.

The results found that there was a statistically significant link between service quality and customer satisfaction in the Saudi banking industry. Service quality did not directly affect customer loyalty. When multi-channel integration quality was moderate to high, service quality affected customer loyalty through customer satisfaction. For service quality and customer loyalty in the Saudi banking sector to be achieved, customers must be satisfied, but also the bank’s brand must manage the quality of integration channels provided to them with care, and thus branding plays a key role in achieving customer loyalty in the Saudi banking sector.

The academic community has provided little evidence to support how the relationships between constructs such as service quality, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and multi-channel integration quality apply to the Saudi banking sector. A conceptual framework was proposed to show how these constructs affect the Saudi banking sector. An empirical study was conducted to see how the framework held up in banking settings. The conceptual framework serves to advance the fields of business and management and banking and their respected literature, as well as advance the understanding of multi-channel integration in boosting customer satisfaction and loyalty through high service quality in the Saudi banking sector.

One of the organization's main goals is to maintain their customers' loyalty, as this can give them a competitive advantage. Therefore, this study is intended to look into the impact of library service quality using LibQUAL + TM dimensions (library service effect, personal control and library as a place), library image and trust on users’ loyalty with the mediating effect of perceived service value and satisfaction.

Data for hypotheses testing were gathered from Minhaj University Lahore (MUL), a private sector university's staff, administration and students, using a survey questionnaire. About 500 questionnaires were randomly distributed, and 407 were utilized as the final sample for analysis. Structural equation modelling (SEM), using SmartPLS 4 and SPSS 25, were used to analyze the empirical data.

First, research reveals that library image, users’ trust, library service effect and personal control significantly influence user satisfaction. Second, the library as a place and personal control are not a significant indicator of perceived service value. Third, perceived service value and satisfaction have a direct positive relationship with users' loyalty. Fourth, trust and library service effect is indirectly related to loyalty via perceived service value. Fifth, satisfaction does not mediate the relationship between library as a place and loyalty.

Customer satisfaction must be guaranteed by library administration if it hopes to win users’ loyalty. In light of the fact that a variety of factors can affect customer satisfaction, their perception and loyalty, library management should enhance not just the quality of library services along with other factors such as library image and users’ trust.

The study examined the independent impact of library image and users’ trust on satisfaction, perceived service value and users’ loyalty, which, within the framework of the library, has never been addressed in literature.

Artificial intelligence (AI) agents have been increasingly applied in the tourism and hospitality industry. However, AI service failure is inevitable. Thus, AI service recovery merits empirical investigation. This study aims to explore how AI empathic accuracy affects customers’ satisfaction in the context of AI service recovery.

A moderated mediation model was presented to describe the effect of empathic accuracy on customer satisfaction via four scenario-based experiments.

The results reveal the positive impact of AI empathic accuracy on customer satisfaction and the mediating effects of perceived agency and perceived experience. Moreover, anthropomorphism moderates the empathic accuracy effect.

This paper expanded AI service studies by exploring the significance of empathic accuracy in customer recovery satisfaction. The results provide a novel theoretical viewpoint on retaining customers following AI service failure.

人工智能（AI）设备已越来越多地应用于旅游业和酒店业。然而, AI服务失败是不可避免的。因此, AI服务补救值得进一步实证研究。本研究探讨了AI共情准确性如何影响顾客对AI服务补救的满意度。

通过四个基于场景的实验, 提出了一个有调节的中介模型来描述共情准确性对顾客满意度的影响。

结果揭示了AI共情准确性对顾客满意度有积极影响, 感知能动性和感知感受性具有中介效应。此外, 拟人化调节了共情准确性的效应。

本文通过探讨共情准确性在顾客服务补救满意度中的作用, 拓展了AI服务研究。研究结果为AI服务失败后如何留住顾客提供了新的理论视角。

Las agentes de inteligencia artificial (IA) se aplican cada vez más en el sector del turismo y la hostelería. Sin embargo, los fallos de los servicios de IA son inevitables. Por lo tanto, la recuperación de servicios de IA merece una investigación empírica. Esta investigación explora cómo la precisión empática de la IA afecta a la satisfacción de los clientes con la recuperación del servicio de IA.

Se presentó un modelo de mediación moderado para describir el efecto de la precisión empática en la satisfacción del cliente mediante cuatro experimentos basados en escenarios.

Los resultados revelan el impacto positivo de la precisión empática de la IA en la satisfacción del cliente y los efectos mediadores de la agencia percibida y la experiencia percibida. Además, el antropomorfismo modera el efecto de la precisión empática.

Este artículo amplía los estudios sobre los servicios de IA al investigar el papel de la precisión empática en la satisfacción del cliente. Los resultados aportan un punto de vista teórico novedoso sobre la retención de clientes tras el fallo de un servicio de IA.

This study aims to expose the challenges associated with theory development and its implementation, as it relates to services marketing and hospitality management. The author summarizes the literature, creates a conceptual model and proposes directions to bridge the theory–practice divide.

The author synthesizes and extends the literatures of services marketing, general marketing and hospitality management through a systematic literature review. A conceptual model is created to illustrate the challenges related to theory development and implementation.

Four types of theory challenges and three contemporary practical challenges are presented. The challenges for theory development include a communications gap, difficulties in applying universal theories into idiosyncratic organizations, researchers disconnected from practice and practitioners disconnected from research. Contemporary practical concerns include: human resource constraints, customer behavior and misbehavior and the organizational and business environment.

Managers can bring contemporary business challenges to the forefront by collaborating and writing with scholars. Similarly, keeping abreast of the latest advances in customer service, applying best practices in human resource management, educating and cocreating with customers are among several recommendations proposed to managers and marketers. Internal and external scanning can assure that managers engage in efforts to reduce barriers to implementation and improve services in their organizations.

Despite the decades-long study of customer service, organizations still struggle to deliver exceptional service. This study informs scholars on developing and communicating theories and managers on how to better access and interpret the latest research. In order for research to be successfully generated and implemented, scholars can engage in efforts aimed at joint (researchers and managers) idea generation, publication in multiple outlets, sampling that resembles real life, adoption of contingency theories and reconsidering journal editorial and institutional policies.

In an era where complex technological advances increasingly govern service delivery, it is incumbent on service firms to pioneer innovative strategies to sustain customer engagement and cultivate loyalty. This conceptual paper examines the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in the realm of online customer communities, with a particular focus on its creation, management and enhancement facets. The authors explore how AI can revolutionize the dynamics of customer interaction, feedback mechanisms and overall engagement within the service industry.

This conceptual paper draws from marketing and management literature focusing on customer communities and AI in service and customer engagement contexts with a robust future research agenda.

A classification of online customer community engagement is provided along with a conceptual framework to guide our understanding of the integration of AI into online customer communities.

This exploration underscores the imperative for service firms to embrace AI-driven approaches to online customer community management, not only as a means to optimize their operations but as a vital strategy to stay competitive in the ever-evolving digital landscape. This paper examines the novel combination of AI with online customer communities and provides the framework in the form of an input-process-output (IPO) model for future research into this integration.

Service failure and recovery encounters are often witnessed by other customers, but little is known about how these encounters impacts other customers. With an aim to bridge this gap, the purpose of the paper is to explore why and how service recovery directed at a focal customer impacts other customers who are present in the same service environment.

The paper follows a qualitative research methodology. Purposive sampling was used to collect data from 30 customers through semi-structured face-to-face interviews. The data was analysed using thematic analysis.

Findings of the study show that service recovery directed at a focal customer has an impact on other customers' fairness judgments, emotions, service quality perceptions and behaviour. Other customers' behavioural reactions in response to observed service recovery are driven by two different motives: self-interest and moral obligation. Observing customers' cautious behaviour and (re)purchase behaviour are found to be primarily driven by self-interest, whereas their helping behaviour, punishment behaviour and word-of-mouth behaviour are found to be driven by moral obligation.

This study findings contribute to theory development on “other-oriented” effects of service recovery and provides valuable insights for effective management of service failures in the shared service environment.

This is the first study, which qualitatively explores the “other customers” perspective of service recovery in the context of shared servicescape.

This study aims at modelling the enablers of dairy supply chain (DSC) in Indian context.

Interpretive structural modelling (ISM) approach has been used to model the enabler of dairy supply chain. The opinion has been taken from the industry experts and experienced academicians. Further, Matrix Cross-Reference Multiplication Applied to a Classification (MICMAC) used to classify the enablers based on driving and dependence power.

Findings show that stakeholder trust and top management support/leadership are the very crucial enablers in dairy supply chain; they are at a lower level of hierarchical structure and work as primary enablers to development of DSC. While customer satisfaction and financial performance are at top of the digraph, it shows these enablers are the outcome of a smooth supply chain. The MICMAC analysis suggests that the identified enablers are largely classified into dependent and independent enablers; there are no autonomous enablers in the dairy supply chain.

The study can aid businesses in the dairy processing industry in managing demand fluctuations, enhancing product quality, implementing effective information systems and adapting procedures, thereby enhancing supply chain performance.

There is very limited study on enablers of the dairy supply chain in general, while in the Indian context, there is no specific study on modelling the enablers of dairy supply chain.