Yunxia Shi, Rumeng Zhang, Chunhao Ma and Lijie Wang
This paper aims to discuss the effect of frontline employees' emotional labor (surface acting vs. deep acting) on customer satisfaction and the moderating role of responsibility…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to discuss the effect of frontline employees' emotional labor (surface acting vs. deep acting) on customer satisfaction and the moderating role of responsibility attributions in the situation of robot service failure.
Design/methodology/approach
The scenario-based experimental method was designed to perform hypothesis testing and SPSS was used to analyze the data from the 363 questionnaires collected.
Findings
The results indicate that (1) employees' emotional labor recovery has a double-edged sword effect. Deep acting improves customer satisfaction, while surface acting undermines the effectiveness of service recovery and leaves customer satisfaction below previous levels. (2) Customers' responsibility attributions for service failure moderate the effect of service recovery.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to focus on the role of frontline employees' emotional labor in robot service failure contexts, which not only enriches and expands the relevant literature in this domain, but also deepens the understanding of how emotional labor and responsibility attribution effect the customer satisfaction.
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Rongrong Teng, Shuai Zhou, Wang Zheng and Chunhao Ma
This study aims to investigate whether and how artificial intelligence (AI) awareness affects work withdrawal.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate whether and how artificial intelligence (AI) awareness affects work withdrawal.
Design/methodology/approach
This survey garners participation from a total of 305 hotel employees in China. The proposed hypotheses are examined using Hayes’s PROCESS macro.
Findings
The results indicate that AI awareness could positively affect work withdrawal. Negative work-related rumination and emotional exhaustion respectively mediate this relationship. Furthermore, negative work-related rumination and emotional exhaustion act as chain mediators between AI awareness and work withdrawal.
Practical implications
Given the growing adoption of AI technology in the hospitality industry, it is imperative that managers intensify their scrutiny of the psychological changes experienced by frontline service employees and allocate more resources to mitigating the impact of AI on their work withdrawal.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the burgeoning literature on AI by elucidating the chain mediating roles of negative work-related rumination and emotional exhaustion. It also makes a significant forward in examining mediating mechanisms, notably the chain-mediated mechanism, through which AI awareness impacts employee outcomes.
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Yee Ming Lee and Chunhao (Victor) Wei
This study sought to understand which food allergen labeling systems (non-directive, semi-directive, and directive) were attended to and preferred by 34 participants with food…
Abstract
Purpose
This study sought to understand which food allergen labeling systems (non-directive, semi-directive, and directive) were attended to and preferred by 34 participants with food hypersensitivity and their perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) and behavioral intention towards a restaurant that identifies food allergens on menus.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used an online survey with open-ended and ranking questions, combined with eye-tracking technology, to explore participants' visual attention and design preferences regarding four menus. This study utilized one-way repeated measures analysis of variance (RM-ANOVA) and heat maps to analyze participants' menu-reading behaviors. A content analysis of survey responses and a ranking analysis of menus were conducted to understand the reasons behind consumers' preferred menu designs.
Findings
The advisory statement was not much attended to. Participants identified food allergen information significantly quicker with the directive labeling system (icons) than the other two systems, implying they were eye-catching. Semi-directive labeling system (red text) has lower visit count and was more preferred than two other systems; each labeling system has its strengths and limitations. Participants viewed restaurants that disclosed food allergen information on menus as socially responsible, and they would revisit those restaurants in the future.
Originality/value
This study was one of the first to explore, through use of eye-tracking technology, which food allergen labeling systems were attended to by consumers with food hypersensitivity. The use of triangulation methods strengthened the credibility of the results. The study provided empirical data to restauranteurs in the US on the values of food allergen identification on restaurant menus, although it is voluntary.
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Bo Tian, Zizhao Wang, Chunhao Li and Jiaxin Fu
According to relational contract theory, relational governance has potential to improve public-private partnership (PPP) infrastructure project sustainability. The main purpose of…
Abstract
Purpose
According to relational contract theory, relational governance has potential to improve public-private partnership (PPP) infrastructure project sustainability. The main purpose of this research is to investigate the association between relational governance and the sustainability of PPP infrastructure projects. Further, this study examines the mediating effect of managerial innovation and the moderating role of public involvement.
Design/methodology/approach
Research data were collected from 158 valid questionnaires completed by Chinese PPP professionals. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was then employed to test five hypotheses.
Findings
Results indicate a positive correlation between relational governance and PPP infrastructure project sustainability. This linkage is regulated by public involvement. In addition, managerial innovation plays a mediating role between relational governance and the sustainability of PPP infrastructure projects.
Originality/value
This study verifies the relationship between relational governance and PPP infrastructure project sustainability, as well as intermediary and regulatory factors, providing a new approach to achieving sustainability in PPP infrastructure projects.
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Shilei Zhang, Teng Zhao, Xinyi Liu, Chunhao Wei and Sijun Liu
Building on the broaden-and-build theory and incorporating a self-regulatory perspective, this study examines the relationship between trait gratitude and subjective career…
Abstract
Purpose
Building on the broaden-and-build theory and incorporating a self-regulatory perspective, this study examines the relationship between trait gratitude and subjective career success and investigates the mediating roles of growth mindset of work and career network breadth.
Design/methodology/approach
Time-lagged data were collected in three waves from a sample of 314 employees in China. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling.
Findings
The findings demonstrate that trait gratitude is positively related to SCS, mediated by growth mindset of work as an indicator of psychological resources and career network breadth as an indicator of social resources. Trait gratitude is more strongly associated with network breadth (i.e., social resources) than with growth mindset (i.e., psychological resources).
Practical implications
Organizations may find trait gratitude an applicable addition to the selection criteria during the recruitment process.
Originality/value
By identifying trait gratitude as an antecedent of SCS and revealing its underlying mechanisms, the current study points to a new perspective on the study of career success.
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Chunhao Li, Yuping Zhao and Wei Feng Chen
This study aims to investigate the dual effects of commitment-based governance on the relationship between formal control and public–private partnership (PPP) project performance…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the dual effects of commitment-based governance on the relationship between formal control and public–private partnership (PPP) project performance. Formal control and relationship governance are two primary forms of inter-organizational governance that affect project performance. However, little is known about the interplay between formal control and commitment and its effect on PPP projects. More specifically, previous studies have failed to distinguish the function routes of relationship governance resulting from different types of formal control (process and outcome control).
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts a questionnaire survey to empirically investigate the mechanism that commitment-based governance influences the relationship between formal control and PPP performance. After collecting data from public and private sector professionals involved in 101 Chinese PPP projects, the theoretical framework proposed in this paper is verified by the empirical results of the hierarchical multiple regression analysis.
Findings
The results show that process control has an inverted U-shaped effect and outcome control has a significant positive influence on PPP project performance. Furthermore, commitment moderates the effect of formal control on PPP project performance by increasing the relevance of outcome control and mediates the inverted U-shaped relationship between process control and PPP project performance.
Practical implications
Managers should recognize that process control is a double-edged sword and prevent the overuse of process control. Managers should direct their attention toward efforts to improve the commitment, which allows for the effectiveness of outcome control strategies. Additionally, this study new measurement method for relationship governance suggests that managers should be aware of the difference in parties' perceptions of the relationship.
Originality/value
This study allows for a comprehensive understanding of the relationship governance-control nexus from a commitment perspective. The authors bring into light the dual role of commitment-based governance in the relationship between the two types of formal control and PPP project performance. Moreover, the new approach to measure relationship governance offers valuable insight into the measurement of variables about individual's perception.
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The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of audit engagement partner's professional experience on audit quality. The authors also investigate the relationship between…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of audit engagement partner's professional experience on audit quality. The authors also investigate the relationship between the audit partner's experience and audit fees in both Big 4 and non-Big 4 accounting firms.
Design/methodology/approach
Since the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) officially enacted Rule 3211 in 2017, US accounting firms are required to disclose detailed information of engagement partners in Form AP (PCAOB, 2015b). The authors obtained a sample of 2,283 audit partners from Form AP and hand collected their individual professional experience data through Certified Public Accountant (CPA) database, corporate disclosure and social media sites (e.g. Linkedin). Econometric models with fixed effects are used in this study to test our hypotheses. Two-stage least square (2SLS) model is used in the robustness test.
Findings
The authors find that the relationship between audit engagement partner's professional experience and audit quality is concave. It indicates that audit quality is increasing during the early stage of engagement partners' career and then decreases as the partners approaching the late-career phase. Further, the authors find that partner's professional experience is positively associated with audit fees in non-Big 4 accounting firms but not significantly associated with audit fees in Big 4 accounting firms.
Practical implications
The finding of how auditor experience impacts audit quality can be useful for accounting firms to better plan their staffing in auditing engagements. This study’s results are also helpful for small accounting firms to optimize their pricing strategy.
Originality/value
This study provides new empirical evidence about the relation between auditor professional experience and audit quality. Furthermore, the authors extend the literature of audit fee determinants by testing the joint effects of audit firm-level factors and auditor individual-level professional experience on audit fees.