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This study aims to capture the mediation role of customer–frontline employee rapport on customer satisfaction and affective, calculative and normative commitment by using three alternative models. It also verifies the moderation effect of relationship age on the rapport-satisfaction link in each alternative model.

The survey data collected from bank customers were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) with the partial least square (PLS) method.

Results confirmed rapport as a significant mediator between satisfaction and each of the three types of commitment. Relationship age significantly moderates the links between rapport to affective and normative commitment but not to calculative commitment.

Additional findings from “importance–performance analysis” suggest that satisfaction is more import to customers than rapport for developing commitment, so further investigations can reveal the underlying reasons. Also, complementary mediation shows one or more missing mediators, which calls for future research.

Managers need to use rapport strategically with customers in different relationship ages to build different types of commitment. Specific tactics to build rapport and possible long run implications for developing affective, calculative and normative commitment have been discussed in the “note to practitioner” section.

Using “broaden-and-build” theory, the study extends the literature by confirming the mediation influence of rapport on satisfaction and three types of commitment relationships.

This study aims to explore the opportunity offered through mobile learning (m-learning) to tourism education in the developing country context. To achieve this aim, the antecedent impact of self-efficacy and the moderator role of innovativeness on the attitude and intention to adopt m-learning have been investigated using the technology acceptance model (TAM).

A survey of 176 participants from three prominent tourism education institutes in Dhaka, Bangladesh, has been conducted. Partial least squares-based structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) has been used to analyze the data.

While the findings confirmed the antecedent effect of self-efficacy on the intention to adopt m-learning, the moderating effect of innovativeness was not found to be as significant for the attitude-intention link.

Data have been collected only from one country and from current tourism students. Future studies on several developing countries with different potential users would bring more in-depth insights.

Tourism education institutes need to focus on students’ self-efficacy to build a positive attitude and behavioral intention toward m-learning when launching mobile-based education services.

The study provides theoretical underpinnings enabling tourism educators to better understand tourism students’ behavioral intention to use m-learning, in particular in the developing country context. By applying TAM to tourism education to examine the effects of students’ self-efficacy and innovativeness, a better explanation of the adoption of m-learning in tourism education is provided.

While scholarly attention has mainly focused on team-level or relational constructs for the success of team performance, understanding the inter-play between these two streams of research remains limited in digital transformation projects. Borrowing from social exchange theory, this study aims to explore the antecedents of team alignment leading to team performance with mediation effects of trust, commitment and customer–service provider relationship. The moderating role of relationship length was also examined.

Data was collected using a survey of 180 employees working on digital projects in B2B context, mostly in the Indo-Pacific region, specifically Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and India. Partial least squares method with multi-group analyses and bootstrapping method were used to analyze the data.

Findings show that customer control and team capability are the strongest antecedents of team alignment, and inter-play between the customer–provider relationship with team-level constructs is also significant. Relationship length has higher level of moderation impact on trust–team performance link compared to commitment–team performance relationship.

The study considers moderation impact of relationship length on trust, commitment and team performance but not other constructs. Also, gender ratio is skewed in the data set.

Digital transformation practitioners need to be aware of relational constructs (not only team-level constructs) when designing successful long-term digitalization strategies for organizations.

This study is one of the first to document the inter-play between team alignment and relational constructs (such as trust, commitment, and customer–service provider relationship), with moderation impact of relationship length leading to team performance in digital transformation projects.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the mediation impacts of core, relational and tangible service-quality features on the relationship between customer–frontline employee rapport and customer dependency in an emerging market context. The study examines the moderating effects of relationship age and frequency of customers’ physical visits.

Partial least squares-based structural equation modelling was used to analyse data from a survey of 290 financial services customers in Dhaka, Bangladesh using the convenience sampling technique.

Results show that relational service-quality features had the largest mediation impact on the rapport–dependency relationship, followed by core and tangible service-quality features. Relationship age was not found to be a significant moderator for any relationship. However, the moderation effect of the frequency of customers’ physical visits to the service premises was significant, but only for the link between relational service-quality features and customer dependency and not for the other two types of service-quality features.

Data collected from several other emerging markets would provide more rigorous findings: this is recommended as an avenue for further research.

Practitioners can manipulate specific relational or tangible service-quality features to increase customer dependency on their firms, thus ensuring longer-term customer retention.

This study is the first one to examine the relative significance of the impacts of relational features vs tangible features of services on customer dependency in the emerging market context, with rapport serving as an antecedent.

While prior research has examined customer acceptance of humanized chatbots, the mechanisms through which they influence customer value creation remain unclear. This study aims to investigate the emerging concept of Perceived Humanization (PH), examining how hedonic motivation, social influence and anthropomorphism influence value creation through the serial mediation of PH and trust. The moderating roles of rapport and social presence are also explored.

Based on data from an online survey involving 257 respondents, this study employs Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling utilizing SmartPLS3 software.

Hedonic motivation leads to value creation via two routes: PH and affective trust; and PH and cognitive trust. Social influence and anthropomorphism also positively impact value creation through similar pathways. Rapport moderates the impact of social influence on PH, while social presence moderates the relationship between PH and both affective and cognitive trust. A cross-cultural analysis of China, India and New Zealand highlights varying cultural dimensions influencing PH and its effects on value creation.

For practitioners in the tourism industry, the findings highlight the strategic importance of enhancing PH in chatbot interactions. By understanding and optimizing these elements, businesses can significantly improve their customer value-creation process.

This study contributes to the service marketing literature by generating a comprehensive framework for the comprehension and application of PH. Its cross-cultural perspective provides rich insights, offering valuable information for service marketers aiming to thrive in the dynamic and competitive tourism industry.

The human side of the job demands–resources (JD-R) model was this study's focus, examining job resources' impact on employees' co-creation intention. It considered employee satisfaction, engagement (vigour, absorption and dedication) and self-construal affect as mediators, with optimism and employee pro-social behaviour as moderators.

In total, 214 responses from a survey questionnaire among service employees in Indonesia and Singapore were analysed with the partial least squares (PLS) method. Moderation and mediation analyses used multi-group analyses and bootstrapping.

Most job resource indicators were found to be significant antecedents of employee co-creation intention. Optimism and pro-social behaviour significantly moderated the relationships between job support, vigour and absorption. A partial mediation effect was evident in the employee satisfaction–engagement relationship. Employees' self-efficacy and self-construal affect had a higher influence on employee co-creation intention than satisfaction or engagement.

The study considered only job resource-based indicators of the JD-R model and not those based on job demands. The moderation effect in the optimism–pro-social behaviour relationship considered job support but not interpersonal relationships and job autonomy.

The study's findings would assist practitioners to motivate employees' co-creation intention through job resources and the employees' self-assessed emotions, such as optimism, pro-social behaviour and self-construal affect.

This study relates the JD-R model's job resources to service employees' co-creation intention, considering self-assessed emotions as mediators, while applying optimism and pro-social behaviour as moderators.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of calculative, affective and normative commitment on bank employee-customer rapport and customer satisfaction. The mediating effect of rapport between each of the three types of commitment and customer satisfaction is also examined.

Structural equation modelling by Partial Least Square method is used for analysing the data on 212 bank customers in Bangladesh.

Results indicate that affective and normative commitment of customers has strong influence in developing rapport, whereas the impact of customers’ calculative commitment on rapport was found to be non-significant. The study also found that rapport has a complementary mediation effect between the three types of commitment and customer satisfaction.

While providing training to front line employees, bank management should make them aware that not all customers may have the same level of positive attitude or cooperation for the rapport-building procedure. Employees should understand that different customers will respond differently to their efforts for building rapport due to their pre-existing commitment levels towards banks. Bank management should acknowledge that customers’ current level of commitment may be further strengthened or weakened by successful or unsuccessful rapport building with banks’ employees and thereby re-evaluate their satisfaction level with the bank.

The study contributes to the relationship literature by exploring the mediating role of rapport between commitment and customer satisfaction, and by considering the influence of normative commitment on customer-employee rapport in financial services.

The purpose of this paper is to report antecedent roles of competence, contractual and goodwill trust on rapport and satisfaction in banking services in a developing country context. The study also identifies the mediating influence of these three types of trust between rapport and customer satisfaction.

Data collected from a sample of 212 bank customers were analysed using AMOS-based structural equation modelling.

While all three types of trust have significant impact on satisfaction, only competence and goodwill trust positively influenced rapport. Results also demonstrate that competence and goodwill trust had complementary mediation impacts in the rapport-satisfaction context; however, mediation influence of contractual trust was not significant. Finally, influence of rapport was found to be positive towards satisfaction.

Management should focus on building goodwill and competence trust with bank customers. Bank managers should hire and train employees who are friendly in terms of customer care and are able to develop rapport with customers to increase the latter's satisfaction.

The paper tested the influence of competence, contractual and goodwill trust on rapport and satisfaction and verified the mediation impact of trust between rapport and satisfaction.

Considering the significance of customer satisfaction and commitment in the competitive banking industry of developing countries, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the alternative relationships of satisfaction with various types of commitment, benefits, quality and trust. It also attempts to identify the interrelationships among three types of trust, namely, competence, contractual and goodwill, as well as affective, calculative and normative commitment.

Structural equation modelling (AMOS-based) is used to analyse data collected from a survey of 212 bank customers in Bangladesh.

Findings show that satisfaction has a significant impact on affective, calculative and normative commitment, as well as on competence, contractual and goodwill trust. While core and relational service qualities, and confidence and social benefits influence the level of satisfaction, tangible service quality and special treatment benefit seem to have no significant effect on satisfaction. Finally, all three types of trust are found to have a strong influence on affective commitment; however, contractual trust and competence trust are found to have no impact on calculative and normative commitment.

The paper provides insights for bank management in order to understand the relative importance of each type of trust, commitment, quality and benefit, and their relationships with satisfaction.

It is the first to take the initiative to test a large range of relationships in a single study to better understand customer satisfaction in the banking industry in a developing country context.

This paper aims to examine the tendencies of sustainability reporting by major commercial banks in Bangladesh in comparison with global sustainability reporting indicators outlined in the GRI framework together with banks' predilection toward reporting 16 GRI financial service sector (FSS) specific performance indicators.

Based on the GRI G3 guidelines, the paper investigated banks' reporting in five broad areas of sustainability, such as environment, labour practices and decent works, product responsibility, human rights and society. The 2008/2009 annual reports of 12 major commercial banks listed on Dhaka stock exchange were analysed and coded using a content‐based technique.

The results show that information on society is addressed most extensively with regard to extent of reporting. This is followed by the disclosures prepared on decent works and labour practices and environmental issues. Furthermore, the disclosures of product responsibility information and the information for human rights are rather scarce in banks' reporting; on the subject of FSS‐specific disclosures, only seven items out of 16 are disclosed by all sample banks.

The findings of the study indicate that Bangladeshi commercial banks' social disclosures could develop in this style to become more holistic and over time (in association with the country's central bank involvement) to resemble a type of structured reporting to the point where they are properly labelled per se.

The study contributes to the social disclosure literature, in particular in a developing countries banking sector context, seeing as it disseminates evidence of the standing on social disclosures practices at the level of GRI with developing countries' banks data.