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1 – 10 of over 8000Dogan Gursoy, Raine (Ruiying) Cai and Gerardo Joel Anaya
This paper aims to examine the phenomenon of disruptive service behavior: an act by a customer that negatively affects the service experience of other customers and to identify…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the phenomenon of disruptive service behavior: an act by a customer that negatively affects the service experience of other customers and to identify typology of disruptive behaviors of customers that can negatively alter the service experiences of by-standing customers.
Design/methodology/approach
Anecdotes of customers’ service experiences that were negatively affected by the behavior of other customers were gathered from several customer review and discussion websites using a netnographic study approach. Data were analyzed using a qualitative data analysis approach with an iterative and inductive methodologies.
Findings
The analysis produced a typology featuring seven categories of disruptive behaviors of customers: “Inattentive Parents with Naughty Kids”, “Oral Abusers”, “Outlandish Requesters”, “Hysterical shouters”, “Poor Hygiene Manners”, “Service Rule Breakers” and “Ignorant Customers”.
Practical implications
Using the typology developed in this study, managers and operators of hospitality businesses can identify specific customer service behaviors and develop strategies and actions to minimize the impact of those behaviors on the service experience of other customers.
Originality/value
Even though a great deal of attention has been given to how employees can damage customers’ service experiences, much less work has been conducted on disruptive behaviors of customers as an influential factor of service quality and satisfaction. This study aims to address this gap in the literature by developing a typology of disruptive customer behaviors.
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Youngsun Sean Kim and Melissa A. Baker
This study aims to examine the observing customer’s reactions, namely, gratitude, loyalty to the employee and tipping intention while observing other customer incivility during…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the observing customer’s reactions, namely, gratitude, loyalty to the employee and tipping intention while observing other customer incivility during another customer service failure and the frontline employee’s emotional labor strategy.
Design/methodology/approach
A 2 (emotional labor strategy: deep acting vs surface acting) by 2 (service consumption criticality: high vs low) experiment is used to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The results reveal that observing an employee’s deep acting emotional labor (vs surface acting) leads to a greater level of gratitude among the affected customers and promotes their tipping and loyalty to the employee. However, there is no significant interaction effect of service consumption criticality and emotional labor strategy on customer gratitude.
Research limitations/implications
This research builds upon the social servicescape, customer misbehavior and emotional labor literature by examining previously untested relationships.
Practical implications
In cases of other customer service failure, managers should effectively communicate to their employees how their emotional labor induces positive customer feedback. Currently, emotional labor is emphasized mostly regarding its negative effects on employees, but this research suggests that serving the recovery expectation of the affected customers, especially when it is served with authentic emotional displays, can promote increased tipping and loyalty behavior.
Originality/value
No research investigates customers’ emotional and behavioral reactions to employee emotional labor in the context of other customer service failure.
Laura Pascual-Nebreda, Pablo Cabanelas and Alicia Blanco-González
There are numerous studies on satisfaction, but not enough on dissatisfaction when its consequences can be harmful. This study aims to examine different unsatisfactory situations…
Abstract
Purpose
There are numerous studies on satisfaction, but not enough on dissatisfaction when its consequences can be harmful. This study aims to examine different unsatisfactory situations during customer–supplier relationships in industrial markets combining the appraisal theory with the critical incident technique to identify potential problems and strategies to minimize their effect.
Design/methodology/approach
This research follows an exploratory qualitative approach based on 18 in-depth interviews with managers from business-to-business firms. The information obtained was object of a textual and conceptual analysis using the analytical software ATLAS TI 9.0.
Findings
The results show that negative cognitions have greater influence than negative emotions, and those dissatisfied customers may respond by expressing complaints, ending transactional relationships, reporting the other party legally, asking for explanations or continuing commercial relationships, even though they are dissatisfied. This will depend on the severity of the critical incident and the negative cognitions and emotions perceived. Proactivity and understanding of this situation will allow for understanding what specific actions to take to resolve conflicts and mitigate the negative effects among the parties.
Originality/value
This paper focuses on dissatisfaction, instead of satisfaction, in industrial markets through the appraisal theory. Furthermore, it applies the critical incident technique to understand the cognitions and emotions related with dissatisfaction in the commercial relationships. Finally, it provides ideas on what are the main source of dissatisfaction and how to manage them to anticipate and better manage those incidents.
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Iddo Gal, Dana Yagil and Gil Luria
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature on service quality and value co-creation and co-destruction by unpacking the phenomenon described as “difficult…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature on service quality and value co-creation and co-destruction by unpacking the phenomenon described as “difficult customers”, which has many associated costs for service organizations. The paper examines how frontline service employees make sense of and react to client behaviors that disrupt service processes.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a qualitative study with 128 frontline workers, who were interviewed about their perceptions, explanations and reactions to problem-related customers, using a sensemaking perspective.
Findings
Content analysis revealed 17 themes related to workers' perceptions, explanations and reactions to problem-related customers. Workers classify behaviors of problem-related customers in terms exceeding the single notion of intentionality that dominates the literature, instead referring to the degree of both controllability and malevolence of customers. Service workers choose a wide range of behavioral reactions that have not been studied before.
Research limitations/implications
A convenience sample, although large, limits generalizability. Suggestions for future quantitative research are proposed.
Practical implications
Based on the findings, the authors suggest specific directions related to managerial policy and organizational practices related to training and employee empowerment and service recovery routines.
Originality/value
The study introduces a new theoretical notion of “problem-related customers”, set within a value co-creation context. It presents findings that enable deeper understanding of the emotional and behavioral reactions of frontline workers to service disruptions and offers multiple scholarly contributions, new research directions and managerial insights that can help to improve service recovery and service quality
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Levent Altinay and Babak Taheri
The purpose of this study is to review and synthesise recent studies in the sharing economy literature and identify the knowledge gap and future opportunities for hospitality and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to review and synthesise recent studies in the sharing economy literature and identify the knowledge gap and future opportunities for hospitality and tourism researchers.
Design/methodology/approach
The study commences by introducing sharing economy models and strategic frameworks for profitable service enabler performance. Following this, it identifies emerging overarching theories (e.g. complexity theory, social exchange theory, norm activation model, and value co-creation) and some emerging themes (i.e. trust and reputation, disruptive behaviour, choice and segmentation, pricing strategies, socially excluded consumers, personality and satisfaction) in current hospitality and tourism studies from top-tier journals.
Findings
The findings of the study suggest new paths for advancing theoretical and practical implications for hospitality and tourism studies.
Practical implications
The themes, models and overarching theories reviewed in this study are relevant and insightful across the fulcrum of hospitality and tourism research. It offers several useful guides for practitioners and academics to trace relevant literature on different aspects of sharing economy and perceptibly highlight the gaps in existing studies.
Originality/value
The paper provides new directions to broaden interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches undertaken by scholars within both the field of hospitality and tourism management and beyond.
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Yakup Kemal Özekici and Kurban Ünlüönen
The present work attempts to investigate how restaurant staff perceive problematic customer behaviours (PCBs), the causes for PCBs and the core reasons that trigger such behaviour…
Abstract
Purpose
The present work attempts to investigate how restaurant staff perceive problematic customer behaviours (PCBs), the causes for PCBs and the core reasons that trigger such behaviour in restaurants.
Design/methodology/approach
The root causes were determined by systematic grading and then aggregated in a fishbone diagram to illustrate the real antecedents. First, the data obtained from in-depth interviews based on the grounded theory approach, conducted with 29 frontline employees in restaurants, were categorised using open, axial and selective coding. Then the 26 causes identified were graded and arranged into six levels, forming a chained hierarchy for each behaviour.
Findings
Ego-derived faults are among the key factors stemming from the personality of the customer, and the use of money as power is evident in such behaviours. In terms of issues related to social systems, the main factors were the structure of the sector, the “customer is always right” philosophy, other factors resulting from the local culture and the occupational image.
Research limitations/implications
First, more frequent and effective addressing of the sector structure can help employees feel more comfortable. Second, the study uncovers emotional and psychological aspects as core factors causing PCBs, paving the way for future studies.
Practical implications
To prevent PCBs, it may be necessary to provide relevant training for employees, empower leadership for middle-level managers and set up a customer crediting system as well as a customer blacklist based on smart technologies.
Originality/value
This research is the first attempt to reveal the root causes of the factors behind PCBs by forming graded-reason chains and representing integrated PCBs in a fishbone diagram. Using this instrument, the paper investigates the insights of employees to address a topic that few studies have dealt with thus far.
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Hyun Sik Kim and Beomjoon Choi
Creating superior customer experience quality is important to firm success, but the link between customer experience quality and customer-to-customer interaction quality – a…
Abstract
Purpose
Creating superior customer experience quality is important to firm success, but the link between customer experience quality and customer-to-customer interaction quality – a critical component of customer experience quality in mass service settings – has seldom been spotlighted. This paper aims to propose and test a theoretical model of the relationship among three types of customer-to-customer interaction quality (friend-interaction, neighboring customer-interaction and audience-interaction) and customer experience quality. They also examine these variables’ effects on customer citizenship behavior in mass service settings.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors collected data through a self-administered survey. The proposed relationships were tested using structural equation modeling.
Findings
Friend-interaction and audience-interaction quality perceptions significantly influence customer experience quality, with neighboring customer-interaction quality perception significant only for low communication quality. We find that enhancing customer experience quality is crucial to promoting citizenship behavior in mass service settings.
Practical implications
Neighboring customer-interaction quality perception has a significant effect on customer experience quality, particularly in a low communication quality situation. Therefore, service marketers should provide effective neighboring customer-interaction management schemes to enhance experience quality together with friend-interaction and audience-interaction management schemes when customers experience low communication quality. Additionally, service marketers should focus on enhancing communication quality only when anticipating low neighboring customer-interaction quality.
Originality/value
The findings highlight the effects of three types of customer-to-customer interaction quality on customer citizenship behavior through experience quality perception in mass service settings, and the effect of neighboring customer-interaction quality perception on customer experience quality, moderated by communication quality.
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Olivier Furrer, Mikèle Landry, Chloé Baillod and Jie Yu Kerguignas
Negative customer-to-customer interactions (NCCI) occurring in physical service encounters can have a detrimental effect on a focal customer’s experience. This paper aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
Negative customer-to-customer interactions (NCCI) occurring in physical service encounters can have a detrimental effect on a focal customer’s experience. This paper aims to explore how the interplay between the physical servicescape and the presence and behavior of other customers can lead to NCCI. Moreover, through an examination of customers’ responsibility attribution, the paper underlines the need for service organizations to manage this interplay.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors rely on a mixed approach with two studies grounded in the Stimulus–Organism–Response paradigm. In a preliminary quantitative study, the authors test a model of the effects of NCCI on customers’ attribution and behavioral outcomes using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Next, in a qualitative study, they collect and explore NCCI incidents in eight service industries relying on the critical incident technique (CIT).
Findings
When experiencing NCCI, customers attribute at least partial responsibility for their negative experience to the service provider. The findings of the CIT study reveal three interplay mechanisms leading to NCCI: when other customers’ behavior is triggered by the physical servicescape; when other customers’ behavior is incongruent with the behavioral norms set by the physical servicescape; and when the physical servicescape is altered by other customers’ misbehavior.
Originality/value
This paper provides a comprehensive, empirically grounded, understanding of the interplay between the physical and social servicescape, focusing on the presence and behavior of the other customers and its effect on the customer experience.
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This study aims to provide service managers and researchers with a deeper understanding of the direct on-site interactions taking place between customers.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to provide service managers and researchers with a deeper understanding of the direct on-site interactions taking place between customers.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the Critical Incident Technique (CIT), 284 incidents are analysed to develop a typology of how service customers experience direct on-site CCI.
Findings
The research reveals a wide range of CCI. A typology consisting of nine distinct categories of CCI emerged: (1) shared use space, (2) assigned space and possessions, (3) information provision, (4) assistance, (5) social conversations, (6) disrespectful attitude, (7) queuing discipline, (8) transaction efficiency and (9) undesired customers and ‘camouflaged customers’. These categories can accommodate a multitude of customer behaviours that impact, negatively or positively, on the service experience of other customers.
Research limitations/implications
Future studies could be conducted following a more inclusive research design capable of gaining CCI insights from employees and managers.
Practical implications
Practitioners can use the typology to systematically identify the full range of specific CCI behaviours affecting their businesses. It also assists them in the analysis and understanding of individual C2C (customer-to-customer) interactions. For academics the typology makes available a comprehensive framework to guide future research into CCI.
Originality/value
The study constitutes the first systematic attempt to classify direct on-site CCI across a wide range of services. The typology, unrestricted by any single-industry bias, is robust and conceptually broad, and therefore highly portable across service industries.
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Lele Fan, Xing Zhou, Jing Ren, Jianfeng Ma, Yang Yang and Wenling Shao
Drawing from self-regulation theories, this study aims to present a model linking customer mistreatment to hotel employees’ displaced workplace deviance via self-regulatory…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing from self-regulation theories, this study aims to present a model linking customer mistreatment to hotel employees’ displaced workplace deviance via self-regulatory depletion, with disposition-based mindfulness as a first‐stage moderator.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a multisource, multiwave investigation with 245 focal–coworker dyads at 14 full-service hotels in southern China. Descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis and regression analysis were performed.
Findings
The results demonstrated the mediating role of self-regulatory depletion in provoking hotel employees’ displaced deviant reactions to customer mistreatment. Additionally, employees with high trait mindfulness are less vulnerable to self-regulatory depletion and, thus, less likely to exhibit displaced workplace deviance.
Practical implications
This study enables hospitality administrators to understand that organizations and their employees, whether directly mistreated by customers, are potential victims of such negative events. Hospitality organizations should enhance mindfulness-based interventions and provide more humane care for employees to maintain their self-regulatory abilities, thereby reducing displaced workplace deviance.
Originality/value
First, in contrast to studies focusing primarily on internal factors that trigger employees’ deviant responses, the research suggests that mistreatment by external customers is a potentially meaningful yet largely unexamined antecedent of workplace deviance. Second, this study moves beyond “self-gain” explanations, suggesting that employees display deviance not because of a malicious intent to harm the organization or its members but because they are incapable of controlling their undesirable behaviors. Third, the research highlights how mindfulness mitigates customer mistreatment and displaced workplace deviance relationships.
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