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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Jörling, M., R. Böhm and S. Paluch (2019): Service Robots: Drivers of Perceived Responsibility for Service Outcomes, Journal of Service Research, 22(4), pp.404-420
The use of service robots is on the rise. Characterized by technology autonomy with a physical embodiment, service robots have a higher level of social presence than other service technologies. This research focuses on one specific phenomenon of such social encounters: attribution of responsibility. Study 1 explores potential antecedents driving the attribution of responsibility in encounters with service robots. We derive a research model, which is tested and expanded in three subsequent scenario-based experiments. In Study 2, we find that technology’s autonomy decreases perceived behavioral control over the service robot, which in turn decreases perceived responsibility for positive outcomes but not for negative outcomes. Study 3 indicates that perceived ownership of the service robot accounts for the high responsibility for negative outcomes irrespective of perceived behavioral control. In Study 4, we show that the potential to interrupt the service robots’ autonomy increases perceived behavioral control and perceived responsibility for positive outcomes. Our results propose theoretical implications for responsibility perceptions and practical implications for customer satisfaction with service robots.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1094670519842334 [Google]
Chan, K. W., C. K. Yim and T. Gong (2019): An Investigation of Nonbeneficiary Reactions to Discretionary Preferential Treatments, Journal of Service Research, 22(4), pp.371-387
Offering discretionary preferential treatments (DPTs) to selected customers is a prevalent practice in hospitality services, yet its nature and effects on nonbeneficiaries are unclear. Drawing from social comparison and appraisal theories and relationship marketing literature, this study examines how nonbeneficiaries appraise and respond to witnessing service employees offering DPTs to others through the separate emotions of malicious and benign envy, that drive their respective contrasting reactions. Nonbeneficiaries’ relationship strength with the firm and their perceived continuity of the preferential treatment (PT) further alter the proposed effects on experiences of envy. A customer survey and three experiments (laboratory and field) consistently affirm the distinctiveness of DPT and support a dual pathway model of the mediating processes of malicious and benign envy on nonbeneficiaries’ behavioral outcomes (e.g., derogating the beneficiary, cooperating with the employee, loyalty to the service company). The findings also uncover a double-edged sword effect of a strong nonbeneficiary-firm relationship: It enhances the effects of DPT on both malicious and benign envy. Interestingly, this enhancing effect of relationship strength for eliciting malicious (benign) envy can be reduced (strengthened) if the PT is perceived to be available on an ongoing basis.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1094670519847294 [Google]
Chronis, A. (2019): The Staging of Contested Servicescapes, Journal of Service Research, 22(4), pp.456-473
Identifying the abundance of servicescapes whose meaning and identity can be contested by customers, and recognizing the necessity for managing these environments, this study investigates and provides theoretical understanding of the way in which service providers stage contested servicescapes. To this end, ethnographic research was conducted at the Gettysburg National Military Park as an exemplary empirical context of a servicescape that, more than a century and a half after the battle transpired, remains at the center of intense controversies. Analytical attention was focused on the performative practices of tour guides who—as frontline employees (FLEs)—are essential in practices of staging. The contribution of this research lies in (1) highlighting the politicized nature of certain servicescapes and theorizing their staging through three groups of interrelated practices, (2) viewing authenticity as a discourse employed by service providers to legitimize their claims of an undisputed “official” servicescape, and (3) shedding light on current debates on the tension between domination (structure) and resistance (agency) by introducing the strategic notion of metaperformance. Implications for practice are provided in the form of suggestive techniques that can guide FLEs in staging potentially controversial servicescapes and avoiding contestation.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1094670519842336 [Google]
Girard, A., M. Lichters, M. Sarstedt and D. Biswas (2019): Short- and Long-Term Effects of Nonconsciously Processed Ambient Scents in a Servicescape: Findings From Two Field Experiments, Journal of Service Research, 22(4), pp.440-455
Ambient scents are being increasingly used in different service environments. While there is emerging research on the effects of scents, almost nothing is known about the long-term effects of consumers’ repeated exposure to ambient scents in a service environment as prior studies on ambient scents have been lab or field studies examining short-term effects of scent exposure only. Addressing this limitation, we examine the short- and long-term effects of ambient scents. Specifically, we present a conceptual framework for the short- and long-term effects of nonconsciously processed ambient scent in olfactory-rich servicescapes. We empirically test this framework with the help of two large-scale field experiments, conducted in collaboration with a major German railway company, in which consumers were exposed to a pleasant, nonconsciously processed scent. The first experiment demonstrates ambient scent’s positive short-term effects on consumers’ service perceptions. The second experiment—a longitudinal study conducted over a 4-month period—examines scent’s long-term effects on consumers’ reactions and demonstrates that the effects persist even when the scent has been removed from the servicescape.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1094670519842333 [Google]
Hogreve, J., N. Bilstein and K. Hoerner (2019): Service Recovery on Stage: Effects of Social Media Recovery on Virtually Present Others, Journal of Service Research, 22(4), pp.421-439
Increasingly, customers use social media to voice complaints, making those comments visible to a wide range of uninvolved, virtually present others (VPOs). Many companies seek to shift their complaint-handling efforts away from public online platforms and toward private interactions. However, this approach might not be optimal due to the importance of transparency in social media recovery and its impact on VPOs. Using multiple experiments and building on signaling theory, vicarious learning, and trust repair mechanisms, this study reveals that service recovery transparency acts as an important signal of quality, eliciting trust, and improving VPOs’ word-of-mouth (WOM) and purchase intentions. However, service recovery transparency forms a signal of poor quality when the service recovery is unsuccessful, resulting in negative implications for VPOs’ WOM and purchase intentions. Conditional transparency provides transparency about selected aspects of the service recovery (i.e., the process or result), enabling companies to exploit the positive aspects of transparency and evoke more favorable VPO intentions than would arise with complete opaqueness. Such efforts are necessary because even high brand equity firms suffer when failing to provide recovery transparency.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1094670519851871 [Google]
Lin, M., L. Miao, W. Wei and H. Moon (2019): Peer Engagement Behaviors: Conceptualization and Research Directions, Journal of Service Research, 22(4), pp.388-403
Using social network theory as a theoretical root, this study introduces the concept of peer engagement behaviors and discusses its characteristics in relation to customer, employee, and actor engagement behaviors. This study identifies several sets of foundational research questions related to peer engagement behaviors that focus on unique attributes such as role duality, role fluidity, platform centrality, tie strength, and multidirectionality of peer engagement behaviors. Directions for broad areas of future research are also discussed to encourage theory-building on topics related to measurement, classification, subjective experiences, antecedents, and consequences of peer engagement behaviors.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1094670519865609 [Google]
Patel, P. C., J. A. Pearce Ii and M. J. Guedes (2019): The Survival Benefits of Service Intensity for New Manufacturing Ventures: A Resource-Advantage Theory Perspective, Journal of Service Research, 22(4), pp.352-370
We investigate the association between service intensity and the survival odds of new manufacturing ventures. Although previous research extensively addresses the value of servitization in established firms, this is the first empirical study that asks whether service intensity, defined as the percentage of sales from services, is beneficial or detrimental to new ventures. Drawing on resource-advantage theory, we further ask whether, under increasing service intensity, new ventures with a higher industry-adjusted ratio of tangible to total assets, labor productivity, or current ratio improve survival odds. Based on a comprehensive data on 6,683 new Portuguese manufacturing ventures founded between 2006 and 2010 and followed until 2015 (33,272 venture-year observations), the results show that higher service intensity lowers the odds of survival. For entrepreneurs, we caution against higher service intensity but demonstrate that survival odds can improve under increasing service intensity when the company can achieve a higher industry median–adjusted ratio of tangible to total assets, improved labor productivity, or a stronger current ratio position. The findings are robust after controlling for endogeneity and self-selection into services.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1094670519838616 [Google]
Jena, S. K. and P. L. Meena (2019): Price and Service Competition in a Tourism Supply Chain, Service Science, 11(4), pp.279-291
The tourism supply chain literature has predominantly focused on price-sensitive demand and ignored the service-sensitive demand issue. In competitive practice, both price- and service-sensitive demand play a significant role for tourists in selecting a tour package. In this paper, the authors discuss a case in which two tour operators compete on price and service to offer tour packages and serve the customers through a common local operator. The authors develop a mathematical model for a tourism supply chain under three scenarios: (i) a decentralized scenario, (ii) an integrated-channel scenario, and (iii) a global scenario. The results show that the tourism supply chain generates more profit when there is competition compared with when there is no competition. Furthermore, the results show that coordination among supply chain members with surplus sharing contracts improves the overall tourism supply chain profit compared with the decentralized scenario.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/serv.2019.0240 [Google]
Kim, S., H. Christiaans and J. S. Baek (2019): Smart Homes as Product-Service Systems: Two Focal Areas for Developing Competitive Smart Home Appliances, Service Science, 11(4), pp.292-310
Smart homes are a strong match for the characteristics of product-service systems (PSSs), but practitioners lack the knowledge necessary to approach their designs from a systemic perspective. Positing that smart home appliances (SHAs) are the building blocks of smart homes as competitive PSSs, this article investigates the attributes of SHAs as design elements and the advantages of PSSs as design goals. Based on systematic literature reviews and interviews with SHA experts in South Korea, the authors propose a revised set of SHA attributes and discuss the two focal areas for developing competitive PSSs with SHAs: smartness for personalized user experiences and smartness for expanded cooperation. The article contributes to the fast-changing smart home industry by capturing the attributes that define today?s SHAs, demonstrating that these attributes can contribute to the development of smart homes as a competitive PSS, and identifying areas of focus for those who develop SHAs and systems.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/serv.2019.0248 [Google]
Samorani, M., A. Alptekinoğlu and P. R. Messinger (2019): Product Return Episodes in Retailing, Service Science, 11(4), pp.263-278
The return of a product is often one of a series of transactions that a consumer undertakes in search of a good. In this article, the authors analyze returns as part of a product search process: Upon returning a product, consumers may immediately purchase an alternative one, which they may later replace with another product, and so on, until they either ultimately keep their last purchase (Keep outcome) or not (No-keep outcome). Such a sequence of transactions is called a ?product return episode?. In this work, the authors study consumer Keep and return abuse behavior using episodic metrics. Using data from a consumer electronics retailer, the authors show that analysis of product returns with episodic metrics provides insights that differ from, and go beyond, analyses with commonly-used transactional metrics. They find that although higher average price and larger store assortment at a subcategory level both tend to increase the return probability, they also increase the probability of keeping a product at the end of an episode, which points to profit-improving opportunities for retailers by allowing returns and tracking episodes. They also find that episodic metrics are useful for identifying return abuse.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/serv.2019.0250 [Google]
Temerak, M. S. (2019): Bikini or Burkini? The role of swimwear and age as determinants of beach interaction with others, Tourism Management, 75(), pp.269-283
The paper examines the influence of age and similarity in appearance to other customers on one’s attitude to a resort, patronage and interactive intentions. In-depth interviews were conducted with ten resort guests, followed by a factorial between-subjects experiment on 189 young females using written scenarios along with sketches. The data were analysed from a dual-perspective depending on the subjects’ preferences for either a burkini or a bikini by means of MANCOVA. The patronage and interactive intentions to other customers among those who preferred bikini swimsuits were found to be influenced by similarity in appearance only when unknown customers were young. The attitude to the resort and patronage intentions among customers who preferred burkini swimsuits were found to be unaffected by differences in appearance. Burkini-wearing females considered similarity in appearance as most important, followed by the age of unknown customers when they formed their interactive intentions toward others.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2019.05.010 [Google]
Antonio, N., A. de Almeida and L. Nunes (2019): Big Data in Hotel Revenue Management: Exploring Cancellation Drivers to Gain Insights Into Booking Cancellation Behavior, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 60(4), pp.298-319
In the hospitality industry, demand forecast accuracy is highly impacted by booking cancellations, which makes demand-management decisions difficult and risky. In attempting to minimize losses, hotels tend to implement restrictive cancellation policies and employ overbooking tactics, which, in turn, reduce the number of bookings and reduce revenue. To tackle the uncertainty arising from booking cancellations, we combined the data from eight hotels’ property management systems with data from several sources (weather, holidays, events, social reputation, and online prices/inventory) and machine learning interpretable algorithms to develop booking cancellation prediction models for the hotels. In a real production environment, improvement of the forecast accuracy due to the use of these models could enable hoteliers to decrease the number of cancellations, thus, increasing confidence in demand-management decisions. Moreover, this work shows that improvement of the demand forecast would allow hoteliers to better understand their net demand, that is, current demand minus predicted cancellations. Simultaneously, by focusing not only on forecast accuracy but also on its explicability, this work illustrates one other advantage of the application of these types of techniques in forecasting: the interpretation of the predictions of the model. By exposing cancellation drivers, models help hoteliers to better understand booking cancellation patterns and enable the adjustment of a hotel’s cancellation policies and overbooking tactics according to the characteristics of its bookings.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965519851466 [Google]
Bernardes, R. F., R. F. Guzzo and J. M. Madera (2019): Millennial Attitudes Toward Online and Traditional Training Methods: The Role of Training Utility and Satisfaction, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 60(4), pp.320-334
Because the millennial generation is the largest generation in the U.S. labor force and is the most computer-literate generation, many organizations are investing in online methods for their training. From a recruitment perspective, applicants can use training information to form attitudes about an organization, such as their attraction. Yet, research has not examined whether organizational attraction is influenced by the type of training method an organization offers. Using two experiments, the purpose of the current article was to examine organizational attraction as a function of whether a training program is described as online or on-the-job, and pretraining satisfaction and perceived utility as mediators of this relationship. Study 1 used a two-group (online and on-the-job) between-subjects experimental design. Study 2 used a three-group (online, on-the-job, and combined online and on-the-job training) between-subjects experimental design to replicate Study 1 and add an additional condition: combining online and on-the-job methods. Participants were instructed to read a hotel’s recruitment information for a front office position and evaluate the hotel assuming the role of an applicant. Participants had higher organizational attraction when training was described as on-the-job training than as online training. The effect of training method on organizational attraction was mediated by training satisfaction and utility. The most important theoretical contribution of the current studies is that the results contradict the general stereotypes and expectations of millennials. The results contribute to understanding how prospective applicants use organizational characteristics, such as the type of training they offer, to form attitudes, such as organizational attraction.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965519843488 [Google]
Botta, M. (2019): Financing Decisions and Performance of Italian SMEs in the Hotel Industry, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 60(4), pp.335-354
This study investigates the existence of an optimal capital structure for small and medium enterprise (SME) hotels through the analysis of the relationship between financing decisions and financial performance in a large sample of Italian hotel SMEs. The results show that hotel SMEs face an optimal capital structure that allows them to maximize returns to investors, while instead having both too little and too much debt reduces their financial performance. This notwithstanding, we show that hotel SMEs are not particularly concerned with optimizing their capital structure, and their funding behavior is deeply connected with the availability of internally available funds, a typical pecking order behavior, and they result extremely slow in converging toward their optimal level of leverage so that they could improve their performance by adopting a more sophisticated financial strategy.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965518816948 [Google]
Litvin, S. W. and R. N. Sobel (2019): Organic Versus Solicited Hotel TripAdvisor Reviews: Measuring Their Respective Characteristics, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 60(4), pp.370-377
Hotels that participate in TripAdvisor’s Review Express review solicitation programs add volume to their review count. But are the incremental reviews generated good for the hotel? This research note reports findings from a study comparing organic and solicited reviews on TripAdvisor for 50 hotel properties across 10 American cities. The mixed research results suggest that participating hotels carefully evaluate their property’s postings to determine the positive and/or negative impacts solicited reviews may be having upon their online review image. Multiple review attractiveness measures are provided to assist hotel management evaluate their property’s review postings and make informed decision regarding participation in review solicitation programs.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965518811287 [Google]
Olson, E. D. and H. Park (2019): The Impact of Religious Freedom Laws on Destination Image, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 60(4), pp.355-369
Religious Freedom Laws (RFL), aimed at prohibiting laws that burden a person’s freedom of religion, have become a source of contention in the United States. Drawing on boycott literature, this article tested a structural model involving five constructs: egregiousness, lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender (LGBT) support, self-enhancement, boycott, and destination image. A three-path mediation model was adopted to explore how the tourist’s perception of egregiousness against RFL leads to a destination boycott decision via LGBT support and self-enhancement. The results were based on a sample of 306 respondents. The findings revealed two paths, direct and indirect, to boycott decisions from perceived egregiousness. This suggests boycott decisions in terms of RFL were determined by individual tourists’ perceptions of the egregious act and the intrinsic rewards of self-enhancement from supporting the LGBT movement. In addition, boycott decisions led to a negative destination image. The implications for researchers and destination marketers were discussed.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965518815659 [Google]
Thompson, G. M. (2019): The Value of Timing Flexibility in Restaurant Reservations, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 60(4), pp.378-388
A recent paper presented and evaluated 10-integer programming models for restaurant reservations, finding that the models that pooled reservations by same-size tables were superior to models that matched reservations to specific tables. An assumption in all the models was that demand timing was inflexible and the evaluation of the models assumed that all customers arrived exactly at the designated reservation time. Although restaurant customers may have an ideal dining time, many customers have some flexibility in when they would accept a reservation. To address this, we extend the pooled-table models to allow for demand timing flexibility and evaluate the models with a range of differences between customer arrival times and their designated reservation time. With the highest flexibility in demand timing, a top-performing model increased revenue by over 21% compared with rigid demand timing. Fortunately for restaurateurs, the increased revenue came at the expense of only a small deterioration in customer service, as measured by the percentage of parties that need to wait for a table upon arrival.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965518805685 [Google]
Zhang, L., P.-J. Kuo and M. McCall (2019): Microcelebrity: The Impact of Information Source, Hotel Type, and Misleading Photos on Consumers’ Responses, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 60(4), pp.285-297
In this research, the effects of microcelebrity endorsements on customers’ attitude and booking intentions toward hotels are examined. Specifically, Study 1 manipulated the effect of information source (hotel official website vs. microcelebrity) and hotel type (chain vs. independent). Results indicated that microcelebrity endorsements yielded more positive attitude toward independent hotels. This effect was investigated further in Study 2 where the moderating effect of misleading photos on the relationship between information source and consumers’ trust and repurchase intentions was examined. Results demonstrated that when participants were shown misleading photos, there was a higher level of trust toward the hotel when the information source was microcelebrity. When the photos were nonmisleading, the level of trust toward the hotel was unaffected by the source of the information. Taken together, these data contribute to the growing social media literature as well as the influence of microcelebrities on consumers’ responses. Hospitality managers might also consider the potential benefits of including microcelebrities into their strategic planning.
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1938965519851461 [Google]
Winter, V., M. Kjaegaard Thomson, J. Schreyögg, K. Blankart, L. Duminy, L. Schoenenberg, J.P. Ansah, D. Matchar, C.R. Blankart, E. Oppel and U.T. Jensen (2019): Improving Service Provision – the Health Care Services’Perspective, Journal of Service Management Research, 4 (2), pp. 163-183, https://rsw.beck.de/zeitschriften/smr/current-issue
How to improve service provision in the health care sector is a question of high economic and social relevance, as the health service industry represents a major part of developed nations’ economy and health care is a service virtually everyone is touched by in their life. The topic embraces different perspectives or levers, including the (re)organization of service provision, a stronger focus on the patient in the service delivery process, and the crucial role of employees in health service provision. We invited a group of well-renown scholars from different academic fields to share with us personal observations, empirical evidence, and interpretations of how to improve service provision in health care in the form of individual commentaries that cover the different perspectives. The resulting special research article includes motivations on why changes in the health care sector make service management research more relevant, the depict implications for health care organizations, and they outline suggestions for future research. This article is designed to offer avenues for further service research on different perspectives for the improvement and professionalization of health care – a discipline in which joint efforts of service and health care researchers can have great societal impact.
Augenstein, D.:(2019): The Opportunities of Using Business Models in Service Management – a Review and Classification of Business Model Artefacts, Journal of Service Management Research, 4 (2), pp. 184-194, https://rsw.beck.de/zeitschriften/smr/current-issue
Through increased globalization and fast changing customer demands companies need to adapt their service management constantly. Business model approaches can provide a suitable base to comprehend the service management of a company. However, existing knowledge about the business model artefacts and the possibilities in service management is very diffuse. With this work, we want to shed light on the state-of-the-art of business model research with a specific focus on the different possibilities for a use in service management. We perform a systematic literature review and present a comprehensive overview of different existing business model artefacts including constructs, models, methods and instantiations. This can be possibly used to support service management and for future research this field. This demands requirements of suitable tool support from theory and practice both. It furthermore strengthens the relation between business modeling and service management. Overall, this research should strengthen the awareness of using the available business model capabilities for service management in order to create powerful management tools.
Boepple, H., J. Göttling, M.-C. Papen and F.U. Siems (2019): An Empirical Investigation into Personal Characteristics’ Effect on Choosing Complaint Channels, Journal of Service Management Research, 4 (2), pp. 195-208, https://rsw.beck.de/zeitschriften/smr/current-issue
For companies, complaints are a valuable customer reaction to dissatisfaction. They enable the company to respond to customer issues to prevent them from changing supplier or spreading negative word-of-mouth communication. Previous research identified various influencing factors of complaint behaviour. However, it has been scarcely considered which aspects influence the selection of the complaint channel (e. g. telephone, social media). Therefore, a 1×2 experimental study (n = 244) was conducted. Results reveal effects of personal characteristics (aggressiveness, argumentativeness and social anxiety) on complaint channel choice. A moderating effect of failure severity was also partially found. From a managerial perspective, it is recommended to provide various complaint options. This would allow the disappointed consumer to choose an adequate complaint channel depending on his or her personality.
Görs, P.K., H. Hummert, A. Traum, and F.W. Nerdinger (2019): Impact of Digitalization on Service Work in Knowledge-Intensive Business Services: An Empirical Study in Tax Consultancies, Journal of Service Management Research, 4 (2), pp. 209-220, https://rsw.beck.de/zeitschriften/smr/current-issue
Digitalization is a megatrend, but there is relatively little knowledge about its consequences for service work in general and specifically in knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS). We studied the impact of digitalization on psychological consequences for employees in tax consultancies as a special case of KIBS. We compare two tax consulting jobs with very different job demands, those of tax consultants (TCs) and assistant tax consultants (ATCs). The results show that the extent of digitalization at the workplace level for ATCs correlates significantly positively with their job satisfaction. For TCs, the same variable correlates positively with their work engagement. These positive effects of digitalization are mediated in the case of ATCs by the impact on important job characteristics. In the case of TCs, which already have very good working conditions, the impact is mediated by the positive effect on self-efficacy. Theoretical and practical consequences of these results are discussed.
