Considered Service-specific journals were Journal of Service Research, Journal of Service Management, Journal of Services Marketing, Journal of Service Theory and Practice, Service Industries Journal, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, and Service Science.
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Wirtz, J., P. G. Patterson, W. H. Kunz, T. Gruber, V. N. Lu, S. Paluch and A. Martins (2018): Brave new world: service robots in the frontline, Journal of Service Management, 29(5), pp.907-931
Purpose The service sector is at an inflection point with regard to productivity gains and service industrialization similar to the industrial revolution in manufacturing that started in the eighteenth century. Robotics in combination with rapidly improving technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), mobile, cloud, big data and biometrics will bring opportunities for a wide range of innovations that have the potential to dramatically change service industries. The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential role service robots will play in the future and to advance a research agenda for service researchers.Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a conceptual approach that is rooted in the service, robotics and AI literature.Findings The contribution of this paper is threefold. First, it provides a definition of service robots, describes their key attributes, contrasts their features and capabilities with those of frontline employees, and provides an understanding for which types of service tasks robots will dominate and where humans will dominate. Second, this paper examines consumer perceptions, beliefs and behaviors as related to service robots, and advances the service robot acceptance model. Third, it provides an overview of the ethical questions surrounding robot-delivered services at the individual, market and societal level.Practical implications This paper helps service organizations and their management, service robot innovators, programmers and developers, and policymakers better understand the implications of a ubiquitous deployment of service robots.Originality/value This is the first conceptual paper that systematically examines key dimensions of robot-delivered frontline service and explores how these will differ in the future.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-04-2018-0119 [Google]
Andreassen, T. W., L. Lervik-Olsen, H. Snyder, A. C. R. Van Riel, J. C. Sweeney and Y. Van Vaerenbergh (2018): Business model innovation and value-creation: the triadic way, Journal of Service Management, 29(5), pp.883-906
Purpose Building on the multi-divisional business model (M-model), the purpose of this paper is to develop a better understanding of triadic business models – T-models – and how they create value for their three categories of stakeholders, i.e., the suppliers, the platform firm and the buyers. The research question that guides the present study is twofold: How is value created individually and collectively in triadic business models and what might challenge their sustainability?Design/methodology/approach Anchored in extant literature and a process of conceptual modeling with empirical examples from Uber, a new business model archetype was developed for two-sided markets mediated by a middleman.Findings The paper provides a theoretically and conceptually derived roadmap for sustainable business in a triadic business model, i.e., for the buyers, sellers and the platform firm. This model is coined the T-model. A number of propositions are derived that argue the relationship between key constructs. Finally, the future beyond the T-model is explored.Research limitations/implications The paper identifies, illustrates and discusses the ways in which value is created in sustainable T-models. First, value is created from a number of sources, not only from lower transaction costs. Second, it is proposed that it is not about a choice of either M-model or T-model but rather a continuum. Toward 2050, technology in general and Blockchain specifically may for some transactions or services, eliminate the need for middlemen. The main conclusion is that despite this development, there will, for most organizations, be elements of the M-model in all or most T-model businesses. In short: middlemen will have elements of the M-model embedded in the T-model when co creating value with buyers and sellers.Originality/value While two-sided T-models are not new to the business area, surprisingly no papers have systematically investigated, illustrated, and discussed how value is created among and between the three stakeholder categories of the T-model. With this insight, more sustainable T-models can be created.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-05-2018-0125 [Google]
Bolton, R. N., J. R. McColl-Kennedy, L. Cheung, A. Gallan, C. Orsingher, L. Witell and M. Zaki (2018): Customer experience challenges: bringing together digital, physical and social realms, Journal of Service Management, 29(5), pp.776-808
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore innovations in customer experience at the intersection of the digital, physical and social realms. It explicitly considers experiences involving new technology-enabled services, such as digital twins and automated social presence (i.e. virtual assistants and service robots).Design/methodology/approach Future customer experiences are conceptualized within a three-dimensional space – low to high digital density, low to high physical complexity and low to high social presence – yielding eight octants.Findings The conceptual framework identifies eight “dualities,” or specific challenges connected with integrating digital, physical and social realms that challenge organizations to create superior customer experiences in both business-to-business and business-to-consumer markets. The eight dualities are opposing strategic options that organizations must reconcile when co-creating customer experiences under different conditions.Research limitations/implications A review of theory demonstrates that little research has been conducted at the intersection of the digital, physical and social realms. Most studies focus on one realm, with occasional reference to another. This paper suggests an agenda for future research and gives examples of fruitful ways to study connections among the three realms rather than in a single realm.Practical implications This paper provides guidance for managers in designing and managing customer experiences that the authors believe will need to be addressed by the year 2050.Social implications This paper discusses important societal issues, such as individual and societal needs for privacy, security and transparency. It sets out potential avenues for service innovation in these areas.Originality/value The conceptual framework integrates knowledge about customer experiences in digital, physical and social realms in a new way, with insights for future service research, managers and public policy makers.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-04-2018-0113 [Google]
Breidbach, C., S. Choi, B. Ellway, B. W. Keating, K. Kormusheva, C. Kowalkowski, C. Lim and P. Maglio (2018): Operating without operations: how is technology changing the role of the firm?, Journal of Service Management, 29(5), pp.809-833
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the history and future of service operations, with the goal to identify key theoretical and technological advances, as well as fundamental themes that can help to imagine the future of service operations in 2050.Design/methodology/approach A review of the service operations literature was undertaken to inform a discussion regarding the role that technology will play in the future of service operations.Findings The future of service operations is framed in terms of three key themes – complexity, orchestration, and elasticity. The paper makes three contributions to the service science literature by: reviewing key themes underpinning extant service operations research to frame future trajectories of service operations research; elaborating a vision of service operations in 2050 based on history and technology; and outlining a research agenda for future service operations.Practical implications The case of service automation is used to provide an illustration of how the three themes converge to define future service operations, and in particular, to show how technology is recasting the role of the firm.Originality/value Service operations in the next 30 years will be very different from what it was in the past 30 years. This paper differs from other review papers by identifying three key themes that will characterize and instill new insights into the future of service operations research.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-05-2018-0127 [Google]
Edvardsson, B., P. Frow, E. Jaakkola, T. L. Keiningham, K. Koskela-Huotari, C. Mele and A. Tombs (2018): Examining how context change foster service innovation, Journal of Service Management, 29(5), pp.932-955
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of context in service innovation by developing a conceptual framework that illuminates the key elements and trends in context change.Design/methodology/approach The paper adopts a service ecosystem lens for understanding how elements and trends in context foster service innovation. A conceptual framework identifying the role of context change in fostering service innovation is developed and justified through illustrations across industry settings of health, retailing, banking and education.Findings Context change is conceptualized by three trends – speed, granularity and liquification – that provide an analytical foundation for understanding how changes in the elements of context – space, resources and institutional arrangements – can foster service innovation. The analysis indicates emerging patterns across industries that allow exploring scenarios, grounded in emerging trends and developments in service innovation toward 2050.Practical implications Managers are offered a framework to guide service innovation and help them prepare for the future. The paper also suggests areas for further research.Originality/value The paper contributes with a new conceptualization of context change to identify and explain service innovation opportunities. Managers are offered a framework to guide service innovation and help them prepare for 2050. The paper also suggests areas for further service innovation research, zooming in on contextual changes to prepare for 2050.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-04-2018-0112 [Google]
Fehrer, J. A., S. Benoit, L. Aksoy, T. L. Baker, S. J. Bell, R. J. Brodie and M. Marimuthu (2018): Future scenarios of the collaborative economy, Journal of Service Management, 29(5), pp.859-882
Purpose The collaborative economy (CE), and within it, collaborative consumption (CC) has become a central element of the global economy and has substantially disrupted service markets (e.g. accommodation and individual transportation). The purpose of this paper is to explore the trends and develop future scenarios for market structures in the CE. This allows service providers and public policy makers to better prepare for potential future disruption.Design/methodology/approach Thought experiments – theoretically grounded in population ecology (PE) – are used to extrapolate future scenarios beyond the boundaries of existing observations.Findings The patterns suggested by PE forecast developmental trajectories of CE leading to one of the following three future scenarios of market structures: the centrally orchestrated CE, the social bubbles CE, and the decentralized autonomous CE.Research limitations/implications The purpose of this research was to create CE future scenarios in 2050 to stretch one’s consideration of possible futures. What unfolds in the next decade and beyond could be similar, a variation of or entirely different than those described.Social implications Public policy makers need to consider how regulations – often designed for a time when existing technologies were inconceivable – can remain relevant for the developing CE. This research reveals challenges including distribution of power, insularity, and social compensation mechanisms that need consideration across states and national borders.Originality/value This research tests the robustness of assumptions used today for significant, plausible market changes in the future. It provides considerable value in exploring challenges for public policy given the broad societal, economic, and political implications of the present market predictions.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-04-2018-0118 [Google]
Fisk, R. P., A. M. Dean, L. Alkire, A. Joubert, J. Previte, N. Robertson and M. S. Rosenbaum (2018): Design for service inclusion: creating inclusive service systems by 2050, Journal of Service Management, 29(5), pp.834-858
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to challenge service researchers to design for service inclusion, with an overall goal of achieving inclusion by 2050. The authors present service inclusion as an egalitarian system that provides customers with fair access to a service, fair treatment during a service and fair opportunity to exit a service.Design/methodology/approach Building on transformative service research, a transformative, human-centered approach to service design is proposed to foster service inclusion and to provide a platform for managerial action. This conceptual study explores the history of service exclusion and examines contemporary demographic trends that suggest the possibility of worsening service exclusion for consumers worldwide.Findings Service inclusion represents a paradigm shift to higher levels of understanding of service systems and their fundamental role in human well-being. The authors argue that focused design for service inclusion is necessary to make service systems more egalitarian.Research limitations/implications The authors propose four pillars of service inclusion: enabling opportunity, offering choice, relieving suffering and fostering happiness.Practical implications Service organizations are encouraged to design their offerings in a manner that promotes inclusion and permits customers to realize value.Originality/value This comprehensive research agenda challenges service scholars to use design to create inclusive service systems worldwide by the year 2050. The authors establish the moral imperative of design for service inclusion.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-05-2018-0121 [Google]
Keating, B. W., J. R. McColl-Kennedy and D. Solnet (2018): Theorizing beyond the horizon: service research in 2050, Journal of Service Management, 29(5), pp.766-775
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to introduce the special issue of the Journal of Service Management dedicated to the Thought Leadership in Services Conference held in Brisbane Australia in 2017. The paper also explores the disruptive and transformative role that technology is set to play over the next 30 years.Design/methodology/approach The paper provides a brief summary of the papers within the special issue. The paper also introduces a conceptual framework identifying four quadrants that reflect different combinations of human touch and technology. This framework is used to examine the treatment of technology in the eight papers.Findings While it is clear that technology is having a profound impact on service, and is contributing to major changes within the eight service domains captured by the papers in the special issue; there were significant differences observed across the eight papers in the special issue. From the associated discussion, it is clear that the humanistic paradigm is still dominant within services, even though there is strong evidence that a shift is occurring.Originality/value This paper extends earlier work exploring the infusion of technology within services to highlight the progress from a humanistic paradigm to a technology-centric paradigm.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-08-2018-0264 [Google]
Subramony, M., D. Solnet, M. Groth, D. Yagil, N. Hartley, P. Beomcheol Kim and M. Golubovskaya (2018): Service work in 2050: toward a work ecosystems perspective, Journal of Service Management, 29(5), pp.956-974
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the changing nature of the relationship between service workers and their work arrangements. Building upon classical and contemporary management theories and examining current trends and disruptions in employment relationships, it proposes a dynamic and relational model applicable to the management of service work in future decades (notionally in the year 2050).Design/methodology/approach This paper introduces and develops the concept of worker–ecosystem relationship as a core construct to describe the participation and productivity of workers in the significantly transformed work environment of 2050.Findings This paper argues that in work ecosystems – defined as relatively self-contained and self-adjusting systems – work arrangements will evolve toward less-clearly defined employment relationships characterized by long-term social contracts, tightly defined work roles and physical proximity of workers and organizations.Originality/value A novel yet theoretically rooted construct of work ecosystems is introduced, using this new lens to predict changes in the nature of service work in 2050.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-05-2018-0131 [Google]
Boardman, D., M. M. Raciti and M. Lawley (2018): Outperformed: how the envy reflex influences status seeking service consumers’ engagement, Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 28(6), pp.752-773
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assist service management academics and providers of positional services (i.e. services that provide status attainment benefits to consumers) to better understand how the envy reflex of outperformed consumers operates as an endemic emotional theme that, if properly managed, can be harnessed to improve consumer engagement outcomes. Design/methodology/approach The objectives of the research were addressed via two quantitative studies. In a preliminary descriptive study, the types of services consumers classify as ?positional? were identified (n=351) and a measure of consumer perceived positional value was developed (n=179). In the main study, a 2 ? 2 between-subjects quasi-experimental design was adopted using a sample of positional service consumers (n=265) with the data analysed via SEM and two-way MANCOVA. Findings The main study found a significant mediation effect of the envy reflex on the relationship between consumer perceived positional value and the overall likelihood of an engagement intention for outperformed positional service consumers. In addition, specific engagement intentions were predicted for outperformed consumers with a high envy reflex after considering how deserving they perceived a superior performer to be. Originality/value This research contributes to the burgeoning scholarly interest in the envy reflex as a consumption emotion by demonstrating its influence on consumer engagement outcomes. The research also demonstrates how tactics informed by appraisal theories of emotion can be used to manage endemic emotional themes in service environments to improve engagement outcomes.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-08-2018-0179 [Google]
Heinonen, K., E. Jaakkola and I. Neganova (2018): Drivers, types and value outcomes of customer-to-customer interaction: An integrative review and research agenda, Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 28(6), pp.710-732
Purpose Customer-to-customer (C2C) interaction plays a significant role in service. The purpose of this paper is to identify the drivers that motivate customers to interact with other customers, the interactions through which customers affect other customers and the value outcomes of C2C interactions for the participants. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on a systematic literature review of C2C interactions. The authors analyzed 142 peer-reviewed articles to synthesize existing knowledge about C2C interactions. A generic value framework is used to categorize earlier research and reveal areas for further research. Findings The main outcome of this study is an integrative framework of C2C interaction that bridges C2C interactions and customer value. The findings indicate customer-, firm- and situation-induced drivers of C2C interactions. Outcome- and process-focused C2C interactions are identified to result in functional, emotional and social value outcomes. Avenues for additional research to explore issues related to current technology-saturated service settings are proposed. Research limitations/implications The paper proposes an agenda for future research to extend the C2C interaction research domain and explore how such interactions create value for the customer. The role of the service provider is not explicitly addressed but is an important area for further research. Practical implications Companies can use the framework to understand how they can become involved in and support beneficial C2C interaction. Originality/value This paper reviews empirical studies on C2C interaction, offering a systematic review of C2C interaction and producing an integrative framework of C2C interaction. It identifies a research agenda based on the framework and on topical issues within service research and practice.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-01-2017-0010 [Google]
Sok, K. M., P. Sok, L. Snell and P. Qiu (2018): Does transformational leadership always matter in frontline service roles?, Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 28(6), pp.733-751
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of frontline service employees (FSEs) motivation (enjoyment of work and driven to work) and ability (customer service ability) in the relationship between TFL and employee service performance. Design/methodology/approach This is a survey-based study which involves 534 FSEs and 135 supervisors in a hair salon setting. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings Results show that TFL is significantly related to employee service performance; this relationship is enhanced with the presence of driven to work; yet, it is neutralized with the presence of enjoyment of work. Further, the three-way interaction of TFL, enjoyment of work and customer service ability as well as TFL driven to work, and customer service ability are negatively associated with employee service performance. Practical implications The results advance service managers? understanding of the importance of FSEs motivation and ability if they are to fully reap the benefits from their FSEs. The role of leader is not always effective in all situations. FSEs with high level of enjoyment of work and customer service ability would least rely on the guidance and support from the supervisors. Originality/value This research is one of the first to examine the role of subordinate?s characteristics (motivation ? enjoyment of work and driven to work and ability ? customer service ability) as the key moderators in the relationship between TFL and employee service performance.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-03-2018-0053 [Google]
Wang, X. and Q. Zhang (2018): Does online service failure matter to offline customer loyalty in the integrated multi-channel context? The moderating effect of brand strength, Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 28(6), pp.774-806
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of online service failure on online customer satisfaction and offline customer loyalty, and the moderating role of brand strength is also examined. While extant research on brick and click service mode recognizes the positive spillover effect from offline stores to online stores, this study analyzes the negative spillover effect from online stores to offline stores. Design/methodology/approach This paper tests the hypotheses by two studies. Study 1 is based on a 2 (failure severity: mild vs severe) ? 2 (brand strength: strong vs weak) between-subjects experimental design using scenarios in a brick and click retailer context, while study 2 is based on data collected from a scenario-based questionnaire survey and analyzed through the structural equation modeling. Findings The results indicate that participants exposed to severe online service failure show lower online satisfaction as compared to their counterparts exposed to mild online service failure, but they show the similar level of offline loyalty in both degrees of online service failure. Nevertheless, these results are not moderated by brand strength significantly. Research limitations/implications An experimental design and a scenario-based questionnaire survey are used to test the framework. However, the generalizability of the research findings is still limited to a specific study setting. Future research in a different setting is needed to further validate the presented findings. Practical implications The findings suggest that physical service providers should adopt aggressive online expansion strategy to seize the market and pay more attention to online service quality rather than online marketing only. Originality/value This is one of few studies to explore the risk of brick and click service mode, and provide a clear understanding of the likely occurrence of online service failure and its impact on online customer satisfaction and offline customer loyalty. It extends prior research by exploring non-existence of negative perceptual effect from online service failure to offline customer loyalty in the short run and weakening brand effect, which contributes to cross-channel spillover effect in the integrated multi-channel context and brand building in the internet era.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-01-2018-0013 [Google]
Arbelo, A., M. Arbelo-Pérez and P. Pérez-Gómez (2018): Estimation of Profit Efficiency in the Hotel Industry Using a Bayesian Stochastic Frontier Model, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 59(4), pp.364-375
The present study measured profit efficiency and its determinants in the hotel sector in Spain from 2010 to 2014, using a Bayesian stochastic frontier approach. This model provides estimates of efficiency and more accurate confidence intervals than the traditional frequentist approach. The results revealed that the hotels are operating with significant profit inefficiencies. These inefficiencies are significantly affected by size, location, occupancy rate by region, customer satisfaction, and whether the hotel is affiliated or independent. Finally, the study points out the strategic implications of these findings, to improve the efficiency of the hotels.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965518762841 [Google]
Dogru, T. (2018): Corporate Investment and Hotel Firm Value: Does Corporate Governance Matter in Financially Constrained Firms?, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 59(4), pp.339-351
Corporate investments are expected to create value for firms. Although some studies report evidence supporting such expectations, many studies document contradictory findings. However, it is not clear why corporate investments create value in some firms but reduce value in others. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which the quality of corporate governance and the degrees of financial constraints affect the relationship between corporate investments and hotel firm value in a unified model where both weak corporate governance and financial constraint problems are concurrently observed. Shareholders of poorly governed firms place a lower value on corporate investments compared with those of well-governed firms, whereas shareholders of financially constrained firms perceive corporate investments to be of greater value compared with those of unconstrained firms. The results further showed that CEOs of financially constrained firms make value-increasing investments despite poor corporate governance mechanisms. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed within the realm of corporate finance theories.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965517748772 [Google]
Gallagher, B. and J. Corgel (2018): Natural Occupancy Shifts in Hotel Markets, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 59(4), pp.352-363
The natural occupancy rate underpins room price adjustment models for hotel market evaluations; however, models that assume that this rate is time invariant and everywhere constant may introduce error when forecasting future real room rates and benchmarking market strength. We use monthly STR room rate and occupancy data for five large U.S. metropolitan hotel markets to estimate natural occupancy differences in time and across markets. The notion of a time-varying natural occupancy aligns with changing market equilibrium. When aggregating over the entire sample, long-run average occupancy is reasonably good approximation of estimated constant natural occupancy. We use a Markov switching model to determine the likely equilibrium occupancy for unique periods in time, and these results inform Tse and Fischer’s model to estimate time- and market-specific natural occupancy. Using the estimated natural occupancy rates for prevailing market regimes produces better fitting predictions than either constant natural occupancy or long-run average occupancy. Accordingly, they are most appropriate for practical applications.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965518762837 [Google]
Kim, H. S. and S. Jang (2018): Does Hotel Ownership Structure Influence Capital Expenditures?, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 59(4), pp.325-338
The purpose of this article was to provide an understanding of the ownership effect on firm investment in the hotel industry. Specifically, a linear relationship between institutional ownership and firm investment was investigated, while a nonlinear relationship between managerial ownership and firm investment was tested based on the convergence of interest and managerial entrenchment hypotheses. This study used two-stage least square (2SLS) regression for the model estimation because an endogenous relationship was suspected between managerial ownership and firm investment. The results of this study confirmed a positive relationship between institutional ownership and firm investment and an inverted U-shaped relationship between managerial ownership and firm investment with a maxima of 17.34%. The results of this study imply that firm investment is dependent on ownership structure. Furthermore, current shareholders should consider granting a stock ownership to managers up to 17.34% to encourage them to act in shareholders’ best interest while avoiding additional issues associated with high managerial ownership. The findings of this study provided empirical evidence that conventional short-term institutional investors hold a long-term perspective when investing in hotel firms, and managerial ownership is an effective measure to mitigate agency problems. Theoretically, this study provided empirical evidence that firm ownership has a causal effect on firm investment in the hotel industry. This finding is expected to expand our understanding of the corporate governance effect on firm behavior. Furthermore, this study confirmed the use of 2SLS regression in the presence of an endogenous relationship between firm ownership and investment.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965518777213 [Google]
Li, J. and B. Yuan (2018): Smartphone Intrusion: Has Social Interaction Online Blurred the Work–Life Boundary of Employees?, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 59(4), pp.411-427
This article examined the phenomenon about social connectivity behavior after-hours in hotel industry, which emerged from smartphones enabling hotel employees to socialize with work-related people anywhere and anytime. Results from longitudinal data showed that social connectivity behavior after-hours on smartphones would lead hotel employees to suffer from work–life conflict. The increase in such behavior could trigger corresponding increase in work–life conflict over time. For hotel employees with weak segmentation preference, the dynamic effect of such behavior on work–life conflict was greater. Besides, impression management and subjective norm were the motivation and cognition cause behind such behavior respectively. Over time, both of them positively influenced the initial level and change rate of this behavior. Theoretical and practical implications of findings in this article were discussed.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965518777217 [Google]
Norvell, T., P. Kumar and M. Dass (2018): The Long-Term Impact of Service Failure and Recovery, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 59(4), pp.376-389
This article examines customers’ short-term attitudinal and long-term behavioral responses to service failures and recovery efforts. Our data from a tracking study of casual dining restaurants customers indicate that those who did not experience any failure were more satisfied than those who experienced successful recovery following a failure. The satisfactory recovery group, in turn, was more satisfied than customers who either did not complain or were not successfully recovered following their complaints. Importantly, the pattern of brand patronage over the medium and long run differed substantially from the short-term variation in satisfaction levels across the four customer groups. In the medium term, the brand visitation frequency for those who never experienced failure was similar to those of customers who were successfully recovered. The visitation frequencies of customers who did not complain or were not successfully recovered were lower. However, over the long run, the visitation pattern changed substantially, and those who never experienced failure had higher brand patronage frequency than all the three remaining groups that behaved relatively similarly. These results suggest that customers make a distinction between the qualities of the core service and the recovery effort. Although successful recovery temporarily compensates for core failure, its positive influence dissipates over time. In the longer term, customers’ complaining behavior and the firm’s recovery efforts matters less and customers’ brand patronage depends largely on whether or not they experienced core service failure. Nevertheless, firms can recover their investments in service recovery because of increased brand patronage in the medium term.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965518762835 [Google]
Shin, J. and A. S. Mattila (2018): When Pizza Doesn’t Sound as Good as Usual: Restrained Versus Unrestrained Eaters’ Responses to Gluten-Free Menu Items, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 59(4), pp.397-410
Increasing demand for gluten-free foods is driving restaurants to add gluten-free menu items. However, it remains unclear how gluten-free labels affect food consumption and overall evaluations of a dining experience. We conducted two studies to fill this gap. Results from Study 1 suggest that unrestrained eaters (i.e., people with low levels of dietary restraint) expect to decrease their food consumption when a menu item bears a gluten-free cue, whereas restrained eaters (i.e., people with high levels of dietary restraint) do not show such an effect. This negative impact of a gluten-free cue on consumption among unrestrained eaters is mediated by expected taste. Results from Study 2 show that when a gluten-free purchase is incentivized with immediate incentives (i.e., price discounts), an increase in dietary restraint leads to a heightened salience of a health goal. Such an effect is attenuated with delayed incentives (i.e., redeemable points). The health goal salience mediates the impact of dietary restraint on anticipated satisfaction with a gluten-free dining experience incentivized with immediate rewards. This research contributes to the hospitality literature and the broader literature on food consumption. Moreover, our findings suggest that managers need to focus on clearly communicating the appealing taste of gluten-free foods and aim at activating a health goal among unrestrained eaters.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965518762842 [Google]
Susskind, A. M., K. M. Kacmar and C. P. Borchgrevink (2018): The Relationship of Service Providers’ Perceptions of Service Climate to Guest Satisfaction, Return Intentions, and Firm Performance, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 59(4), pp.390-396
In this article, we replicate and extend the guest–server exchange (GSX) model to include guest return intentions as a mediator between guest satisfaction and unit-level sales. With the extended model, we establish that guest return intentions are strongly connected to financial performance and are a better indicator of unit-level sales when compared with guest satisfaction as previously modeled. Furthermore, our model confirms that guest satisfaction is a statistically significant consequent of service orientation, but is best treated as an antecedent to guest return intentions, rather than unit-level sales as previously modeled. Other results consistent with existing research on the GSX showed that line-level employees’ recognition of service delivery standards being in place is strongly connected to line-level employees’ perceptions of coworker and supervisor support. The former was significantly related to line-level employee guest orientation, which was related to guest orientation. Supervisor support was not found to affect guest orientation in the model, consistent with previous tests of the GSX.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965518777215 [Google]
Tracey, J. B. (2018): Better Models, Better Studies, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 59(4), pp.316-316
An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses several reports published within issue on topics including multidisciplinary explanations as a basis for inquiry; and mixed-methods studies in qualitative and quantitative data analytic procedures.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965518806623 [Google]
Wang, J., M.-H. Chen, C.-Y. Fang and L. Tian (2018): Does Board Size Matter for Taiwanese Hotel Performance? Agency Theory or Resource Dependence Theory, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 59(4), pp.317-324
Due to the fast growing hotel industry in Taiwan, recent hospitality studies has paid attention to how various factors affect the Taiwanese hotel performance and offered interesting and valuable findings. To expand the financial literature of the Taiwanese hotel industry and the hospitality literature as a whole, this article is the first hospitality study to investigate how board size affects firm performance of publicly traded hotels in Taiwan. Panel regression test results reveal an interesting finding. Specifically, there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between board size and hotel performance in terms of return on assets, return on equity, and Tobin’s Q with an optimal value of board size equal to 10. This indicates that while board size up to 10 has a positive impact on hotel performance (supporting the resource dependence theory), board size can deteriorate hotel performance when it is larger than 10 (supporting the agency theory).
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965517735906 [Google]
Yuan, B., J. Li and G. Zeng (2018): Trapped as a Good Worker: The Influence of Coercive Acquaintance Advertising on Work Outcomes, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 59(4), pp.428-441
This article examines the organization phenomenon of coercive acquaintance advertising, which is born of social media context and emerging in tourism and hospitality industry. Empirical results analyzing the multisource and time-lagged data collected from 358 travel agency employees provide general support for our hypotheses. Specifically, this article finds that the practice of coercive acquaintance advertising leads employees to suffer from interrole conflict arising from being a worker and “friend” simultaneously on their personal social media networks, which in turn can affect their job performance, job satisfaction, and turnover intention. In addition, such mediation process can be strengthened by the high-level of employee’s feedback sensitivity such that there is the moderated mediation mechanism in the relationships between coercive acquaintance advertising and employee work outcomes. The findings have theoretical and practical implications for researchers and practitioners.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965518777212 [Google]
Antonetti, P., B. Crisafulli and S. Maklan (2018): Too Good to Be True? Boundary Conditions to the Use of Downward Social Comparisons in Service Recovery, Journal of Service Research, 21(4), pp.438-455
Evidence shows that downward social comparisons (DSCs), messages delivered by frontline employees describing how service experiences turned out even worse for others, can reduce customers’ anger following a service failure. This study contributes to the literature on DSCs and service recovery by highlighting pitfalls associated with the use of these messages in service recovery and showing the conditions necessary for their effectiveness. Building on persuasion knowledge theory, we show that customers draw manipulative inferences about DSCs because of the perceived bias associated with the source of the message and the implicit derogation of a competitor that DSCs entail. To reduce inferences of manipulative intentions, frontline employees should both accompany DSC messages with intense apologies and use self-derogation to reduce the perception that they are criticizing another firm. Past claims on the generalized effectiveness of DSCs need to be revised. Managers should craft social comparison messages carefully to avoid negative reactions from customers. Our research indicates that once adapted to address these concerns, DSCs can be an effective recovery strategy among individuals with a strong need for social comparison information.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1094670518793534 [Google]
Keh, H. T. and J. Sun (2018): The Differential Effects of Online Peer Review and Expert Review on Service Evaluations, Journal of Service Research, 21(4), pp.474-489
The present research investigates the differential effects of online peer review and expert review on consumers’ evaluations of experience and credence services. We propose that these effects are mediated by consumers’ confidence in their service evaluation and moderated by information convergence. We conduct three studies to test our hypotheses. Study 1 shows that consumers evaluate experience (vs. credence) services more favorably when exposed to peer review (vs. expert review). Across the three studies, we show that the interaction effects between information source and service type on service evaluation are mediated by consumer confidence. Importantly, we identify the moderating role of information convergence on these effects (Studies 2 and 3). Convergent positive reviews substantiate the interaction effects between information source and service type on service evaluation. Interestingly, when consumers see mixed information from either similar or different sources, negative expert review has greater influence than negative peer review in lowering consumer confidence and their evaluations of both experience and credence services. These findings contribute to the literature on information processing in the services domain and also have significant practical implications on managing consumer expectations of third-party information.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1094670518779456 [Google]
Mende, M., M. L. Scott and L. E. Bolton (2018): All That Glitters Is Not Gold, Journal of Service Research, 21(4), pp.405-420
A service provider’s conspicuous consumption can undermine customer attitudes and behavioral intentions toward the provider—a so-called penalty effect of conspicuous consumption. Four studies investigate customer and contextual factors that moderate this penalty effect. The results show that customers low in materialism penalize service providers who consume conspicuously (e.g., decreased patronage intentions). In addition, as another facet of the penalty effect, a service provider’s conspicuous consumption undermines customer cost-benefit assessments (decreased perceived value and price fairness), which function as mediating variables. However, service providers can use “service warmth” as a protective strategy to attenuate the penalty effect. Notably, materialistic customers do not react more favorably to service providers who engage in conspicuous consumption (in contrast with their established tendency to favor conspicuous goods). Taken together, the results provide a deeper and theoretically nuanced understanding of when and how customers respond negatively to conspicuous service providers, with meaningful implications for the management of services. For example, when service firms design their aesthetic labor strategy, they should consider their customers’ levels of materialism accordingly. In addition, service firms need to educate their frontline employees about the potential downsides of displaying conspicuous consumption cues.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1094670518770038 [Google]
Newton, J. D., J. Wong and R. Casidy (2018): Deck the Halls With Boughs of Holly to Soften Evaluations of Service Failure, Journal of Service Research, 21(4), pp.389-404
Symbols associated with seasonal religious festivals are periodically displayed by service providers, but do these symbols serve more than just a decorative function? Findings from seven experiments suggest they do. In the presence of such symbols, individuals soften their evaluations of a personally experienced service failure encounter. This effect emerges through the activation of forgiveness but only among those with a religious upbringing and only when the encounter involves service failure (rather than neutral service). The softening of service evaluations in the presence of such symbols is reversed, however, when service failure is observed (rather than directed at the self) and when the recipient of that failure is perceived to be vulnerable. Contextual exposure to symbols associated with seasonal religious festivals therefore presents a double-edged sword for managers; depending upon the service failure recipient, these symbols can harden or soften evaluations of the service failure encounter.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1094670518755316 [Google]
Pelletier, M. J. and J. E. Collier (2018): Experiential Purchase Quality, Journal of Service Research, 21(4), pp.456-473
Experiential purchases, such as movies, theme parks, and vacations, represent a unique, and exceedingly popular, type of marketing behavior. Despite the increasing popularity of purchased experiences, the question of what makes one experiential purchase superior to another remains elusive. Using a multimethod, grounded theory approach, the authors perform two qualitative studies that reveal high-quality experiential purchases are composed of five dimensions: uniqueness, fun, escapism, servicescape quality, and social congruence. Next, an empirical model of experiential purchase quality (EPQ) and its outcome variables is tested in two different settings. The results find support for the EPQ conceptualization and uncover that a high-quality experiential purchase can positively influence braggart word of mouth, nostalgia, and self-connectedness to the experience while also lowering price consciousness perceptions to repeat the experience. A comparison of short and long experiences found that customers put a heavier weighting on concepts such as escapism and social congruence in shorter experiences where longer experiences had a heavier emphasis on the servicescape and perceptions of fun. From a managerial perspective, our results highlight that a one-size-fits all approach in experiential management is problematic. Managers need to understand that customers have different evaluative criteria depending on the length of an experiential purchase.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1094670518770042 [Google]
Schaefers, T., R. Moser and G. Narayanamurthy (2018): Access-Based Services for the Base of the Pyramid, Journal of Service Research, 21(4), pp.421-437
One key challenge for consumers at the base of the pyramid (BoP) is access to products that could transform their livelihood, leading to nonconsumption as the dominant pattern. Previous studies have claimed that nonconsumption could be addressed with services offering access to goods without ownership. Drawing on expected utility theory, we conduct two experimental studies in rural India that provide the first empirical support for the idea that the availability of access-based services reduces nonconsumption at the BoP. Additionally, we show that this effect is explained by BoP consumers’ expected utility assessment as reflected in their perception of access being more affordable and entailing less financial risk than ownership. We also demonstrate that access temporality, an important configurational variable for access-based service providers, affects the degree to which nonconsumption can be decreased. Compared to short-term access, BoP consumers perceive long-term access to be too similar to ownership in terms of affordability and financial risk, which causes them to refrain from purchasing. Overall, the results suggest that access-based services represent a viable alternative for addressing nonconsumption at the BoP. However, service providers should be aware that short-term access is required to gain acceptance among BoP consumers.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1094670518770034 [Google]
Guyader, H. (2018): No one rides for free! Three styles of collaborative consumption, Journal of Services Marketing, 32(6), pp.692-714
Purpose This paper aims to focus on collaborative consumption, that is, the peer-to-peer (P2P) exchange of goods and services facilitated by online platforms. Anchored in the access paradigm, collaborative consumption (e.g. accommodation rental and ridesharing services) differs from commercial services offered by firms (e.g. business-to-customer [B2C] carsharing). The aim of this study is to examine the nuanced styles of collaborative consumption in relation to market-mediated access practices and socially mediated sharing practices.Design/methodology/approach Following the general research trend on mobility services, the context of long-distance ridesharing is chosen. Data collection was conducted using participant observation as peer service provider, 11 ethnographic interviews of consumers and a netnographic study of digital artifacts.Findings Using practice theory, ten ridesharing activities were identified. These activities and the nuances in the procedures, understandings and engagements in the ridesharing practice led to the distinction of three styles of collaborative consumption: communal collaborative consumption, which is when participants seek pro-social relationships in belonging to a community; consumerist collaborative consumption, performed by participants who seek status and convenience in the access lifestyle; and opportunistic collaborative consumption, when participants seek to achieve monetary gain or personal benefits from abusive activities.Originality/value By taking a phenomenological approach on collaborative consumption, this study adds to the understanding of the sharing economy as embedded in both a utilitarian/commercial economic system and a non-market/communal social system. The three styles of collaborative consumption propose a framework for future studies differentiating P2P exchanges from other practices (i.e. B2C access-based services and sharing).
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-11-2016-0402 [Google]
Heinonen, K. and G. Medberg (2018): Netnography as a tool for understanding customers: implications for service research and practice, Journal of Services Marketing, 32(6), pp.657-679
Purpose Understanding customers is critical for service researchers and practitioners. Today, customers are increasingly active online, and valuable information about their opinions, experiences and behaviors can be retrieved from a variety of online platforms. Online customer information creates new opportunities to design personalized and high-quality service. This paper aims to review how netnography as a method can help service researchers and practitioners to better use such data.Design/methodology/approach A systematic review and analysis were conducted on 321 netnography studies published in marketing journals between 1997 and 2017.Findings The systematic review reveals that netnography has been applied in a variety of ways across different marketing fields and topics. Based on the analysis of existing netnography literature, empirical, theoretical and methodological recommendations for future netnographic service research are presented.Research limitations/implications This paper shows how netnography can offer service researchers unprecedented opportunities to access naturalistic online data about customers and, hence, why it is an important method for future service research.Practical implications Netnographic research can help service firms with, for example, service innovation, advertising and environmental scanning. This paper provides guidelines for service managers who want to use netnography as a market research tool.Originality/value Netnography has seen limited use in service research despite many promising applications in this field. This paper is the first to encourage and support service researchers in their use of the method and aims to stimulate interesting future netnographic service research.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-08-2017-0294 [Google]
Hurley, E., J. Trischler and T. Dietrich (2018): Exploring the application of co-design to transformative service research, Journal of Services Marketing, 32(6), pp.715-727
Purpose This paper aims to investigate in a transformative service research (TSR) context how users can be involved through co-design and what contributions they can make during this process.Design/methodology/approach A six-step co-design process was used to plan and facilitate two co-design sessions that involved a total of 24 participants. The collected data include field notes, transcripts from group discussions, recordings of idea presentations and the evaluation of ideas.Findings A recruitment strategy that uses strong networks and sensitizes users through generating awareness of the underlying issue can prevent the waste of valuable resources. During the facilitation stage, experts need to find the fine line between close guidance and giving voice to the users. User-generated ideas set the starting point for new value propositions that more effectively support users in their value creation processes.Research limitations/implications The findings are limited to one specific sample and design task. Future research is required that investigates the application of co-design to other TSR contexts.Practical implications In TSR, organizations will need to follow a different co-design approach owing to the sensitive nature of the design task and/or users that are not driven by innovation-related motivations. Organizations should tap into their networks to raise awareness and recruit suitable participants. To capture users’ unique insights and foster the collective creativity, facilitation should focus on enabling participants through the use of design tools and team management.Originality/value The study contributes new insights into requirements, challenges and benefits of applying co-design to TSR contexts. The study shows that ordinary users, if empowered, can give important insights into the design of new value propositions.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-09-2017-0321 [Google]
Kim, K.-S. (2018): The effects of interpersonal attraction on service justice, Journal of Services Marketing, 32(6), pp.728-738
Purpose This study aims to examine the effects of physical attraction, social attraction and task attraction, which are interpersonal attraction components of service staff, on interactional justice, procedural justice and distributive justice, all of which are components of service justice.Design/methodology/approach This study was conducted after deriving measurement tools through two preliminary studies. The research sample was made by those who have visited the restaurant where the service staff provides services directly to the customers. Respondents were instructed by investigators to complete the questionnaire based on their most recent visit to the most visited restaurants in the past three months. They received a $5 gift voucher after completing the questionnaire.Findings Physical attraction negatively affected interactional justice, procedural justice and distributive justice. Social attraction had a negative impact on procedural justice. Task attraction had the greatest positive impact on all service justice factors.Practical implications To attract customers’ positive perceptions of service execution and outcomes, task attraction should be considered first rather than physical attraction and social attraction of service staff.Originality/value This study expanded the scope of research on interpersonal attraction by studying physical attraction, social attraction and task attraction as interpersonal attraction factors at service encounters, and on service justice by setting the interpersonal attraction as a variable affecting service justice.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-06-2017-0200 [Google]
Lee, S. (2018): Enhancing customers’ continued mobile app use in the service industry, Journal of Services Marketing, 32(6), pp.680-691
Purpose This study aims to empirically investigate ways to enhance customers’ continued mobile app use intention on the basis of information adoption model.Design/methodology/approach This study conducted an online, cross-sectional, self-administered survey, recruiting mobile app users in the USA.Findings Results identified both argument quality and source credibility positively influenced usefulness of branded apps and parasocial interactions. Results also confirmed a positive influence on usefulness of the branded app and parasocial interaction relating to continued branded app use intentions.Originality/value This study enriched the understanding of mobile app use behaviors, extending information adoption model in the service industry.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-01-2017-0015 [Google]
Leong, V. S., S. Hibbert and C. Ennew (2018): Communicating value to enhance service visualization, Journal of Services Marketing, 32(6), pp.645-656
Purpose This study aims to examine the effects of enhanced visualization of intangible service value through integration of means-end perspectives on advertising effectiveness.Design/methodology/approach Banking advertisements, incorporating message stimuli derived from salient values desired by the financial consumers and designed to assist message elaboration and stimulate personal relevance, were developed to examine the influence of cognitive connectivity on vividness of intangible service benefits and service advertising effectiveness.Findings The findings demonstrate that greater cognitive connectivity positively affects perceived tangibility, attitude toward the advertisement and attitude toward the brand. Additionally, the results indicated that perceived personal relevance has higher influence on envisioning service components, compared to one’s ability to connect visual cues to perceived benefits and to immediate end-goals.Research limitations/implications This study incorporated visual stimuli limited only to financial security and social recognition. Future research should aim to examine the effects of different types of values on consumers’ elaboration process and their ability to visualize financial services.Originality/value This study extends knowledge of the means-end chain by proposing a means-end cognitive connectivity construct which influences the degree that consumers are able to mentally picture intangible service attributes. This study also provides insight that different values have different degree of influence on one’s ability to visualize service.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-04-2017-0114 [Google]
Nagel, D. M., J. J. Cronin Jr and R. L. Utecht (2018): Consumption or prosumption? A question of resources, Journal of Services Marketing, 32(6), pp.739-754
Purpose Despite the recent growth of the do-it-yourself market, very little is known as to how or why individuals actually choose to engage in prosumption behavior. The purpose of this study is to specifically examine the decision process of actors when determining the level of resource commitment and integration necessary to prosume or consume a service, thus offering insights to both managers and academics alike.Design/methodology/approach A multi-method study using both qualitative and quantitative research examines the decision of actors to consume or prosume a service. A conceptual model is presented and tested.Findings The results identify the primary drivers individuals considered when evaluating the resource commitment necessary for a make or buy decision. This research offers empirical support for the application of transaction cost analysis as an appropriate theoretical explanation of how actors decide to prosume or consume a service. The authors further suggest, based on these findings, that transaction cost analysis is a viable middle-range theory to explain the commitment and sharing of resources between actors engaged in co-production within the perspective of a service-dominant logic.Research limitations/implications Future research is needed to identify opportunities for hybrid models that consider the appropriateness of these findings within larger service networks, as well as potential moderating or mediating influences of the direct effects identified and investigated.Originality/value This study offers an initial attempt to provide a theoretical explanation for the resource integration decisions (e.g. make or buy) faced by individuals in a growing segment of the economy. The findings enable better informed strategies to be identified by both service providers and retailers.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-11-2016-0390 [Google]
Shin, J., Y. Hwang and A. S. Mattila (2018): Dining alone? Solo consumers’ self-esteem and incidental similarity, Journal of Services Marketing, 32(6), pp.767-776
Purpose Though social trends are driving consumers toward solo consumption of various services, many are reluctant to do so. There is little guidance for service providers as to how to effectively induce solo consumption. This study aims to examine the joint effect of self-esteem and an incidental similarity cue (e.g. a person’s initials) on anticipated satisfaction with with a solo consumption experience to fill this gap.Design/methodology/approach This study used a two-factor (incidental similarity cue and self-esteem) quasi-experimental design to test the hypotheses. The respondents read a scenario depicting a solo service consumption experience and completed scales that measured perceived fit with the service context and anticipated satisfaction with the experience.Findings Results indicate that, in the absence of an incidental similarity cue, self-esteem has a positive effect on solo consumers’ perceived fit. In the presence of such a cue, however, self-esteem has a minimal impact on perceived fit. Furthermore, perceived fit mediates the effect of self-esteem on anticipated satisfaction when the cue is absent.Originality/value The authors’ findings suggest that promoting incidental similarities with consumers may not be an efficient strategy to attract solo consumers. Conversely, service providers wishing to induce solo consumption may benefit from situationally increasing self-esteem among potential solo consumers. The current research advances the authors’ understanding of the effect of an incidental similarity cue and self-esteem in the context of a growing social trend of solo consumption.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-06-2017-0213 [Google]
Sultan, A. J. (2018): Orchestrating service brand touchpoints and the effects on relational outcomes, Journal of Services Marketing, 32(6), pp.777-788
Purpose This research aims to identify critical brand touchpoints that generate value for customers and brands and examine their effects on two relational outcomes: relationship quality and word of mouth (WOM).Design/methodology/approach Three studies combining qualitative and quantitative research provide evidence distinguishing four different stages of customer experience in the telecom industry and develop a research model of staged customer experience; structural equation modeling analyses are used to validate the proposed model and test for the examined effects.Findings Customer experience in the telecom industry consists of four related but distinct stages (i.e. pre-touch, in-touch, post-touch and service failure) and these stages have direct and indirect effects on WOM. Furthermore, the effects of customer experience stages on WOM are partially mediated by relationship quality.Research limitations/implications The research model introduced here will allow academics and practitioners to focus their efforts on important touchpoints that influence relationship quality and WOM. Future research should examine the proposed model of staged customer experience in different applications and industries.Practical implications A common myth among marketers is that firms should design a painless experience if they want a superior market position. While avoiding a drain on financial resources, the prime objective should be to provide a holistic customer experience that is valuable to customers and the brand alike. Marketers should disregard touchpoints and stages that do not provide noticeable value.Originality/value This research answers the call for a more appropriate model to elucidate the factors that link customer experience with relational outcomes.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-12-2016-0413 [Google]
Tang, X., E.-C. Chang, X. Huang and M. Zhang (2018): Timing and compensation strategies in service recovery, Journal of Services Marketing, 32(6), pp.755-766
Purpose A combined model involving the intensity of negative emotions and the strategic combinations (timing and means) of service recovery is developed. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the performances of these different combinations through customer satisfaction, repurchase intention and fitting curves between the two under hotel service scenarios.Design/methodology/approach A 2 (recovery timing: immediate/delayed) × 2 (recovery means: psychological/economic) × 3 (type of service failure: failure in a delivery system/failure in responding to customer needs/improper employee behavior) between-subject experimental design was used with 456 participants.Findings The results suggest that immediate and economic recovery effectively raises the service recovery evaluations from customers with low-intensity negative emotions, whereas delayed and psychological recovery helps customers with high-intensity negative emotions to give higher evaluations.Originality/value When service failures happen, the strategies for and timing of recovery directly influence customers’ service recovery evaluations. This study sheds light on the role that negative emotions play in the process of service recovery and provides implications for service industry managers.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JSM-04-2017-0126 [Google]
Mosavi, S. M., M. S. Sangari and A. Keramati (2018): An integrative framework for customer switching behavior, Industry Service Journal, 38(0), pp.1067-1094
Due to increased intensity of competition, retention of customers has become a major concern in many service industries. Although researchers have investigated customer switching intention and its influential factors, the complex structural mechanisms that reduce the likelihood of switching intention in the field of financial services, especially in the banking context, have remained understudied. This paper addresses the role of customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, customer trust, and customer perceived value within a new conceptual model for customer switching intention in the banking services. In particular, the paper contributes to examine the potential moderating effect of switching barriers on the relationship between customer loyalty and switching intention as well as the relationship between satisfaction and switching intention of customers in the banking services. Data are collected through a questionnaire survey, and partial least squares-structural equation modeling is used for data analysis. Empirical results confirm the proposed model and hypotheses and show that switching barriers strengthen the impact of both customer loyalty and satisfaction on switching intention. The findings of this research offer a unified view of the structural relationships that contribute to reduced switching intention and provide more in-depth insights into the role of switching barriers in the banking context.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2018.1428955 [Google]
Curran, R., I. W. F. Baxter, E. Collinson, M. J. Gannon, S. Lochrie, B. Taheri, J. Thompson and O. Yalinay (2018): The traditional marketplace: serious leisure and recommending authentic travel, Industry Service Journal, 38(0), pp.1116-1132
Services reliant on revenue generated from tourism are often beholden to how authentic visitors perceive their offering to be. From a managerial perspective, this is exacerbated when they serve a dual-purpose, as both actively ingrained in local culture and showcased international tourist attractions. As such, this study contributes to Kolar and Žabkar’s (2010) consumer-based model of authenticity by assessing the relationships between serious leisure, object-based and existential authenticity, and visitor word-of-mouth (WOM) recommendations in Iranian cultural tourism. Utilising partial least-squares structural equation modelling, and drawing upon responses from 615 visitors to the Tabriz Grand Bazaar, it thus extends the model’s applicability to the developing Middle Eastern context. The results extend extant research by emphasising the importance of object-based authenticity, as opposed to existential authenticity, in stimulating positive visitor WOM recommendations. Consequently, this study advances the prevailing understanding of the role of authenticity in stimulating positive behavioural intentions by highlighting how destinations can stimulate visitor recommendations.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2018.1432603 [Google]
Yeşiltaş, M. and M. Tuna (2018): The effect of ethical leadership on service sabotage, Industry Service Journal, 38(0), pp.1133-1159
This study aims at examining the impact of ethical leadership activities on service sabotage, and the mediating role of service climate and corporate ethical values (CEV) on this impact. The study was completed via 384 acceptable questionnaires in total. The research findings show that ethical leadership affects the service climate and the CEV in a positive way whereas it has a negative effect on the service sabotage. In addition, it is observed that the CEV have a positive effect on the service climate. In the light of the research findings, managers’ ethical personal and managerial characteristics affect the service climate in a positive way and play a significant role for the ethical values to become more common within the organization. Furthermore, the ethical leadership is effective for decreasing the service sabotage which is referred as the undesirable and harming behaviors within the organization.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2018.1433164 [Google]
Rozen-Bakher, Z. (2018): Labour productivity in M&As: industry sector vs. services sector, Industry Service Journal, 38(0), pp.1043-1066
Due to the high failure rate of the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) strategy, this study raises the questions of whether the pre-M&A performances of the acquirer and the target could predict improvement in labour productivity in the post-M&A period. The study also conducted sector analysis by comparison between three groups of the sample: the industry sector M&As, the services sector M&As and the all sectors M&As. The study uses a sample of 394 public firms from 13 countries that were involved in M&As. The study highlights the differences between the sectors. Buying a larger target in the services sector may not hinder the labour productivity in the post-M&A period, while in the industry sector, it may end in a negative influence on labour productivity. The study also shows that the labour productivity is higher in the services sector compared to the labour productivity in the industry sector, particularly during the integration stage.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2017.1397136 [Google]
Lin, C.-P., C.-K. Chiu, C.-M. Liu, K.-J. Chen and C.-Y. Hsiao (2018): Modeling e-loyalty: a moderated-mediation model, Industry Service Journal, 38(0), pp.1160-1178
This work proposes a research model that elaborates upon the development of e-loyalty based on the signaling theory and attachment theory. In the model, e-loyalty is indirectly related to both visual appeal and an e-tailer’s service reputation through the full mediation of trust and affection. At the same time, the relationships between trust and e-loyalty and between affection and e-loyalty are hypothetically moderated by an e-tailer’s service reputation. The proposed hypotheses of this research were empirically tested using data from working professionals in high-tech firms in terms of online retailing. This study surveyed the same research participants at two different time points, one month apart, to verify the theoretical inferences. The empirical findings herein complement the previous literature by presenting how visual appeal and an e-tailer’s service reputation simultaneously influence e-loyalty through various mediating and moderating mechanisms.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2018.1433165 [Google]
Cai, R. and C. G.-Q. Chi (2018): The impacts of complaint efforts on customer satisfaction and loyalty, Industry Service Journal, 38(0), pp.1095-1115
This study identifies the depth structure of customer complaint efforts and investigates the roles of each dimension in the structural relations with customer satisfaction and loyalty. Three dimensions of customer complaint efforts were identified, procedural effort, cognitive effort, and affective effort in the restaurant context. This study uses two subsamples to develop and validate the proposed three-dimension customer complaint efforts scale. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted on the first subsample of 211 participants. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were applied on the second subsample of 328 participants. It is found that customers’ physical/procedural and cognitive efforts exerted during the complaint resolution process compound their affective efforts, which further reduce customer satisfaction with the complaint process and erode customer behavioral and attitudinal loyalty. This study bridges the research gap gaps and provides managerial implications to help reduce customer complaint efforts and ensure positive customer behaviors.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2018.1429415 [Google]
