Zeya He, Huiling Huang, Hyeyoon Choi and Anil Bilgihan
Uncertain times [e.g. coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)] require service businesses to respond in creative, flexible and resilient ways. This paper aims to develop and test the…
Abstract
Purpose
Uncertain times [e.g. coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)] require service businesses to respond in creative, flexible and resilient ways. This paper aims to develop and test the theoretical relationship between digital transformation and organizational resilience (OR), and the consequences of OR on organizations and employees during turbulent times.
Design/methodology/approach
A scale development was first conducted with an expert panel. Later, 474 participants who work as employees in small and medium-sized service enterprises were recruited for structural equation modeling (SEM). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and path analysis were conducted to test the relationship between dimensions of digital maturity, dimensions of OR and two consequential variables: organizational performance and employees’ state optimism.
Findings
Strategic technology investment helps organizations to develop systematic control sustain operations in crises but may not directly contribute to employees’ capabilities of accurately understanding external turmoil, actively seeking available resources and rapidly developing adaptive solutions. Transformation management intensity equips an organization with transformative vision, governance and culture, and such transformative built-in leadership enables the organization to embrace employees with talents and innovativeness and help employees grow their capabilities when facing crises. The dimensions of OR have different influences on the organization and employees.
Originality/value
This research develops and tests the dimensions and measurement items of OR for the services domain and empirically tested how the dimensions of digital maturity influence the dimensions of OR, and how OR influences the organization’s performance and employees’ state optimism.
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Timothy Lee Keiningham, Zeya He, Bas Hillebrand, Jichul Jang, Courtney Suess and Laurie Wu
The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between innovation and authenticity by developing a conceptual framework that illuminates the key constructs.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between innovation and authenticity by developing a conceptual framework that illuminates the key constructs.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper adopts a common perspective – the customer – for both innovation and authenticity. A conceptual framework identifying the roles of centrality and distinctiveness in the innovation–authenticity relationship is developed and justified based upon prior research regarding brand extensions and authenticity.
Findings
The innovation–authenticity relationship can be visualized and managed using two constructs: centrality and distinctiveness. Centrality is proposed to have a positive relationship, whereas distinctiveness is proposed to have a non-linear (inverted-U) relationship.
Originality/value
The paper contributes a new conceptualization of the innovation–authenticity–loyalty relationship. It applies C–D Mapping in a completely new way to provide managerially relevant visualization of customers’ perceptions of a new innovation vis-à-vis the parent brand to guide strategic decision making. The paper also suggests areas for further research to improve our understanding of successful innovation–authenticity alignment.
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Zeya He, Laurie Wu and Xiang (Robert) Li
Photos are powerful tools to attract individuals’ attention and convey service experiences. Yet exactly how visual cues in a photo contribute to the perceptions of the staged…
Abstract
Purpose
Photos are powerful tools to attract individuals’ attention and convey service experiences. Yet exactly how visual cues in a photo contribute to the perceptions of the staged servicescape, and how these perceptions inspire online booking/reservation behaviors, remains underexplored. Addressing the gap, this study aims to uncover (1) how perceptual information mediated by an online photo contributes to the formation of consumers' holistic perceptions of the service environment and (2) how such consumers' holistic perceptions further influence customers' online purchasing behaviors.
Design/methodology/approach
This research adopts an innovative crowdsourcing approach and refers to field data on consumers' online hotel booking behaviors to examine relationships among inferred servicescape dimensions, consumers' holistic perceptions of the mediated servicescape and their actual online booking/reservation behaviors (e.g. page-view and meta-click behaviors).
Findings
Confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis indicated that five mediated servicescape dimensions (i.e. color, lighting, furnishings, layout and style) contribute significantly to consumers' perceptions of the mediated servicescape (CPMS) and exert different impacts on CPMS. Connecting the crowdsourced rating and consumer behavioral data, CPMS is found to influence consumers' aggregated page-view and meta-click behavior, especially in the US market.
Originality/value
Building upon servicescape theory, the medium theory and the online booking literature, this research proposes a novel conceptual framework of CPMS to theorize the process by which visual cues in online photos contribute to CPMS and subsequent online purchase behaviors. Findings from this research extend Bitner's servicescape framework to mediated service contexts and provide practical implications for promoting service businesses.
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Abstract
Purpose
Taking a mixed-method approach, this research developed and validated a novel, value-centric experience framework delineating robotic involvement in the service encounter and its subsequent impact on customers' experiences.
Design/methodology/approach
Focused on robotic restaurant businesses where robots are mainly involved in food production processes, this research utilized online customer review data and a multistage, mixed-method design for empirical examination. Automated thematic analysis was first adopted to facilitate a comprehensive understanding of the empirical reality as reflected in online customer reviews. Following an analytic induction process, a theoretical framework was developed integrating prior literature with the empirical reality to uncover the relationships across robotic involvement, experiential values and evaluative outcomes. A theory-driven, dictionary-based content analysis together with path analysis further enabled empirical validation of the developed theoretical framework.
Findings
The current research developed and validated a value-centric experience framework to theorize robotic involvement in the service encounter and its downstream impact on customers' experiences. Specifically, this framework conceptualizes robotic involvement as a five-dimensional composition of robotic visibility, competency, performanism, co-creativity and prominence. In addition, the framework specifies seven dimensions of experiential values revolving around high-tech–high-touch robotic service encounters, namely sensorial, utilitarian, hedonic, social, agentic, epistemic and aesthetic values. Following empirical validation, this framework sheds light on robotic involvement and experience design for high-tech–high-touch service businesses aiming to incorporate robots in their service encounters.
Originality/value
Drawing on classic service role theory and consumption value theory, this research developed and validated a novel theoretical model connecting robotic involvement dimensions with experiential consumption values and downstream customer evaluative outcomes. This research and theoretical framework open an exciting avenue for future research in robotic services and customer experiences.
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Zeya He, Stephanie Liu, Bo H. Ferns and Cary C. Countryman
Focusing on the corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication context, the present research aims to understand when and why featuring pride versus empathy in a hospitality…
Abstract
Purpose
Focusing on the corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication context, the present research aims to understand when and why featuring pride versus empathy in a hospitality brand’s social media post can effectively boost consumers’ loyalty intention.
Design/methodology/approach
Two experimental studies examined the congruence effects between emotional appeal and sense of power, where power was made situationally salient within the social media post (Study 1) or measured as a personality trait (Study 2).
Findings
Emotional appeals featuring pride (vs empathy) will lead to higher loyalty intention for individuals with a situational or chronic sense of high (vs low) power. A further examination into the psychological mechanism reveals that such congruence effects are serially mediated through consumers’ perceived brand authenticity and brand trustworthiness.
Practical implications
Understanding how the sense of power may influence consumer response to social media posts using different emotional appeals can provide useful guidance for marketers about how to creatively segment customers and curate appropriate targeting messages for effective CSR communication and relationship building on social media.
Originality/value
Extending the message framing research on schema congruity, this research is the first to reveal the congruence effects of emotional appeal and sense of power in CSR communications and uncover the serial mediating roles of perceived brand authenticity and brand trustworthiness in relationship marketing on social media.
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Outlook for military leadership changes and presidential contenders.
Details
DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB201246
ISSN: 2633-304X
Keywords
Geographic
Topical
The integration of women higher education leaders into the ideal discourse of educational leadership is a significant issue, as the discourses on women and leadership are…
Abstract
The integration of women higher education leaders into the ideal discourse of educational leadership is a significant issue, as the discourses on women and leadership are continually reshaped in a changing social background, with their compatibility directly influencing women leaders’ construction, understanding and presentation of their leadership identities. In recent years, the Ministry of Education in China has issued a series of documents encouraging the promotion of academic and innovative development in higher education. In response, local governments and higher education institutions (HEIs) have introduced policies that directly link the achievements of university teachers and leaders to evaluations, promotions and performance assessments. The concept of ‘academic and innovative’ encompasses both research and innovation – the ideal educational leader is expected to demonstrate stable research outcomes while actively promoting educational reforms. This chapter focuses on the narratives of women higher education leaders. In particular, the study explores the structural challenges faced by women leaders within the higher education system in integrating this seemingly non-conflicting new ideal leadership discourse with their identities. The research is derived from narrative interviews with eight women leaders in HEIs in China, focusing on their understanding, construction and presentation of their leadership identities. The study suggests that the discourse surrounding the ideal ‘academic and innovative’ higher education leader, while not directly opposing traditional notions of ‘feminine traits’, brings a set of performance management-like evaluation criteria for leaders. However, due to structural challenges within higher education, women face significant hurdles in attempting to integrate into the emerging ideal leadership discourse.
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EU trade sanctions on Cambodia.
Details
DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB250840
ISSN: 2633-304X
Keywords
Geographic
Topical
Religion and security in Myanmar.
Details
DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB217934
ISSN: 2633-304X
Keywords
Geographic
Topical
Outlook for ASEAN's agenda in 2017.