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1 – 10 of over 5000Jiun‐Sheng Chris Lin and Cheng‐Yu Lin
The purpose of this paper is to examine the phenomenon of emotional contagion in service encounters by proposing and testing an empirical model of the antecedents and consequences…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the phenomenon of emotional contagion in service encounters by proposing and testing an empirical model of the antecedents and consequences of affective service delivery by employees.
Design/methodology/approach
A theoretical framework of the antecedents and outcomes of employee affective delivery in service interactions is developed on the basis of relevant studies in marketing, psychology, and organization. In total, nine hypothesized relationships between the constructs in the conceptual model are proposed and tested by structural equation modeling using data collected from 217 employeeācustomer pairs in ten service industries.
Findings
Results showed that employee inner emotion, work group mood, and service environment all have a positive influence on employee affective delivery, which, in turn, positively influences customer emotion and service outcomes.
Research limitations/implications
This study represents an early attempt at exploring the antecedents of employee affective delivery in service context. Future research is discussed, with an emphasis on characteristics of employees/customers, employee experiences, and service norm.
Practical implications
Managers of service firms should recognize the importance of the drivers of employee positive displayed emotion. Service firms can benefit from focusing their attention on enhancing affective service delivery.
Originality/value
This study described in this paper addresses important research gaps in the service marketing literature by: empirically examining the antecedents of employee affective delivery in service interactions; and providing the first test of emotional contagion and its related processes with data collected from ten different service industries, rather than a single industry.
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Cheng-Yu Lin and Jiun-Sheng Chris Lin
Rapport between service employees and customers has been suggested to be an important determinant of customer relationship management, yet existing marketing literature still…
Abstract
Purpose
Rapport between service employees and customers has been suggested to be an important determinant of customer relationship management, yet existing marketing literature still lacks a sufficient understanding of how service employeesā nonverbal communication affects customer-employee rapport development in service encounters. The purpose of this paper is to fill this research gap by proposing and testing a model that explores how service employeesā nonverbal communication (employee affective delivery and behavioral mimicry) influences customer positive emotions and customer-employee rapport. The mediating role of customer positive emotions and the moderating role of store atmosphere in the process of customer-employee rapport development were also assessed.
Design/methodology/approach
Using an observational methodology in conjunction with a customer survey, multi-source survey data collected from 303 customer-employee pairs in the apparel retailing industry was examined through structural equation modeling and regression analysis.
Findings
Results showed that employee nonverbal communication positively influenced customer positive emotions and customer-employee rapport. The partial mediating role of customer positive emotions and the moderating role of store atmosphere in the process of rapport development were also confirmed.
Practical implications
Service firms should train and motivate employees to use nonverbal communication to develop and strengthen customer-employee rapport. The importance of customer positive emotions in the service process should be addressed in the customer-employee rapport development process. Moreover, service managers should also allocate firm resources to create a well-designed store atmosphere for target customers.
Originality/value
This research represents one of the earliest studies to explore and empirically test the influence of employee nonverbal communication on customer-employee rapport development in service encounters. The partial mediating role of customer positive emotions and the moderating role of store atmosphere on the relationship between employee nonverbal communication and customer-employee rapport were also proposed and confirmed.
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This study aims to use emotions-as-social information theory to investigate how physical (customer perceived store atmosphere) and social servicescapes (customer information…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to use emotions-as-social information theory to investigate how physical (customer perceived store atmosphere) and social servicescapes (customer information searching) influence the effects of employeesā positive affective displays on customer outcomes via customer positive moods and positive expectation disconfirmation.
Design/methodology/approach
This research included two studies, each using a distinct research design, to empirically test the proposed model. Study 1 involved 200 observational data points on objective purchase amounts from designer watch shops. In Study 2, data were collected from 230 customers in designer jewelry stores.
Findings
The results of path analyses revealed that: employee positive affective displays are positively associated with customer purchase outcomes; employee positive affective displays had positive indirect effects on customer purchase outcomes by enhancing customer positive moods and positive expectation disconfirmation; these positive indirect effects were strengthened when customers engaged in information search behaviors; and these positive indirect effects were attenuated when customers perceive store atmosphere as favorable, indicating a substitution effect of customer perceived store atmosphere.
Originality/value
Previous research has not thoroughly examined the role of the servicescape in moderating the effects of employeesā positive affective displays on customer purchase outcomes. This present study not only clarified the affective and cognitive mechanisms that link employeesā positive affective displays on purchase outcomes but also identified servicescape as a critical boundary condition of these effects.
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Benjamin R. van Gelderen and Leonie W. Bik
ā The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between police officersā affective organizational commitment, work engagement, and (perceived) service performance.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between police officersā affective organizational commitment, work engagement, and (perceived) service performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Participants included 114 police officers who completed a questionnaire that measured their affective commitment, social job resources, supervisor support, work engagement, and extra-role performance (i.e. offering service to colleagues). A dyadic design was used that related police officer commitment to the perceived service performance as rated by 165 crime victims (cross-over effect).
Findings
Results of structural equation modeling revealed that commitment was positively related to seeking colleague support to increase social job resources. Furthermore, the results indicated that supervisor support mediated the positive relationship between commitment and work engagement/extra-role performance. In contrast, commitment was negatively related to the perceived service performance of police officers as rated by crime victims.
Research limitations/implications
The results indicate that while affective commitment supports police officersā work engagement and promotes the seeking and offering of colleague assistance, it also tempers external service performance ratings.
Originality/value
This paper enhances the understanding of how the affective commitment of police officers can be related differently to internal and external outcomes. The results are discussed in relation to police culture and performance theory.
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Elena Svetieva and Paulo N. Lopes
Purpose: The purpose of the present study is to review and specifically examine the untested but common recommendation that leaders should give more effective positive feedback…
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of the present study is to review and specifically examine the untested but common recommendation that leaders should give more effective positive feedback that is specific and mindful of nonverbal delivery. Study Design/Methodology/Approach: We used a dyadic interaction study where designated āleadersā interact with a āsubordinateā in an idea generation and evaluation task. Leaders (n = 90) first received brief training in delivering positive feedback, and their subsequent feedback behavior during the dyadic interaction was coded for frequency, specificity, and both verbal and nonverbal affective delivery. Key dependent variables were subordinate affective reactions, perceptions of the leader, and subsequent task motivation. Findings: Frequency of leader positive feedback had significant positive impact on subordinate perceptions of the leader, but no impact on subordinate positive affect or task motivation. Positive feedback specificity and affective delivery, however, had no impact on subordinate affect, perceptions of the leader, or task motivation. Training effects were also observed ā leaders were able to increase the specificity of their feedback, but were not able to modulate their affective delivery. Originality/Value: The design of the study allowed us to identify the leader positive feedback behaviors that were trainable and had the most impact on subordinates in terms of positive affect, perceptions of the leader, and subsequent task effort. We discuss the implications of these effects for positive feedback theory and application and commonly assumed ābest practices.ā
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Jiun‐Sheng Chris Lin and Haw‐Yi Liang
Previous research on the relationship between service environments and customer emotions and service outcomes has focused on the physical environment. Among studies exploring the…
Abstract
Purpose
Previous research on the relationship between service environments and customer emotions and service outcomes has focused on the physical environment. Among studies exploring the social environment, the emphasis has been on service employees, ignoring the impact of other customers. Recent research has further called for the need to include displayed emotion within the social environment. Therefore, this study aims to develop and test a more comprehensive model that focuses on the relationship between the social environment (employee displayed emotion and customer climate) and the physical environment (ambient and design factors) and resulting customer emotion and service outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on past research, a theoretical framework was developed to propose the links between social/physical environments and customer emotion/perceptions. Extant research from various academic fields, including environmental psychology, was reviewed, deriving 11 hypotheses. Data collected from fashion apparel retailers, using both observation and customer survey methods, was examined through structural equation modeling (SEM).
Findings
Results show that both social and physical environments have a positive influence on customer emotion and satisfaction, which in turn affect behavioral intentions. The physical environment exhibited more influence on customer emotion and satisfaction than social environment.
Research limitations/implications
This research explains how both social and physical environments affect customer emotion and perceptions. Future research directions are discussed, with an emphasis on incorporating customer characteristics, industry attributes, and cultural variables to better understand the influence of service environments in different service settings.
Practical implications
Social and physical environments influence customer emotional states within the service delivery context, which in turn affect customer service evaluations. Therefore, both social and physical service environments should be emphasized by service firms.
Originality/value
This research represents an early attempt to develop a more comprehensive model explaining how both social and physical environments affect customer emotion and perceptions. This study also represents the first empirical study of service environment research to include employee displayed emotion as part of the social environment.
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Esther Gracia and Neal M. Ashkanasy
In this chapter, we develop and present the Multi-Perspective Multilevel Model of emotional labor in organizations. This model is based on three perspectives: (1) a service…
Abstract
In this chapter, we develop and present the Multi-Perspective Multilevel Model of emotional labor in organizations. This model is based on three perspectives: (1) a service requirement, (2) an intra-psychic process, and (3) an emotional display, each involving five levels of analysis: within-person, between persons, in interpersonal exchanges, in groups, and across the organization as a whole. Our model is differentiated from earlier characterizations of emotional labor in that we propose that the phenomenon begins with energy generation instead of energy depletion; and is neither a one-way nor a one-by-one service episode. We further proffer that the intra-psychic processes embedded in emotional labor represent a form of social self-regulation that impacts across multiple levels within service organizations. We conclude by discussing the implications and limitations of our model for emotional labor research.
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Research suggests that āfrontālineā service jobs typically require emotional labour owing to the high levels of interpersonal interaction inherent in such work. Although emotional…
Abstract
Purpose
Research suggests that āfrontālineā service jobs typically require emotional labour owing to the high levels of interpersonal interaction inherent in such work. Although emotional labour can be performed faceātoāface (in person) or voiceātoāvoice (on the telephone), little is known about whether the type of emotional demands and the relationships with strain outcomes differ according to mode of delivery. The purpose of this paper is to research these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
Relationships are assessed between three dimensions of emotional labour (emotional display rules, and the faking and suppression of emotions) and strain outcomes (psychological distress, workālife conflict and job satisfaction) in a sample of 124ācabin crew (faceātoāface interaction) and 122 telesales agents (voiceātoāvoice interaction). The emotional labour dimensions that are significant predictors of strain outcomes for both groups are examined by multiple regression.
Findings
No significant differences were observed between groups in mean levels of emotional labour variables. A greater proportion of variance in all types of strain was explained by the emotional labour components for participants who interact with customers faceātoāface but these differences did not reach statistical significance. The emotional labour dimensions that predicted each strain outcome varied according to mode of delivery.
Practical implications
Ways by which service sector organisations might counteract the potentially negative effects of performing emotional labour are discussed.
Originality/value
The study provides some initial evidence that the impact of mode of delivery in emotion work is worthy of further investigation.
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Subhash Jha, M.S. Balaji, Ugur Yavas and Emin Babakus
Using the basic framework of the service profit chain, this study aims to develop an integrated model that explains the relationships among role overload (RO), customer…
Abstract
Purpose
Using the basic framework of the service profit chain, this study aims to develop an integrated model that explains the relationships among role overload (RO), customer orientation (CO), service interaction quality (IQ), customer satisfaction (CS) and sales performance.
Design/methodology/approach
A large-scale survey of 872 customers and 530 frontline employees across 50 branches of a major retail bank in New Zealand serves as the study setting.
Findings
The results indicate that RO has a significant negative effect on IQ. Nevertheless, CO mitigates the negative outcome of RO on IQ. IQ fully mediates the relationship between RO and CS. Additionally, the effect of IQ on branch sales is fully mediated by CS.
Research limitations/implications
The cross-sectional nature of the current survey does not permit causal inferences. Thus, future studies should adopt longitudinal designs. Also, future studies should explore the roles of other variables (e.g. job crafting, work-related self-efficacy) as possible moderators.
Practical implications
Results suggest that service managers should create a balance between the role requirements and organizational resources to mitigate the adverse effects of employee RO. To enhance IQ and CS, bank managers should coach employees about work overload and train them in CO while prioritizing the tasks.
Originality/value
Empirical research pertaining to employeeācustomer interaction through a nested framework accommodating data from customers, employees and firm performance is scarce. This study fills in the void.
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Lishan Xie, Patrick Poon and Wenxuan Zhang
This paper aims to examine the mediating role of brand relationship quality in the relationship between brand experience and customer citizenship behavior.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the mediating role of brand relationship quality in the relationship between brand experience and customer citizenship behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
Two studies were conducted in China. Data were collected via questionnaire surveys. Structural equation modeling and bootstrapping methods were used for data analyses.
Findings
Results show that brand relationship quality mediates the effects of the four dimensions of brand experience (i.e. sensory, affective, behavioral and intellectual) on the two aspects of customer citizenship behavior (i.e. toward other customers and toward the organization). In addition, service provider ratings can moderate the effect of brand relationship quality on customer citizenship behavior.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that marketing or service managers should build high quality of customerābrand relationship to enhance customer citizenship behaviors by providing memorable and pleasurable brand experiences. Brands with high ratings can facilitate the effect of brand relationship quality on customer citizenship behavior.
Originality/value
This research sheds light on the mediating role of brand relationship quality in the relationship between brand experience and customer citizenship behavior.
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