The role of tie strength on consumer dissatisfaction responses

This study examines the impact of tie strength and service failure type on consumers’ behavioral intention (voice complaint and negative Word-of-Mouth) in a restaurant context. Overall, the results indicate that tie strength significantly reduces consumers’ intention to spread negative Word-of-Mouth, but it fails to influence their complaint intention. In addition, failure type plays an important role on consumers’ complaint behavior; consumers are more willing to voice a complaint after a core service failure than after an interactional service failure.     

Is guarantee compensation enough? The important role of fix and employee effort in restoring justice

We conducted an experiment examining the influence of guarantee compensation and other service recovery tactics on customers’ justice perceptions across hotel failures of varying severity. Our study was driven by a noted lack of research into the benefits of service guarantees as a recovery tool and past findings suggesting that hotel management may be relying too heavily on guarantee compensation to recover failures. Findings suggest that compensation, fix and failure severity jointly influence customers’ perceptions of distributive justice. Perceived employee effort has a large influence on guests’ perceptions of interactional justice, however, it does not interact with failure severity to influence justice.     

Exploring the Impacts of Service Guarantee Strategy

This study examines the impacts of service guarantee in terms of consumers' perceived purchase risks, loyalty, complaint behaviors, and intent to use “word-of-mouth” within the context of the casual dining restaurant segment. The scenario method was developed and used to test the research hypotheses. The results of the study reveal that a well-executed service guarantee could reduce consumers' perceived purchase risks, and increase a positive word-of-mouth and customer loyalty. On the other hand, it also raises consumers' intent to complain upon service failure. Furthermore, the results of the study indicate that a “specific” service guarantee is much more effective in reducing consumers' perceived purchase risks, and increasing consumers' intent to claim after a service failure as opposed to an “unconditional” service guarantee. The results of the study suggest that a service guarantee offered by independent restaurants could offer a competitive advantage over brand restaurants not offering a service guarantee.     

Managing customer citizenship behaviour: The moderating roles of employee responsiveness and organizational reassurance

This study examines the influence of employee responsiveness and organizational reassurance towards customer citizenship behaviour (CCB) on building guest satisfaction, loyalty, and perceived value. The study considers insights from concepts in psychology including attachment theory, self-congruity theory, affect infusion model, and social exchange theory which are relevant to the problematics of CCB. The scenario-based experimental design used in this study focuses on one aspect of CCB identified in extant literature: the policing of other customers. In a hospitality context, guests voluntarily participate in safeguarding an organization's quality when they identify areas that may be impacted by opportunistic behaviours of fellow guests. This context is highly relevant in hospitality and tourism settings where the behaviour of one individual may directly impact the experience of another given the co-creation of experience in a shared environment. Both employee responsiveness and organizational reassurance were found to significantly moderate guest satisfaction, loyalty and perceived value.     

Customer attributions of service failure and its impact on commitment in the airline industry: an emerging market perspective

The purpose of this study was to establish the impact of customer service failure attributions on customer commitment and the influence of service failure severity on recovery satisfaction. Data were collected through structured questionnaires and the hypotheses were tested using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The study revealed that service failure severity and attribution dimensions of stability and controllability influence recovery satisfaction. No relationship was established between locus of causality and recovery satisfaction. It was revealed that recovery satisfaction influences customer commitment and knowledge of alternatives moderates the relationship between the two. Service providers are recommedend to avoid preventable service failures.     

The influence of self-construal and co-consumption others on consumer complaining behavior

Consumers show great individual variability in complaining behavior even after experiencing similar service failures. The present study examined the effect of self-construal and co-consumption others on consumer complaining behavior following a service failure. Based on an experimental study with a sample of 202 in a restaurant context, MANCOVA results revealed significant effects of self-construal on voice response and switching behavior. The results also showed a significant interaction effect of self-construal and the presence of co-consumption others on switching behavior. The findings shed light into the intrapersonal and interpersonal dynamics at work when consumers react to service failures. Theoretical and managerial implications of the findings are also discussed.     

Managing customers’ undesirable responses towards hospitality service brands during service failure: The moderating role of other customer perception

This research examines how perceived service failure severity (SFS) in an interactive multi-actor service context may lead to customer retaliation and revisit intention via sequential mediation of dissatisfaction and brand hate. The research also examines how other customer perception, reflected in appearance (OCP-A), similarity (OCP-S) and behaviour (OCP-B), conditions these relationships. In this attempt, the research employs two-experimental studies (Studies 1 & 2) and two self-reported surveys (Studies 3 & 4). Findings from Study 1 establish that service failure leads to retaliation via sequential mediation of dissatisfaction and brand hate. This study also supports that other customer perception can shape the adverse effect of service failure severity on dissatisfaction. Further, in Study 2 it is established that OCP-B is more influential (over OCP-S and OCP-A) in mitigating the adverse effect of SFS on dissatisfaction. Followed by this, Study 3 extends the findings into a different setting, and also confirms the external validity of Studies 1 and 2. Finally, Study 4 incorporates the transactional vs. relational orientation of customers, and the findings elucidate that OCP-B (over OCP-A and OCP-S) dominates in mitigating dissatisfaction for relational customers. However, no such dominance is observed for transactional customers. The findings from the research provide novel insights for managing service failure in hospitality sector.     

Service guarantees in the hotel industry: Their effects on consumer risk and service quality perceptions

This work proposes a theoretical model that examines how service guarantees offered by hotels affect the perceived quality and perceived risk of consumers, as well as the moderating effect of corporate reputation. We tested hypotheses with an experiment using a 2 (corporate reputation: good and poor) × 2 (guarantees coverage: unconditional and specific) × 2 (payout: money-back and non-money-back payout) between-subjects design. A total of 222 questionnaires were completed by hotel consumers in Taipei. The results indicate that the type of service guarantee significantly affects the perceived quality and perceived risk of consumers. Furthermore, corporate reputation has a moderating effect on the relationship between service guarantee type and the perceived quality and perceived risk. Some suggestions concerning service guarantee strategies for hotel services are given.     

The impact of exploitative leadership on frontline hospitality employees’ service performance: A social exchange perspective

Based on social exchange theory, we investigate the impact of perceived exploitative leadership on frontline hospitality employees’ service performance. A three-phase analysis of 207 supervisor–subordinate dyads from three hotels in China demonstrates that exploitative leadership has a negative effect on frontline hospitality employees’ service performance. Furthermore, leader−member exchange (LMX) plays a mediating role in the relationship between exploitative leadership and employee service performance. Moderated path analyses indicate that traditionality weakens the direct influence of exploitative leadership on LMX and an indirect influence of exploitative leadership on employee service performance through reduced LMX. We also discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.     

The better I feel,the better I can do: The role of leaders’ positive affective presence

This study adopts the affect theory of social exchange to examine the influence of leaders’ positive affective presence on employees’ service performance via employees’ energy at work and the moderating role of service climate. Based on 383 dyads of leaders and their employees in the hospitality industry, the results reveal that leaders’ positive affective presence has a positive effect on employees’ service performance. Employees’ energy at work mediates the relationship between leaders’ positive affective presence and employees’ service performance. Service climate enhances the relationship of employees’ energy at work and service performance, which in turn strengthens the indirect effect of leaders’ positive affective presence on employees’ service performance via employees’ energy at work.     

Culture As A Moderator Of The Relationship Between Service Quality And The Tourist'S Satisfaction With Different Distribution Channels

The present research analyzes the influence of culture on the relationship between each of the dimensions of service quality and tourists' satisfaction with the distribution channel, differentiating between travel agencies and the Internet. More specifically, the research seeks to understand the influence of the cultural dimensions of uncertainty avoidance and individualism/collectivism on the relationship between each of the dimensions of service quality and satisfaction, depending on the medium through which the service is purchased. The sample was made up of 600 tourists. Of these, 300 tourists (150 Spanish and 150 English) had purchased hotel accommodation for their last holiday via a travel agency, and the other 300 (150 Spanish and 150 English) had purchased hotel accommodation for their last holiday via the Internet. The findings indicate that there are variations in the relationships between each of the dimensions of service quality and satisfaction, and that these variations are shaped by the cultural dimensions of uncertainty avoidance and individualism/collectivism.     

Antecedents of mandatory customer participation in service encounters: An empirical study

The literature on service quality and customer loyalty has long focused on enhancing the work of service providers. This study examined “the other side of the coin” in service co-production or value co-creation in service encounters by investigating how service providers might take a proactive approach to building relationships based on mandatory customer participation (MCP). The research evaluated how such antecedents as role clarity, self-efficacy, purchase importance, and servicescape could influence MCP. Path analysis revealed that these four factors significantly influenced different dimensions of MCP; which in turn had a significant impact on customer loyalty. Using these insights, managers could develop a strategic approach to managing customer roles in the service delivery process. This study adds to the body of knowledge on service quality by demonstrating empirically the determinants and structure of MCP and their relationships with customer loyalty in service co-production processes in a hospitality setting.     

Tell us your concern,and we shall together address! Role of service booking channels and brand equity on post-failure outcomes

The extant literature on service failure and recovery has overlooked the post-service failure evaluations when customers interact through different online service booking channels, such as direct websites (Direct) and online travel agents (OTAs). In this study, following the attribution theory and the expectation disconfirmation framework, we analyse the impact of service failure across service booking channels (direct vs. OTA) and its influence on post-service failure outcomes. Besides this, the study also examines the moderating roles of co-created service recovery and brand equity between channel type and post-recovery outcomes. A between-subjects experimental design revealed that when a service failure occurs in a direct (vs. OTA) website, it creates adverse outcomes of higher magnitude. The results also suggest that, in the case of a direct channel, co-created service recovery generates favourable service outcomes when the channel carries low brand equity. However, in the case of an OTA, the use of co-created service recovery works better when that OTA carries high level of brand equity. Further, the results also supported that these post-recovery outcomes are driven by recovery satisfaction and channel engagement. Thus, this study findings offer novel insights into online service recovery literature and managerial practice, primarily for efficient design and execution of recovery efforts across channels.     

A visitors' evaluation index for a visit to an archaeological site

This study aims to propose and validate a visitors’ evaluation index (VEI) that captures service evaluation in the context of a visit to an archaeological site. Drawing on the literature on the concepts of ‘service quality’, ‘service experience’, ‘service convenience’, and ‘visitor's satisfaction’, the study develops a measurement index that includes the specific components of service evaluation associated with a visit to an archaeological complex. To validate the proposed VEI, the paper describes an empirical study of 1021 visitors to the Roman archaeological site of Italica, located in Santiponce (Spain). Following structural equation modelling (SEM), the results validate the proposed structure of four theoretical components in the VEI: (i) ‘service experience’; (ii) ‘service quality’; (iii) ‘access sacrifices’; and (iv) ‘effort sacrifices’. Of these, ‘service experience’ is found to be the major contributor to the robust VEI proposed and validated in the study.     

Human staff vs. service robot vs. fellow customer: Does it matter who helps your customer following a service failure incident?

The key to excellent service delivery is to ensure harmonious interactions between service actors. Therefore, in the event of service failure incidents, an understanding of the roles and interactions of these service actors is critical to achieving positive service outcomes. This research addresses the question: How do interactions between customers and these service actors (human staff/automated technological interface/fellow customer) influence their service experience following a service failure? We draw on role theory and answer this question via three experimental studies. Findings show that customers evaluate their service experience less favourably when receiving service recovery from fellow customers rather than firms (human staff and service robots). Furthermore, a firm’s instrumental recovery, rather than informational recovery, leads to a more favourable service evaluation, although this effect is absent when service recovery was given by fellow customers. Findings provide insights into the role of each actor in determining customer service evaluation.     

Negative affect,deep acting,and customer compensation as responses to customer mistreatment: The effect of customer-based perspective-taking

Customer service employees often deal with customer mistreatment, eliciting negative affect, which subsequently influences service performance. Using affective events theory (Weiss & Cropanzano, 1996) as the theoretical framework, perspective taking was examined as an intervention to influence negative affect elicited from customer mistreatment in two experiments. Study 1 examined and found that customer perspective taking led to less negative affect, and subsequently more customer compensation and more deep acting through serial mediation effects. Study 2 tested the moderating effect of the service failure locus of causality (i.e., hotel or customer). The most important theoretical contribution is understanding how having employees shift the focus away from their own emotions, towards why a customer is being rude or difficult, influences deep acting and customer compensation via reduced negative affect. This paper provides a promising intervention and training tool that hospitality organizations can use to influence employee service recovery strategies and customer service.     

When will customers care about service failures that happened to strangers? The role of personal similarity and regulatory focus and its implication on service evaluation

This paper examines an interesting research question: how does a service failure that happen to a stranger customer influence an observing customer's service evaluation? Drawing on the defensive attribution theory and regulatory focus theory, we argue that an observing customer will attribute more (vs. less) blame to the company if the customer involved in the undesirable incident is personally similar (vs. not similar) to him/her. These attributions, in turn, will influence the observing customers to form a negative evaluation on service quality of the company. More importantly, a prevention-focused tendency will intensify the negative impact of personal similarity on service evaluation. Results from two experiments confirmed the hypotheses.     

Relationship between HEXACO personality factors and emotional labour of service providers in the tourism industry

This study aimed to 1) explore to what extent service providers’ emotional labour is affected by personality as measured using HEXACO personality factors, 2) analyze the affect of emotional labour on the performance of required emotional display rules, and 3) investigate differences in emotional labour depending on service providers’ demographic characteristics. From a questionnaire survey of employees in different service sectors in Korea, four HEXACO personality factors, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness were found to have a positive influence on emotional labour. Deep acting has a positive influence on the requirement to display positive emotions and a negative influence on the requirement to hide negative emotions. Demographic variables generally do not affect emotional labour. This study provides practical information about employees to managers in the service industry. It could help in recruitment, the management of human resources, and enhance a company’s service assessment.     

The underlying dimensions of tipping behavior: An exploration, confirmation, and predictive model

Tipping is unique in that the customer provides a major portion of the employee's wage. Because tipping is voluntary and because it usually occurs retrospectively of the service rendered, tipping practices have stimulated historic interest from both economic and psychological perspectives. This research extends the body of knowledge on tipping by integrating recent advances in motivational research which support the existence of a universal, multifaceted model of intrinsic motivation. Inasmuch, the present research investigated the underlying motives for tipping under various conditions of service. Findings supported the existence of six underlying behavioral dimensions associated with tipping: (a) Heuristic Model, (b) Impress Others, (c), Reciprocal Reward, (d) Social Obligation, (e) Generosity, and (f) Control Service. Each of these six corresponded closely with the basic motivators proposed by the multifaceted model. Results from a hierarchical linear regression confirmed the overriding influence of heuristics on tip amounts under various service conditions.     

Service innovativeness and the structuring of organizations: The moderating roles of learning orientation and inter-functional coordination

This paper aims to investigate the influence of organizational structure on service innovativeness by testing the moderating roles of learning orientation and inter-functional coordination. This helps to understand how organic structure influences service innovativeness when it is effectively leveraged with favorable organizational factors. Data were collected from 178 hotel managers and executives in Japan and moderated regression analysis was performed to analyze the data. Findings of the study suggest that higher levels of service innovativeness are positively related to higher levels of hotel business performance. In addition, organic structure makes a positive influence on service innovativeness and an increase in the levels of learning orientation boost the effectiveness of organic structure on service innovativeness. Moreover, the positive association between organic structure and service innovativeness become stronger when all firm’s functions make an attempt to cooperate and contribute to disseminating customers and competitors’ information in the hotels. These findings contribute to understanding how hotel service innovation is affected by service innovativeness, organizational structure, learning orientation and inter-functional coordination.