Coping with the ambivalent emotions of guilt and pride in the service context

Abstract

PurposeThis research paper aims to contribute to the literature on emotions in the service experience. The extant literature has extensively discussed how the service experience can drive singular emotions. However, the investigation of the combined effects of mixed emotions – that is, emotions of antagonistic valence (positive and negative) – remains scarce. To fill this gap, this research focuses on the combined effects of the negative emotion of guilt and the positive emotion of pride, two affective reactions that can be felt during a service experience but that differ from each other in terms of valence. Specifically, this research examines how consumers who simultaneously feel these two emotions cope with them and more precisely if they engage in a positive reappraisal of their own behavior during the service experience or if they rather prefer adopting the avoidance strategy of mental disengagement. Finally, this research paper examines how these coping strategies to the mixed emotions of pride and guilt affect satisfaction with the service.Design/methodology/approachA series of hypotheses relating guilt, pride and the coping strategies of mental disengagement and positive reappraisal, as well as their effect on satisfaction toward the service, are testes using two scenario-based experiments.FindingsThe findings show that the effects of guilt on the coping strategies of mental disengagement and positive reappraisal are moderated by pride. Importantly, the results show that these two interacting effects are distinct. Precisely, while pride moderates the effect of guilt on mental disengagement such that a negative effect of guilt is observed mainly among people who feel strong guilt feelings, the moderating effect of pride in the guilt-positive reappraisal relationship is positive and mainly among those who feel low guilt feelings. Further, mental disengagement mediates the effects of guilt on satisfaction and differently according to the level of pride.Originality/valueThis research makes a contribution through the investigation of mixed emotions. This approach appears of value because services can drive different emotions simultaneously, and in a context where most extant research focuses on singular emotions.