Customer Emotions Research Articles

How customer’s display of emotions relates to task performance: social interaction model in hospitality

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand the emotional cycle of the relationship between service employees and customers using a social interaction model.Design/methodology/approachA total of 22 five-star hotels in Seoul area are selected. The survey was conducted by a mixed mail and visiting format. Of 340 questionnaires distributed, 27 were incomplete and thus eliminated from the study. As a result, 313 questionnaires were accepted for the purpose of final analysis, representing a response rate of 92 per cent.FindingsThe study found that service employees’ orientation and emotions are critical for predicting customers’ display of emotions and ensuring employees’ mood. In addition, employees’ emotions and service orientation have positive relationships with customers’ display of emotions; customers’ display of emotions have positive relationships with employees’ moods and task performance; and employees’ moods have positive relationships with task performance.Research limitations/implicationsA key limitation of this study is that it is difficult to capture precisely the emotions of employees and customers using the five-point Likert scale. Second, there might be representative issue in his study because the survey was limited to brief encounter within in the hotel industry that focused only on five-star hotels in Seoul.Practical implicationsThrough the study, to overcome the emotional labor, this study shows that an answer could lie in the connection between business outcomes and positive mood of employees. Managers should create a good environment for employee to work in a pleasant atmosphere. In addition, during the employee selection process, managers might hire talented and qualified front employees with friendly, courteous and extroverted characteristics.Originality/valueThe essential contribution of this study is that it provides initial empirical support for the social interaction model in an employee and customer service setting in the field of hospitality.

Consequences of Emotional Displays: Customer Emotion, Distress at Work, Culture, and Trust

From negotiations to customer interactions, individuals glean critical information from the emotional displays of others. The emotions individuals display offer important insight into how others appraise a situation. As scholars, however, we know surprisingly little about the social consequences of emotional displays. In this symposium, we break new ground by documenting the interpersonal effects of emotional displays. We explore emotional displays in customer interactions, we explore how different frames of the same expression influence perceptions, we explore cross-cultural differences, we explore expressions of emotional ambivalence, and we consider the critical role of context in moderating our understanding of emotional expressions. Our symposium explores several interpersonal dynamics, but two of papers focus particular attention on the relationship between emotional expressions and the key organizational construct of trust.

Customer Emotional Labor in Service Settings: A Mixed-Method Investigation of Display Rules

The current work adopts an interdisciplinary perspective, integrating the services management literature on co-creation of value with the psychological literature on emotional labor. Specifically, ...

Theme restaurants’ servicescape in developing quality of life: The moderating effect of perceived authenticity

This study was designed to investigate the role of servicescape, customer emotion, satisfaction, and perceived authenticity (PA) in the generation process of theme restaurant customers’ quality of life. We employed a survey methodology that used the data collected from theme restaurant customers, conducted structural analysis, and tested for metric invariance. Results showed that our theoretical model explained a sufficient amount of variance in overall quality of life; the hypothesized relationships in our research framework were generally supported; and customer emotion, satisfaction, and subjective well-being were significant mediators. Moreover, the proposed moderating impact of PA was partially supported. Overall, our empirical findings provide a significant contribution toward advancing the knowledge of how servicescape dimensions, customer emotion, satisfaction, subjective well-being, and quality of life are related. Finally, we share insight into how these relationships are affected by PA in the formation of theme restaurant customers’ quality of life.

Emotional prototypes, emotional memory usages, and customer satisfaction

ABSTRACTIn this study, we investigated the positive and negative emotion concepts in the prototype perspective and then tested them on customer satisfaction. By studying 612 customers in luxury restaurants, we found that two levels of customer emotions (i.e. positive and negative emotions) as a super-ordinate level, 4 positive emotions (i.e. contentment, happiness, love, and pride) and 5 negative emotions (i.e. anger, fear, sadness, shame, and disgust) as a basic level, and 49 specific emotions as a subordinate level are significantly related to customer satisfaction. We also examined the moderating role of emotional memory (EM) usage in the relationship between consumers’ emotions and their satisfaction. We found that product (food and beverage)-related EM strengthens and service-related EM usage weakens the relationship between customers’ negative emotions and their satisfaction. Interestingly, we found that positive and negative emotions are significantly related to customer satisfaction regardless of experience and store-related EM usage.

Customers’ emotion regulation strategies in service failure encounters

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to determine the role of emotions in customer evaluation of service failures; and second, to examine how customers’ emotion regulation impacts customer satisfaction and behavioural responses (e.g. repurchase intentions and negative word-of-mouth).Design/methodology/approachA scenario-based survey was used to elicit responses in a hospitality setting. Structural equation modelling and hierarchical regression analysis were used to test the proposed hypotheses.FindingsResults show that both positive and negative emotions mediate the relationship between perceived injustice and customer satisfaction. The emotion regulation of customers through suppression and reappraisal influences the effects of satisfaction on both negative word-of-mouth and repurchase intentions.Practical implicationsThis study advances service managers’ understanding of customer experience during service failure by demonstrating how emotion regulation influences customer response behaviours. With a better understanding of customers’ emotion regulation strategies, managers and frontline employees can more effectively develop and execute recovery strategies which adapt to customer emotions while eliciting more satisfying outcomes.Originality/valueThis research is one of the first to examine the moderating role of customers’ emotion regulation strategies in determining their behavioural responses. Conducted in the hospitality services context, this study provides support for relationships among perceived injustice, customer emotions, emotion regulation, customer satisfaction, negative word-of-mouth and repurchase intentions.

The impact of customer cognitive competence on online service decision-making: an event-related potentials perspective

ABSTRACTCustomer service online decision-making is subject to the perception of service value based on the interaction between customer cognition and emotion. The study reported in this paper examines the impact of customer cognitive competence on the online service perceived value. Thirty participants were divided into high- and low-cognitive-competence groups based on their responses on the service value perception survey. During the experiment, both groups were shown services that were available for online purchase. Changes in cognitive and emotional late positive potential (LPP) in the occipital and central–parietal region were recorded. In comparison with the customer sacrifice and customer benefit, the service value may elicit greater emotional LPP components in the central–parietal region and shorter cognitive LPPs in the occipital region in the group with high cognitive competence. Our findings present a potential neural mechanism for the impact of consumer cognitive competence on service value perception and decision-making, which may encourage the managers to improve service quality and guide the research of customer behavior and marketing.

An analysis of the interaction effect between employee technical and emotional competencies in emotionally charged service encounters

PurposeCustomers often experience negative emotions during service experiences. The ways that employees manage customers’ emotions and impressions about whether the service provider is concerned for them in such emotionally charged service encounters (ECSEs) is crucial, considering the criticality of the encounter. Drawing on cognitive appraisal theory, this study proposes that two key competencies – employee emotional competence (EEC) and employee technical competence (ETC) – affect negative customer emotions and customer satisfaction with employee response in ECSEs.Design/methodology/approachThis study relies on a video-based experiment that depicts a customer involved in an ECSE as a service provider delivers bad news to him. The hypothesis tests use a two-way independent analysis of covariance.FindingsBoth emotional and technical competencies must be displayed to improve the customer experience in an ECSE. When EEC is low, ETC does not decrease negative customer emotions or increase customer satisfaction with employee response. When EEC is high, ETC instead has a significant impact on both customer outcomes.Practical implicationsManagers must train employees to develop both technical and emotional competencies. Employees who demonstrate only one type cannot temper customers’ emotions or enhance their perceptions of the employees’ response as well as can those strong in both competencies.Originality/valueUsing a video-based experiment, this study examines the moderating role of EEC in the relationship between ETC and two key aspects of the customers’ experience in an ECSE (negative customer emotions and customer satisfaction with employee responses) following the delivery of bad news.

Roles of negative emotions in customers’ perceived helpfulness of hotel reviews on a user-generated review website

PurposeThis paper aims to explore how emotional expressions embedded in online hotel reviews influence consumers’ helpfulness perceptions. In particular, this study develops and tests hypotheses analyzing empirical data with a text-mining method in the context of hotels to investigate how review valence influences the perceived helpfulness of online hotel reviews and to examine the role of negative emotional expressions embedded in online consumer reviews with respect to perceived helpfulness.Design/methodology/approachThis study collected 520,668 online reviews involving 488 hotels in New York City (NYC) on Tripadvisor.com. Of these reviews, 69,202 reviews (13.29 per cent) that had received helpfulness votes were analyzed by a text mining method and negative binomial regression.FindingsThis study demonstrates that negative reviews are considered more helpful than positive reviews when potential customers read online hotel reviews for their future stay. However, when intensively negative emotions were expressed, the degree of helpfulness regarding negative reviews was diminished.Originality/valueWhile emotional expressions prevail in online consumer reviews, surprisingly little attention has been devoted to the consequences of emotional expressions in consumers’ information processing and decision-making. Due to the nature of service, given the inseparability of production and consumption, which often hinders the execution of flawless service, consumers tend to be more dependent on reviews to minimize any potential failures they may encounter later on. Therefore, this study fills a gap by demonstrating that negative reviews and emotional expressions play a more crucial role in consumers’ information processing and decision-making.

Call centers: is there an upside to the dissatisfied customer experience?

PurposeThis paper aims to present the triggers of negative customer emotions during a call center encounter and the impact of emotions on satisfaction and loyalty. It suggests ways of mitigating the negative effects of such emotions.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses exploratory research consisting of 33 focus groups with 121 narratives of a call center encounter.FindingsCallers predominantly report frustration as the emotion arising from negative experiences in a call center encounter. Goal urgency, reduced customer control and uncertainty underlie this emotional experience. Triggers include assessments of “dehumanized”, “incompetent” or “hostile” call center employees as well as the more well-known multiple transfers and waiting time. Customer may remain loyal after a frustrating encounter if they believe that alternative services will be no better.Research limitations/implicationsDisembodied service encounters generate conditions of reduced control and certainty which foster negative emotions. The outcomes of negative emotions are not always negative if the call center context is managed appropriately. Focus groups took place in a European business school, so generalizability of the results to other regions may be limited.Practical implicationsNegative emotions can have a strong effect on loyalty, a key issue in service organizations. This paper provides insights into how to manage customer emotions effectively.Originality/valueCustomer satisfaction and loyalty in terms of emotions are generally overlooked in the call center industry because of the focus on performance metrics. This study shows that emotions must be taken into account to ensure customer retention and the competitive edge.

Employing proactive interaction for service failure prevention to improve customer service experiences

PurposeServices marketing research continues to be largely focused on firms’ reactive interactions for recovering from service failure rather than on proactive customer interactions that may prevent service failure from occurring in the first place. Building on previous studies that assess the efficacy of implementing proactive interaction in service provision contexts, the purpose of this paper is to compare the influences of proactive interaction to prevent service failure and reactive interaction to correct service failure on customer emotion and patronage behavior. Since proactive interaction for service failure prevention is a relatively underexplored and resource-intensive approach, the authors also assess the moderating influences of customer and firm-related characteristics.Design/methodology/approachThe study hypotheses are tested with survey data from two scenario-based experiments conducted in a retail setting.FindingsThe findings reveal that customers prefer service providers that take the initiative to get to them before they have to initiate contact for themselves. The findings also identify the moderating influences of relationship quality, situational involvement, and contact person status and motive.Originality/valueThe research contributes to the development of service provision theory and practice by expanding on previous studies which report that proactive efforts to prepare customers for the adverse effects of service failure are favorably received. The results also shed light on moderating factors that may further inform the exploitation of resource-intensive proactive interaction for service failure prevention. An agenda is proposed to stimulate future research on proactive customer interaction to prevent service failure in service provision contexts.

Application of frontal EEG asymmetry to customer emotional value perception in PSS

This study aims to examine the customer emotion elicited by elements of a product-service system (PSS) during online buying processing with the application of frontal EEG asymmetry. In this experiment, 21 participants were shown products and services that were available for online purchase. An emotional ERP component, late positive potential (LPP), was elicited by the services and products and distributed over frontal and central regions, which show the brain asymmetry based on brain processing. A late positive voltage change elicited by the services was observed that was significantly greater for the left channel than the right channel in the fontal and central region. The main findings of the experiment confirm that positive emotions are elicited by services during the online shopping decision making process. The paper provides a neural view of customer online buying decisions, which may be applicable to product and service design in PSS.

Assessing Customer Emotion Product Relationship and Customer Retention Towards Halal Cosmetic Products

Objective - Retailers today have acknowledged that incorporating great customer emotionproduct relationship can lead to total customer retention. In this paper an overview of the existing literature on customer emotion is provided before it is examined for the creation of customer emotion product relationship from a holistic perspective. Methodology/Technique - A conceptual model which discusses the determinants of customer emotion towards Halal cosmetic products is provided. This is then followed by taking an explicit dynamic view of the importance of the retail service quality and Halal advertising, factors that can influence customer emotion and customer retention. Data collection was based on 414 sets of questionnaires which were distributed to Malaysian consumers. The PLS-SEM analysis was used to identify the relationships between retail service quality and Halal advertising, customer emotion and customer retention. Findings – Relations were found between retail service quality, customer emotion product relationship and customer retention of Malaysian customers for Halal cosmetic products. Novelty - The findings of this study provided some insights to managers in future strategy planning by identifying the important factors affecting customer emotion product relationship and customer retention. Type of Paper - Empirical Keywords: Halal Cosmetics; Retail Service Quality; Halal Advertising; Customer Emotion Product Relationship; Customer Retention JEL Classification: M11, M31.

Effects Airline Employee of Communication Style on Customer Emotion, Customer Trust and Behavioral Intention

Effects Airline Employee of Communication Style on Customer Emotion, Customer Trust and Behavioral Intention

Asymmetric effects of customer emotions on satisfaction and loyalty in a utilitarian service context

This paper investigates the relative effects of customer positive versus negative emotions on satisfaction and loyalty in a utilitarian service setting. In-depth interviews with 20 call-center customers identify emotions and appraisals related to the customer service experience. Regression analysis of subsequent quantitative survey results from 1440 customers of a call-center shows that positive emotions influence satisfaction more strongly than negative emotions. In contrast, negative emotions influence recommendation intentions more strongly than positive emotions in line with prospect theory. However, for ‘higher risk’ repatronage the prospect of losses from switching reduces the effect of negative emotions resulting in a symmetric effect of positive and negative emotions on repatronage intentions.

Engagement platforms

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the role of emotions in developing customer engagement and brand image during virtual service interactions. The authors explore the concept of engagement platforms (EPs) and how their extrinsic characteristics or cues (i.e. C2C interactions–and personalization-related cues) originate both non-transactional (i.e. customer engagement and brand image) and transactional (i.e. purchase intentions) responses. Specifically, the authors propose that customer emotions (i.e. pleasure, arousal and dominance) mediate the influence of EP cues on customer responses. The authors also analyze how the engagement developed during interactions in EPs contributes to brand image perceptions and the effect of these two concepts on purchase intentions.Design/methodology/approachBuilding on servicescapes and stimulus-organism-response theories, the present paper carries out two studies. Study 1 adopts an experimental approach to explore C2C interactions–and personalization-related cues. Study 2 focusses on the importance of customer emotions to foster engagement and brand image, and also analyzes their effect on purchase intentions. It employs structural equations modeling techniques. Both studies analyze the effect of customer engagement on brand image.FindingsFindings corroborate that, during interactions in the platform, customer engagement with the firm influences brand image. Moreover, the pleasure and arousal experienced by customers influence their engagement while dominance modifies brand image. Finally, customer engagement and brand image have a positive effect on purchase behavior.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper contributes to research demonstrating the key role of emotions in interactions with EPs. The authors demonstrate the importance of fostering pleasant and arousing experiences to enhance the level of customer engagement with the firm in first interactions. Dominance constitutes a key dimension to improve brand image in EPs. Finally, the research demonstrates that engagement develops customers’ transactional behaviors and not only non-transactional ones, as seen in previous literature.Originality/valueIn digital worlds, EPs emerge as touch points beyond purchase that allow individuals to integrate resources and co-create value between them and with the firm. Despite the interest of BCPs, few works have analyzed how interactions with these platforms and the elicited emotions contribute to developing customer engagement and brand image, key factors for understanding customer participation and behavior in interactive media.

To tweet or not to tweet? Exploring the effectiveness of service recovery strategies using social media

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore influencing factors that affect the effectiveness of service recovery strategies using social network from operations management perspective. Specifically, the authors study the relationships between social media agent responses to customer complaints, customer emotion changes and customer satisfaction. Furthermore, the authors investigate the roles of recovery speed and failure severity in the service recovery process using social network platform.Design/methodology/approachThe results are based on 347 mini cases drawn from the Twitter accounts of a sample of airlines. Grounded theory approach is used to conduct qualitative analysis using NVivo 9, a qualitative data analysis program. A conceptual framework was developed, then tested usingχ2analysis.FindingsAgent responses that do not require customers to take further initiatives for problem solving have positive effects on customer emotion alleviation and satisfaction. In contrast, responses that provide further directions poses negative effect on service recovery outcomes. There is a strong positive linkage between customer emotion change and customer satisfaction. Surprisingly, the direct effect of recovery speed on customer emotion and satisfaction is not supported by the data. Rather, it plays a moderating role in affecting the relationship between agent responses and customer satisfaction. The qualitative data further reveals the pivotal role of failure severity, one of key service failure attributes.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors study service businesses’ recovery strategies using social media. A conceptual framework is developed to link agent responses, customer emotion changes and customer satisfaction from the lens of service providers, using an operations-oriented approach. Finding on recovery speed and failure severity reveal that these variables play different roles when service recovery is operated on social media platform as compared to traditional channels. Additionally, relying on tweets as data sources has constrained us from assessing other long-term service recovery outcomes such as loyalty, repurchase intent and word of mouth. The drawback is resulted from the limited information conveyed through tweets, which tends to be short and brief. The study focusses on the airline industry, which limits the generalizability of the findings to other service industries.Practical implicationsThe authors highlight the value and potential of service recovery strategies using social network and provide insights for recovery operations where agent responses should be focussing on real time problem solving. The findings support the benefits of empowering social network agents for service recovery operations. Improving recovery speed should be less of a priority as it serves as a qualifier when service recovery is operated via social network. Given the pivotal role of failure severity, it is critical for social network agents to stand in the shoes of the complaining customers, making imminent assessment of the actual failure severity and taking action accordingly in real time. In the meantime, effective communication through social network may help to lower perceived magnitude of failure by customers, which in turn enhance the effectiveness of other service recovery efforts.Originality/valueThis study is the first attempt to investigate the service recovery process using social media from an operations-oriented perspective. The results supports the potentials of employing service recovery strategies using social media.

The Analysis of a Causal Relationship of Hospital’s Culture Marketing on Customer Emotional Response and Satisfaction

Businesses are using culture marketing as a new promotional tool and as a marketing strategy since consumers have desire for not only economical fulfilment, but also emotional and psychological fulfilment. Similar to service industry, medical service industry has started to use culture marketing on its service industry management side. Therefore, this paper will propose necessity and usable culture marketing in hospitals to identify the current position of culture marketing in medical service industry. In conclusion, the present research offers the following implication. First, culture marketing has a partial offsetting impact to those who have negative emotion regarding the medical service industry. This is because of the positive impact of culture marketing on a customer response and customer satisfaction. Moreover, by considering the fact that only a culture synthesis and a culture style have a positive impact, focusing on a culture synthesis and a culture style would be treated as an advantageous strategy.

Customer emotions and their triggers in luxury retail: Understanding the effects of customer emotions before and after entering a luxury shop

This research divides customers' on-site luxury shopping experiences into two stages—before and after entering a luxury shop—and then examines the effect of specific customer emotions in each stage. In detail, this study examines the impact of customer emotions before entering the store on their evaluations of in-store service quality, that of customer evaluations of each quality dimension on their in-store emotions, and that of in-store emotions on customer attitudes toward the brand. Further, this research tests the moderating effect of customers' personal attributes such as brand familiarity and shopping motive. Results demonstrate the importance of differentiating and managing customer emotions before and after entering a luxury shop and offer several insights into how to customize luxury customer service efforts to enhance customers' brand attitudes.

커피전문점의 서비스스케이프가 고객감정반응 및 행동의도에 미치는 영향관계에 관한 연구

The purpose of this study was to find out the effects of Servicescape on the emotions and behavioral intention of coffee shop customers in the Busan area and their correlation with the moderating effect of coffee shop background music. As a result of empirical research, it was found that coffee shop Servicescape has a partial(positive or negative) influence on the emotional reaction of customers. It was also found that the emotional reaction of customers has an influence on behavioral intention. As a result of analysis on moderating effects of background music, it was found that servicescape has partial moderating effects on the emotional reaction of customers. This results because comfortability of seats which is a lower factor of servicescape provides moderating effects on positive emotional reactions of customers. Furthermore, the esthetics factor causes moderating effects on negative emotional reactions of customers. The practical implications of this research are that continuing investment is needed for those servicescape factors which can enhance positive emotions of customers. This will in turn give the greatest influence on the behavioral intention of customers such as the intention to re-visit and recommend the coffee shop. That improvement is needed for other service scape factors which provoke negative emotional reaction of customers. For background music which has partial moderating effects, it is suggested that musical variables such as genre and tempo should be adjusted appropriately.