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Service-dominant logic perspective underscores the role of customers as value co-creators for an organization. The purpose of this paper is to build the understanding of how HR flexibility contributes to customer value co-creation behavior through mediating roles of employees’ role breadth self-efficacy and customer-organization identification and also to assess the interaction between CSR and role breadth self-efficacy in predicting customer-organization identification, leading to a higher level of customer value co-creation behavior.

Responses to the questionnaire survey came from 214 managers and 427 sales employees from 62 software companies, and 427 purchase managers of their customer companies in Vietnam context.

Research findings confirmed the path from HR flexibility to customer value co-creation behavior through the mediating mechanisms of role breadth self-efficacy and customer-organization identification. The research data also provided evidence for the role of CSR in enhancing the effect of employees’ role breadth self-efficacy on customer-organization identification.

The novel relationship between HR flexibility and customer value co-creation behavior extends both HRM and service-dominant logic literature. The moderation mechanism of CSR for that relationship further converges CSR into HRM research stream.

For its sustainable growth, an organization should drive customers from the role of consumers of products or services to value co-creators. Logistics performance, which produces value for customers, may activate value co-creation behavior among them. The purpose of this paper is to investigate entrepreneurial orientation (EO) as the determinant and customer value co-creation behavior as the outcome of logistics performance.

The data for this research came from 328 dyads of logistics managers of chemical manufacturers and purchase managers of their customer companies in Vietnam context. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling approach.

The research results confirmed the role of EO in predicting logistics performance. Logistics performance was also found to positively influence customer-organization identification, which, in turn promoted customer value co-creation behavior.

Entrepreneurship, logistics, and marketing research streams converge through the research model of the relationship between EO, logistics performance, and customer value co-creation behavior.

When public employees demonstrate ambidexterity in serving customers, through efficiently providing customers with current public services as well as exploring ways to create more, new public service solutions for customers, they may activate customers’ co-creating value with the public organization. The purpose of this research is to examine the role of public employees’ individual ambidexterity in promoting customer value co-creation. This research also seeks to investigate the levers behind individual ambidexterity, including ambidextrous leadership as an antecedent and public service motivation (PSM) as an enhancer for the leadership effect.

Public employees from public legal service agencies and customer companies they had served have been invited to participate and provide data for this research. The data collated have been analyzed using multilevel structural equation modeling approach.

Ambidextrous leadership was positively associated with frontline public employees’ individual ambidexterity. This positive association was enhanced by PSM among frontline public employees. In turn, frontline public employees’ individual ambidexterity demonstrated a positive link with customer value co-creation through the mediation mechanisms of customer–employee identification and customer–organization identification.

This research extends and marks the convergence between ambidexterity and customer value co-creation research streams.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically test some of the consumer engagement frameworks that have been previously proposed in marketing literature.

Data were gathered via surveys distributed to members of a health club in the USA. Results were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

We found the effects of satisfaction on intercustomer support – the assistance received from other customers within a service setting – to be fully mediated by customer identification. The strength and direction of effects differed based on the type of identification. They also found an effect of satisfaction on customer patronage frequency. This effect was fully mediated by customer–employee identification.

The findings illustrate that, in most cases, intercustomer support can be built and enhanced by focusing on customer identification. Both customer–company and customer–customer identification had a positive effect on social/emotional and instrumental support; however, they did not influence a consumer’s patronage frequency. Conversely, customer–employee identification decreased perceptions of instrumental support, but increased perceptions of social/emotional support and patronage frequency. While the findings indicate that identification with a firm’s employees drives a customer’s patronage, firms must decide if the benefits received from increased patronage are worth the decreased instrumental support.

Past research has demonstrated the benefits of intercustomer support at both the firm and customer level, yet little research has investigated what enhances intercustomer social support in an organization. The research answers this question and illuminates some specific mechanisms that mediate this effect. Additionally, while previous research indicates that intercustomer support drives objective outcomes such as firm performance and loyalty intentions, we instead found these outcomes to be driven by customer–employee identification.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how consumers' personality (i.e. motivation for affiliation) and their perceptions about the company (i.e. identity attractiveness) and the relation they maintain with the company's employees (i.e. personal connection with salesperson) influence their identification with the company. The research also considers the moderating effects of identity salience and salesperson identification with the company. In addition, the study proposes that salesperson identification may further enhance the positive influence of the consumer‐salesperson connection on the consumer's identification with the company.

In order to test the hypothesized model, this study uses a sample of customers from a financial institution with different levels of business involvement with the company. With a questionnaire formed with measures taken from previous literature, structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed model.

The results showed that all three determinants – i.e. identity attractiveness, need for affiliation, and personal connection – have direct and positive effects on consumer identification with the company. Moreover, the moderating effect of identity salience was also confirmed for the impacts of both identity attractiveness and need for affiliation on consumer identification, as well as the moderating effect of salesperson identification for the impact of personal connection between the customer and the salesperson on consumer identification.

This research offers important insights for marketing managers. Specifically, companies need to be aware of and to deliver a consistent and attractive identity of both their salespeople and their company. Moreover, marketing communications that attempt to connect a product or brand to a social identity should consider the extent to which target consumers value that social identity, and what aspects can be leveraged to increase perceptions of relevance associated with that identity. Therefore, all communication activities should provide cues about how the company or its products are related to an identity that is relevant to the consumer.

This research contributes to the literature on social identity and organizational identification as it examines the consumer‐company relationship in a consumer context. The main contributions are three. First, it highlights the importance of the non‐product aspects of a company in terms of building a consumer‐company bond. Second, it shows that consumers are more likely to adopt social identities (i.e. to identify with particular social groups) when they consider the company's identity to be personally relevant. And third, it demonstrates the impact of the salesperson identification with the company on his/her performance, a relationship that sales literature has not considered yet.

This study aims to investigate moderators affecting the impact of salesperson acquisition-retention (AR) ambidexterity on sales performance based on the motivation-opportunity-ability (MOA) framework.

The authors collected triadic data through 391 questionnaires from salespeople, 50 questionnaires from sales managers and archival data about each salesperson’s performance. Hierarchical linear modeling was applied to test the hypotheses.

The results indicate that salesperson AR ambidexterity positively affects sales performance. The positive effect is strengthened by capability control but weakened by outcome control and activity control. The authors also find that sales experience and market attractiveness hurt the effectiveness of salesperson AR ambidexterity.

First, this study does not examine the mediating mechanism underlying the effect of salesperson AR ambidexterity. Second, sales-service ambidexterity is another ambidextrous variable for salespeople. Future research can consider AR and sales-service ambidexterity together.

First, managers should be cautious when encouraging experienced salespeople to conduct AR ambidexterity. Second, managers need to use capability control to motivate salespeople with AR ambidextrous behaviors. Third, AR ambidexterity could be not required in a market with many opportunities.

Although some studies have examined the effectiveness of salesperson AR ambidexterity, they reveal inconsistent findings, which suggest contingent conditions on the effectiveness of salesperson AR ambidexterity. However, the attention on the contingent conditions is limited. Therefore, this paper systematically investigates the contingent conditions from the MOA framework. The findings provide some insights into when salesperson AR ambidexterity is effective.

This study aims to explore employee-customer identification and its consequences in the banking, financial service and insurance (BFSI) sector. We also look at the mediating role of psychological ownership and work orientation (calling) between employee-customer identification and the adaptability of service offerings.

In this study using a sample of 215 frontline employees from the BFSI sector in five Indian cities, the data was analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) in Smart PLS- 3.2.7 software.

When employees consider customers as individuals similar to them, they tend to be more accommodating of customers' diverse needs resulting in adapting the service. The study empirically establishes that psychological ownership and work orientation (calling) mediate the relationship between employee-customer identification and service offering adaptation.

This kind of identification can remedy the perennial problem of mis-selling in the BFSI context. The new insights gathered from these customer interfaces can be transferred upwards within the organisation to formulate actionable strategies. Hence, when employees feel their work is satisfactory, it leads to improvement in both profit margins as well as asset turnover for high-contact service firms.

The results demonstrate that employees who identify with their customers are more accommodative of customers' diverse needs resulting in adapting the service resulting in improved performance.

Human Sigma is an emerging topic among many academics and practitioners. At present, limited studies have been reported about the successful applications of Human Sigma in small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The purpose of this paper therefore is to provide an analysis of contemporary business improvement tool implementation in UK tourism SMEs.

This paper presents an exploratory study of the Human Sigma approach to business improvement. Particularly, the research offers an overview of approaches to business improvement, whilst also presenting a framework for the implementation of Human Sigma. Adopting a case study of tourism SMEs, the paper examines attitudes to service quality management in terms of the implementation of business improvement tools.

The results of the study reveal that many of the SMEs are not aware of the Human Sigma approach to business improvement and while there is a range of tools, techniques and approaches available, they perceive several key barriers to prevent them from fully engaging. The research highlights the critical success factors for successful implementation are often related to customers and not employees. The perceived benefits from the usage of these tools are also displayed.

The limitations of this research are recognised, in particular the relatively small number of SMEs in a geographically confined area. Nevertheless, the research is intended primarily as an exploratory study designed to identify themes and issues as a basis for further research. Consequently, the study offers a number of significant findings that contribute more broadly to the Human Sigma literature.

This paper presents an initial study on the status of Human Sigma implementation in UK tourism SMEs. The service sector is dominated by a large number of SMEs and despite escalating attention paid within the literature to issues related to quality management, limited research has been undertaken into the utilisation and contribution of contemporary business improvements tools. A framework for the implementation of the Human Sigma approach to business improvement is illustrated. This paper will yield value to academics, consultants, researchers and practitioners.

Outlines the key areas which manufacturing organisations should consider in order to improve the effectiveness of training programmes for production operators. The authors carried out a study of UK‐based manufacturing companies to identify current evaluation methods, and identify the predominant barriers to the implementation of effective training programmes. The research concluded that most of the companies believed that their training programmes did not realise the full potential in terms of higher productivity, better on‐the‐job performance, and improved quality. Causal factors were found to be inadequate training objectives and evaluation mechanisms, which stem from a number of barriers. Proposes a training programme measurement model, which has been adapted from existing concepts, and could be applied by manufacturing organisations as a framework for carrying out appropriate evaluation activities. Concludes with some recommendations for future policy, and areas of further research in the implementation of training programmes in manufacturing organisations.

Studies customer relationships in professional services. A framework is proposed for managing professional service relationships in a way that creates value for both parties of the relationship. Furthermore, through the framework the marketer is able to discover also those customer needs that the customer itself is not even aware of. The framework and the benefits of joint value creation are illustrated through a case study of an organisation providing learning and personnel development services.