Abstract
Whilst technology has great potential to enhance service delivery, it also transforms the roles of frontline service employees (FLEs). This study aims at investigating to which extent technological demands arouse FLE technostress and how the latter affects customer satisfaction and delight with the FLE as well as electronic word-of-mouth. With conservation of resources (COR) as a theoretical framework, the authors use the job demands-resources (JD-R) model to examine the influence of technology on service interactions. Dyadic data gathered from a field study in 73 full-service restaurants that use frontline service technology, span 147 FLEs, and 373 corresponding customers. The results confirm that technology-induced job demands lead to FLE technostress, while optimism towards technology reduces the latter and buffers the effect of role ambiguity on technostress. Technostress reduces both customer satisfaction and delight with the FLE. The findings emphasize the challenge of effectively managing technology-induced job demands in organizational frontlines.
Published Version
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