How do macro-environmental factors impact customer experience? A refined typology, integrative framework, and implications

Abstract

ABSTRACT In increasingly turbulent times shaped by macro-environmental shifts, the complexity of customer experience has radically intensified. Augmenting this complexity, myriad contingency factors are involved in customer experience delivery. Therefore, scholars have called for the development of a comprehensive view of the extent to which customer experience literature has viewed and studied the roles of macro-environmental factors, and an integrative understanding of how customer experience can be affected by different macro-environmental factors. To this end, this study (1) differentiates the concept of macro-environmental factors; (2) summarizes extant knowledge by conducting a systematic literature review via qualitative and quantitative analysis to identify relevant research gaps; and (3) grounded in the service-dominant logic service ecosystem perspective, develops an integrative framework that integrates a holistic, novel view and understanding of the dynamic relationship between customer experience and macro-environmental factors while accounting for different contingency factors of lower environmental factors (meso and micro). Using the COVID-19 crisis, we vividly illustrate the real-life applicability of the integrative framework we develop. The study broadens the scope of customer experience research, offers actionable ideas for business managers in a turbulent environment, and puts forth a research agenda identifying key research lines for advancing the customer experience research field.