Examining emotions linked to live chat services: The role of e-service quality and impact on word of mouth

The purpose of this article is twofold: (1) to investigate the emotions experienced by banking customers when using live chat services and their impact on positive word-of-mouth intentions; and, (2) to identify which dimensions of e-service quality (accessibility, customer service and support, perceived security/privacy and design) impact these emotions. A survey was conducted with 682 members of a Web-based panel. Findings demonstrate that emotions, both positive and negative, significantly impact word of mouth. Results further reveal that customer service and support followed by design of live chat services mostly influence consumer emotions. On a practical level, the recommendations provided will improve consumer experience and encourage consumers to use live chat services. This is all the more important since such services are now part of the promotion and contribution of a sustainable mode of consumption that is accessible to all.

     

Seeing credit and property rights from below: The experience of Catalan smallholders in the eighteenth century

The Catalan case in south-western Europe offers us the opportunity to take a detailed look at the impact a lowering of the interest rate may have had on the poor of a specific area. It is vital to examine how property rights operated in specific contexts, given the close relationship between land and credit markets. Our working hypothesis is that, in some instances where property rights were redefined, as happened in eighteenth-century Catalonia, the reduction of the interest rate in secured loans benefitted the poorer social groups. The findings of this research, in line with those of some development economists, suggest that only an empirical and bottom-up perspective allows for a proper analysis of the eradication of poverty by placing it within the real picture of social change.