The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of emotions that consumers experience following service failures and to assess the effects of each of these emotions on important…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of emotions that consumers experience following service failures and to assess the effects of each of these emotions on important behavioral outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper extends the work of Wetzer et al. (2007) and draws upon the existing literature to test a series of research hypotheses tying emotions to four important behavioral outcomes primarily using stepwise regression.
Findings
When a service failure occurs, customers experience any of a variety of negative emotions. The effect on behavioral outcomes depends on the specific emotion experienced by the consumer. The current research, which benefits by using retrospective experience sampling, finds that frustration is the predominant emotion experienced by customers following service failure, but that anger, regret and frustration affect behavioral outcomes. Uncertainty also plays a role.
Research limitations/implications
Future research should investigate the antecedents of propensity for emotions and predisposition toward industries, as well as the consequences of word-of-mouth (WOM) praise and WOM activity. Additionally, emotions could be examined by service stage. Several other moderators could be investigated, including severity, complaining behavior, repeat occurrence, service importance, remedies and forgiveness, product vs process failures, tenure, gender and age.
Practical implications
The current research emphasizes the importance of understanding which emotion is being experienced by a customer following service failure to identify the behavioral outcomes that will be most impacted. The specific managerial implications depend upon the specific emotional response experienced by the customer and are discussed separately for anger, regret and frustration. Service personnel must be trained to recognize and address specific customer emotions rather than to provide a canned or generalized response.
Originality/value
To date, there has been little, if any, systematic research into the effects of multiple discrete negative emotions on multiple desirable behavioral outcomes. The current study examines six discrete emotions. Predominant emotions are differentiated from emotional intensity. The behavioral outcomes of reconciliation and reduced share-of-wallet are added to the traditional outcomes of repatronage intentions and negative WOM. While existing research tends to rely on a scenario approach, this study uses the retrospective experience sampling method. The authors distinguish between mixed emotions and multiple emotions. The relative effects of disappointment and regret are examined for each of the four outcomes. Finally, importance-performance map analysis was applied to the findings to prioritize managerial attention. Numerous managerial and research implications are identified.
Details
Keywords
L. Jean Harrison-Walker and James A. Mead
Most research has investigated the fear of missing out (FOMO) in the context of online activities, often associated with negative personal outcomes such as fatigue and stress…
Abstract
Purpose
Most research has investigated the fear of missing out (FOMO) in the context of online activities, often associated with negative personal outcomes such as fatigue and stress. However, given the increased desire to be informed and included associated with FOMO, organizations that can effectively meet these needs may develop or strengthen social and structural bonds, thereby turning short-term customers with FOMO into lifelong patrons. This study aims to examine the relationship between FOMO and favorable organizational outcomes as mediated by several constructs associated with the desire for information and inclusion.
Design/methodology/approach
This research was conducted within the higher education sector of the service industry. FOMO served as the IV. The mediators represented context-specific aspects of campus involvement and inclusion. Organizational outcomes related to the long-term services relationship served as the DVs. The sample consisted of 435 students recruited from research pools at two southern universities in the USA. Exploratory factor analysis, OLS regression and the Hayes–Macro were used to examine the data.
Findings
The results demonstrate that FOMO is positively associated with students’ desires for information and inclusion (informal peer interaction, campus involvement, informal faculty interaction, campus information media use and a preference for in-person course scheduling), which are associated with the desirable university outcomes of satisfaction, connection and alumni donation/activity intentions.
Practical implications
If a university fosters unstructured time spent with faculty and peers, and promotes campus information media involvement, students with higher levels of FOMO are more likely to be satisfied, feel connected to the university and report intentions to donate time and money as alumni.
Originality/value
Prior research on FOMO is generally focused on internet and social media use; this study takes a broader perspective and identifies the effect of FOMO on a desire for information and inclusion within a novel context (a service environment). It also associates FOMO with favorable long-term service relationship outcomes that fortify social and structural bonds.
Details
Keywords
The emergence of the Internet and its communication capabilities has given rise to a number of complaint sites that function as central forums for consumers to share their bad…
Abstract
The emergence of the Internet and its communication capabilities has given rise to a number of complaint sites that function as central forums for consumers to share their bad experiences with other consumers. Companies are reacting by adopting anti‐domain sites in an attempt to prevent the creation of such complaint forums. Data from one complaint forum are analyzed to identify the nature of the complaints, whether the complaints were initially voiced to contact personnel, what other attempts were made to resolve the problem, whether the Internet consumer complaint forum was the initial method used for complaining, the responsiveness of the company to non‐Internet complaints as well as Internet complaints, and the demographics of complainers using the Internet complaint forum. The suggestion is made that companies should embrace consumer complaints, and compete with the independent complaint forums (rather than try to block them) on the basis of ease of the complaint process and the likelihood of response. Recommendations are offered that are specific to Internet use and benefits to the company are described.
Details
Keywords
The primary purpose of this paper is to explore the role of emotions that consumers experience as a result of assigning causal attributions to service failures. The secondary…
Abstract
Purpose
The primary purpose of this paper is to explore the role of emotions that consumers experience as a result of assigning causal attributions to service failures. The secondary purpose is to consider the effects of each of these emotions on behavioral outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper extends the work of Wetzer, Zeelenberg, and Pieters regarding emotions and draws upon the existing literature to present a series of research propositions tying attributions to emotions and emotions to behavioral outcomes.
Findings
When a service failure occurs, customers experience any of a variety of negative emotions. The particular emotional reaction depends on the customer's perception of why the service failure occurred in the first place. Behavioral outcomes associated with service recovery therefore depend directly on the negative emotion and indirectly on the customer's perception of the cause.
Practical implications
To the extent that marketing managers can frame the cause of the service failure in their post‐failure communications, recovery satisfaction may be increased leading, in turn, to more positive customer response outcomes. The specific managerial implications depend upon the emotional response experienced by the customer.
Originality/value
Research to date looking at causal attributions in service failure is limited to attributions based on stability and controllability and ties them to very few emotions; this paper identifies six attributions and ties each to a specific emotion. The behavioral outcomes of reconciliation and share‐of‐wallet are added to the traditional outcomes of repatronage intentions and negative word‐of‐mouth.
Details
Keywords
Asks whether service provider nationality significantly influencesconsumer decision making and, if so, whether the influence of nationalstereotype is moderated by the presence of…
Abstract
Asks whether service provider nationality significantly influences consumer decision making and, if so, whether the influence of national stereotype is moderated by the presence of additional information, such as professional credentials or service availability, or by the consumer′s nationality. Identifies a significant three‐way interaction effect involving provider nationality, supplemental advertising information and consumer nationality.
Details
Keywords
Research identifies nearly 73 million adult Americans asilliterate. Analysis of social, economic and demographic trendsindicates that the situation will worsen before it improves…
Abstract
Research identifies nearly 73 million adult Americans as illiterate. Analysis of social, economic and demographic trends indicates that the situation will worsen before it improves. Marketing communications copy prepared at an eighth grade reading level or above may not be comprehended by as much as one‐third of the population, resulting in a severe loss of potential sales and excessive advertising expense. Marketing research to date focusses on the impact of message, source, and channel variables on consumer behavior. However, the current “illiteracy crisis” argues that we reform our thinking ti consider how consumer literacy should influence our message, source, and channel determinations. Key tasks for marketers include evaluating the clarity, readability and specificity of promotional materials; pretesting the marketing communication on a sample of the target audience; and carefully assessing all options available for source and channel selection.
Details
Keywords
Anuradha Yadav, Rajesh Kumar Singh, Ruchi Mishra and Surajit Bag
With gaining popularity, online communities are increasing. It is leading to the data and information overflow. So, there are some challenges like cyber frauds, cyberbullying…
Abstract
Purpose
With gaining popularity, online communities are increasing. It is leading to the data and information overflow. So, there are some challenges like cyber frauds, cyberbullying, etc. while engaging with online communities. Not only this, anonymity of the participants, stress and racism are also big challenges in online communities' interaction. Online harassers' attack tactics have changed over time. In addition, there are challenges like quality of discussion, inequality in participation of the users, etc. may scale online communities towards incitement and activism. Therefore, this study will try to analyse these challenges for overall benefit of the society.
Design/methodology/approach
The underlying fuzzy set theory is employed to handle the fuzziness of users' perceptions since the attributes are expressed in linguistic preferences. Through exhaustive literature review, the authors have identified 15 challenges. These challenges are further categorised as cause and effect by using DEMATEL (Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory) approach.
Findings
Lack of strategic planning and uninspired discussions between users has emerged as a major challenge in cause category. This study further demonstrates how individual challenge can be managed and developed to navigate the online communities to maintain a healthy environment in society.
Research limitations/implications
Results are based on limited dataset. Therefore, findings cannot be generalised for all online communities.
Originality/value
The research findings offer a suitable direction to policymakers to formulate and design policies, laws and regulations to increase user engagement in the online community. The study is beneficial to firms and researchers in understanding the factors influencing effective management of online communities.
Details
Keywords
Dan Song, Zhaohua Deng and Bin Wang
As more firms adopted AI-related services in recent years, AI service failures have increased. However, the potential costs of AI implementation are not well understood…
Abstract
Purpose
As more firms adopted AI-related services in recent years, AI service failures have increased. However, the potential costs of AI implementation are not well understood, especially the effect of AI service failure events. This study examines the influences of AI service failure events, including their industry, size, timing, and type, on firm value.
Design/methodology/approach
This study will conduct an event study of 120 AI service failure events in listed companies to evaluate the costs of such events.
Findings
First, AI service failure events have a negative impact on the firm value. Second, small firms experience more share price declines due to AI service failure events than large firms. Third, AI service failure events in more recent years have a more intensively negative impact than those in more distant years. Finally, we identify different types of AI service failure and find that there are order effects on firm value across the service failure event types: accuracy > safety > privacy > fairness.
Originality/value
First, this study is the initial effort to empirically examine market reactions to AI service failure events using the event study method. Second, this study comprehensively considers the effect of contextual influencing factors, including industry type, firm size and event year. Third, this study improves the understanding of AI service failure by proposing a novel classification and disclosing the detailed impacts of different event types, which provides valuable guidance for managers and developers.
Details
Keywords
The study aims to explore the mechanism to strengthen service recovery performance among public sector employees. Delving on the notion that ethical aspects of public leaders…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to explore the mechanism to strengthen service recovery performance among public sector employees. Delving on the notion that ethical aspects of public leaders could serve as reliable models, the research investigated the role of ethical leadership, thriving at work and moral self-efficacy.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative approach with two waves of data collection from both supervisors' and subordinates’ perspectives in public organizations was conducted. The final sample size was 331.
Findings
Ethical leadership has a positive effect on public sector employees' thriving at work. In turn, the state of thriving at work mediates the association between ethical leadership and service recovery performance. Public servants’ moral self-efficacy moderates both the direct relationship between ethical leadership and thriving at work, as well as the indirect effect of ethical leadership on service recovery performance through thriving at work.
Originality/value
The research findings suggest an understanding of how ethical leadership could cultivate public service recovery performance through employees’ thriving. The common values between subordinates and leaders were found to facilitate a better translation of the leaders’ role model into employees’ psychology and behaviors.
Details
Keywords
Although consumer sophistication and empowerment is on the rise as a result of the digital revolution, there is insufficient academic exploration with the aim of understanding how…
Abstract
Purpose
Although consumer sophistication and empowerment is on the rise as a result of the digital revolution, there is insufficient academic exploration with the aim of understanding how this empowerment functions on the internet. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to fill this gap by proposing a new conceptual model in light of available literature.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper employs a deep and broad literature review and discussion regarding possible consumer power sources on the internet to develop the proposed conceptual model, which is defined as consumer empowerment model (CEM). The components of the model are discussed in detail to reveal possible links, consumer empowerment actualization, and impacts on consumer markets on the internet.
Findings
The components of CEM are structured in light of the theory of reasoned action's main proposals as follows: “Perceived consumer power,” “Perceived consumer trust,” “Attitudinal consumer power” and finally “Behavioral consumer power.” Each component is discussed in terms of its possible contributions to the model in order to illustrate how this new form of consumer power actually works. The possible implications of consumer empowerment are also discussed in light of the newly proposed model.
Originality/value
There is no paper discussing how consumer power actualization works and thus how consumer power revolutionizes today's cyberspaces. In this context, the study is the first of its kind.