Services Literature Research Articles

Organizational practices to co-create value with family members engaged in service journeys of their loved ones

PurposeThe aim of this research is to provide insight into how organizations can co-create value with family members engaged in service journeys of customers experiencing vulnerabilities, thereby paying attention to their organizational practices (i.e. recursive or routinized patterns of organizational actions and behaviors).Design/methodology/approachTo investigate, this research relies upon a multiple case study in a group of nursing homes in Flanders that had the ambition to engage family members in service journeys of their loved ones while measuring their value perceptions as a performance indicator (here, satisfaction with nursing home services).FindingsThe case evidence shows that nursing homes co-create value with family members through caring practices that focus on their role as secondary customers (i.e. welcoming, connecting and embedding) and empowering practices that focus on their role as partial employees (i.e. teaming up, informing and listening practices). However, the way in which the different caring and empowering practices are enacted by the nursing home and its staff affects their value co-creation potential.Originality/valueBy focusing on the practices with which organizations can co-create value with family members engaged in service journeys of their loved ones, this research bridges the service literature with its attention for value co-creation practices and the literature on customers experiencing vulnerabilities with its focus on extended customer entities.

The effect of service recovery on socially distant third-party customers: an experimental research on emotions, forgiveness, repatronage intention and WoM

PurposeService failures usually occur in front of third-party customers. Third-party customers react emotionally and behaviorally to service failure and recovery efforts aimed at focal customers. However, there is a gap in the literature on how third-party customers react to a service failures incident and a recovery over another customer, depending on how socially close or distant they are from. This study investigates the effect of third-party customers' emotions on consumer forgiveness, negative word-of-mouth (WoM) and repatronage intentions in the service recovery process by comparing close and distant third-party customers.Design/methodology/approachThis study utilizes a 2 (social distance to the focal customer: close, distant) × 2 (service recovery: yes, no) between-subjects design. The authors used a scenario-based experiment to test the proposed hypotheses. A total of 576 respondents were involved in the study.FindingsThe results from the authors' scenario-based experimental study show that positive and negative emotions felt by distant third-party customers are higher than those of close third-party customers. In addition, the effect of positive emotions on customer forgiveness is more substantial for distant third-party customers. Third, moderated-mediation analysis indicates that social distance has a moderator effect only on the relationship between positive emotions and customer forgiveness.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the service literature by comparing socially close and socially distant third-party customers' reactions to service failure and recovery attempts.

Exploring the Structural Inequalities of the Individualized Education Program: A Dis/Ability Critical Race Theory Perspective

Disproportionality and inequity exist in the special education services that children receive based on factors such as race, geographic location, and resources of the school system. Overrepresentation and underrepresentation are both prevalent issues and can vary by region or school district and are likely due to multiple factors. Although several areas of special education services have been examined critically, one missing piece in the literature seems to be the writing and revising of the Individualized Education Program (IEP). The purpose of this paper is to examine the literature and background of special education services and the IEP, followed by an examination of the required portions of the IEP form and where the existing law might allow for implicit biases, specifically racism, to surface in the development of this program and its implementation.

SDG commentary: services that sustainably manage resources for all humans-the regenerative service economy framework

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose a new service framework for managing nature and physical resources that balances the needs of people and planet.Design/methodology/approachThe process used in this paper was a rapid literature review and content analysis of 202 articles in service journals and learned that there are limited papers on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #6 (clean water and sanitation) or SDG #7 (affordable and clean energy) and very few articles on SDG #12 (responsible production and consumption) that focused on environmental components of services. This highlighted the need to conceptualise a service framework for managing these resources sustainably.FindingsThe proposed regenerative service economy framework for managing natural and physical resources for all humans (without harming the planet) reflects insights from analysing the available service articles. The framework draws on the circular economy, an Indigenous wholistic framework and service thinking to conceptualise how service research can manage natural and physical resources in ways that serve both people and the planet.Originality/valueThis paper introduces the regenerative service economy framework to the service literature as an approach for guiding service researchers and managers in sustainably managing natural and physical resources in a sustainable way.

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Maribavir in Patients with Post-Transplant Cytomegalovirus Infection or Disease that are Refractory or Resistant to Conventional Therapy

OBJECTIVES: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection represents a serious post-transplantation complication, particularly among transplant recipients with resistant or refractory (R/R) infection. Despite the improvement made in CMV prevention and treatment, remains a need for new therapies that are better tolerated and safer for patients, especially for refractory or resistant (R/R) infections. This analysis investigates the cost-effectiveness of maribavir versus investigator-assigned therapy (IAT) for treatment of post-transplant R/R CMV in the Italian context.METHODS: The analysis was conducted from the National Health Service (NHS) perspective using a Markov model previously developed in Excel® to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of maribavir versus IAT for the treatment of post-transplant R/R CMV. Health event rates and transition probabilities were informed by data from observational studies and from SOLSTICE clinical trial, which compared maribavir to conventional antiviral treatments for transplant patients with R/R CMV infections. Utilities were from SOLSTICE and a utility vignette study. Costs inputs were derived from published literature and Italian national tariffs for outpatient and hospital services. Costs and outcomes were discounted by 3%.RESULTS: Maribavir compared to the IAT used for the treatment of post-transplant R/R CMV achieved an incremental cost of € 11,455 for an incremental quality adjusted life year (QALY) gain of 0.313. This resulted in an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of € 36,626/QALY, for maribavir compared to IAT, which is below the generally accepted, national willingness-to-pay threshold for orphan drugs (€ 37,000/QALY).CONCLUSIONS: This analysis showed that maribavir, an orphan drug treatment, is cost-effective compared to the current antiviral treatments used for treatment of post-transplant R/R CMV.

Reference service in libraries like mine: A comparison of current reference service in libraries serving medium, small, and very small institutions

Library decision makers rely on data from relevant comparator libraries to inform their choices regarding resource allocation and models for library services. It is valuable to see the decisions that other libraries of similar size and type have made. Unfortunately, libraries serving small and very small institutions are not represented in the literature on reference service models. Libraries serving medium-sized institutions are represented in a few studies, but even so medium libraries will find it challenging to identify focused comparator descriptions. This study presents comparator data for reference service in libraries serving medium, small, and very small institutions in order to address the lack of representation of small and very small libraries in the reference service literature and equip libraries of all of these size categories with more specifically focused comparator groups than are available elsewhere. In order to provide a more comprehensive answer to the question “how are libraries like mine providing reference service?” this study's data is presented in a variety of ways including a composite description of all respondents' data and focused reports of respondents' data grouped in subsets according to institution FTE enrollment, librarian headcount, combined librarian and paraprofessional headcount, and the highest degree offered by the institution served by the library. This variety of presentations allows libraries to collect a more complete description of how reference service is being provided in libraries like theirs.

Domestic service and Chilean literature: fictional experiments in narrating the household

This article shines light on the interconnectedness of reproductive labour and Latin American literature through two Chilean novels that explore the relationship between peripheral capitalism and domestic servitude: José Donoso's The Obscene Bird of Night and Diamela Eltit's Mano de Obra. The study of these texts allows for a periodisation of the reproductive sphere under different phases of capitalist accumulation, and exposes an association between the literary treatment of domestic service and the achievement of highly experimental narratives in Latin America. My reading of Obscene goes beyond viewing this novel as postmodernist fiction, by showing how its nightmarish poetics are a consequence of the transformation of the oligarchic household vis-a-vis the collapse of systems of bonded labour in the 1960s. Whereas the prose of Obscene provides a harrowing descent into the intimate connections between master and servant at the moment of their decline, Mano de Obra unveils a surgical prose capable of expressing the new impersonality of social reproduction in the subsequent neoliberal period. Of special interest to this analysis is how Eltit suggests that even the proletariat household can recreate exploitative patterns of domestic servitude to guard against complete immiseration. Three main conclusions result from this reading. First, Latin American fiction is an important literary archive from which capitalism's exploitation of the reproductive sphere can be excavated. Second, Latin American literature shows formal uniqueness when representing domestic service in the periphery. Lastly, fictional representations of domestic service help us understand the institution not as remnant of previous modes of production, but as capitalist strategy for the reproduction of social forces that underpay the cost of life-making processes.

Service robots and hotel guests’ perceptions: anthropomorphism and stereotypes

Diseño/metodología/enfoqueSe recopiló datos válidos de un total de 524 clientes de hoteles chinos mediante una encuesta en línea. Los datos fueron analizados mediante un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales.ObjetivoBasándose en el antropomorfismo y en el modelo de contenido estereotipado, este estudio explora el impacto del antropomorfismo de los robots en el boca a boca de los clientes del hotel y en la intención de uso continuado a través de la calidez y la competencia percibidas. El estudio investiga también los efectos moderadores de la experiencia de los huéspedes.ConclusionesLos resultados indican que el antropomorfismo del robot afecta positivamente a la calidez y a la competencia percibidas. La calidez percibida influye positivamente en el boca a boca y en la intención de uso continuado de los huéspedes, mientras que la competencia percibida sólo influye positivamente en la intención de uso continuado de los huéspedes. Los resultados muestran, además, que la experiencia del cliente debilita la relación positiva entre el antropomorfismo del robot y la percepción de calidez y de competencia.Originalidad/valorEste estudio supone un avance en la literatura sobre robots de servicio al integrar el modelo de contenido estereotipado con el antropomorfismo de los robots, en la exploración de las percepciones de los huéspedes de hoteles sobre los robots de servicio. Este estudio también muestra el papel vital que desempeñan las características de los huéspedes en la interacción humano-robot. El estudio proporciona información valiosa para que los hoteleros diseñen y adopten mejores robots para ofrecer experiencias óptimas a los huéspedes.

GraphEx: visualizing and managing customer experience in its multidimensionality

PurposeCustomer experience has become a vital premise in service theory and practice. Despite researchers' and managers' growing interest, the customer experience remains a complex and multidimensional concept that is challenging for service providers to understand. This study aims to graph the experience in its multidimensionality by categorizing and proposing matching practices for service marketing managers to channel and foster customer experiences in customer journeys.Design/methodology/approachTo support the predominantly conceptual nature of the study, an abductive approach underpinned by the authors' vast experience in academia and practice, real-life autohermeneutic phenomenological experience tales and theory on customer experience and its management by providers is deployed to craft a model that addresses and highlights the multidimensionality of experience.FindingsThis study introduces the “GraphEx” (Graph Experience) hip-pocket model, which expresses customer experience in a simple yet multidimensional fashion and offers managerial practices to foster the customer's experience. The model contains three dimensions (valence, type of experience and visceral intensity) and five managerial practices (urgent patchwork, restoring, activating and stimulating desire, bolstering and safeguarding appreciation).Originality/valueThis study contributes to the service literature by creating granularity in the multidimensionality of customer experience. This study advances customer experience management in practice by providing service managers with novel possibilities for understanding and managing customer experiences intelligently. This can help service providers streamline and innovate customer experience strategies during customer journeys and foster customer loyalty.

Setting Cost-Effective Price Thresholds before FDA Approval: Cost-Effectiveness of Iptacopan Monotherapy Versus Standard-of-Care Anti-C5 Therapy in Transfusion-Dependent, Treatment-Experienced Adult Patients with Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria in the United States

Introduction: Oral complement inhibition therapy has the potential to transform the care of patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), a life-threatening hematological disorder characterized by intravascular hemolysis, thrombosis, and bone marrow failure. Current standard-of-care (SOC) for PNH are monoclonal antibodies targeting the distal complement component 5 (C5) and include the intravenous agents eculizumab and ravulizumab. However, this distal mechanism of action allows extravascular hemolysis to persist. Intravenous therapy also requires patient and nursing time spent for infusion care. Iptacopan is one oral proximal complement pathway inhibitor that selectively inhibits complement factor B. Clinical trial data shows that iptacopan controls both intravascular and extravascular hemolysis, resulting in increased transfusion independence. Iptacopan was granted breakthrough therapy designation for expedited review by the FDA. The potential approval is anticipated by the end of 2023, after which point pricing will be set. A cost-effective price for iptacopan is currently not known. We sought to fill this gap by conducting the first cost-effectiveness analysis of oral versus intravenous complement inhibitor therapy in PNH to determine a cost-effective monthly price threshold for iptacopan monotherapy and to estimate patient and nursing time saved with transition to oral therapy. Methods: In this independent analysis free of industry influence, we built a Markov model to first determine the cost-effectiveness of iptacopan monotherapy at a monthly cost equivalent to SOC. Second, we solved for the cost-effective monthly maximum threshold cost of iptacopan across accepted willingness-to-pay thresholds in US dollars per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY). Transition probabilities for transfusion burden and breakthrough hemolysis were informed by the phase III study results (NCT 04558918). Probabilities of transfusion-associated adverse events were sourced from hemovigilance reporting in the 2015 National Blood Collection and Utilization Survey. Costs were assessed in 2023 US dollars and were informed from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and PNH-specific health resource utilization literature. The latter accounted for country- and PNH-specific direct and indirect medical costs, derived after adjustment for baseline characteristics, and isolated for transfusion-dependent treatment-experienced patients with PNH by comparison to transfusion-independent, treatment-experienced patients with PNH. Effectiveness was calculated in quality-adjusted life-years (QALY), and employed PNH-specific utilities. The two primary outcomes for iptacopan monotherapy were 1) the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) or, the incremental net monetary benefit (iNMB) if the therapy was found to be cost saving, and 2) the cost-effective maximum monthly threshold price of iptacopan monotherapy, as compared to the SOC. The secondary outcome was the aggregated patient and nursing time saved with the use of oral versus intravenous treatment. We concluded with deterministic sensitivity analysis to isolate parameters that the model results are most sensitive to, and probabilistic sensitivity analysis to capture uncertainty in all parameters simultaneously over 10,000 Monte Carlo simulations. Results: In the base-case (i.e., where monthly price of iptacopan is equivalent to SOC), therapy with iptacopan versus C5 inhibition accrued 15.6 and 13.5 QALYs at costs of $9.7 million and $14.0 million, respectively. The iNMB with iptacopan was $4.4 million (95% credible interval $2.7-6.5 million) and threshold analysis for the maximum monthly price of iptacopan was $61,000. Iptacopan therapy projects to save patients and nurses approximately 730 and 2920 hours for ravulizumab and eculizumab, respectively, in PNH-specific care averted. Model results were most sensitive to iptacopan price. Conclusion: If the monthly price is no more than 149% of SOC, iptacopan monotherapy can be a cost-effective therapeutic option for transfusion-dependent, treatment-experienced patients with PNH. This is achieved by increasing the proportion of transfusion-independence in this patient population and, in turn, decreasing the burden of both the risks and costs associated with health resource utilization for patients with PNH.

Generic strategic positioning and organizational configurations in private micro-clinics

By linking concepts and ideas from the private health services (PHS) and Knowledge-Intensive Business Services (KIBS) literature with Porter's generic framework, this paper aims to identify the competitive positioning at a micro-clinic level in the private health services industry and to examine the perceived role of the institutions and intellectual capital associated with each one. A Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) was used.The results show that organizational configurations are associated with proactivity when competing via differentiation. In contrast, cost leadership is linked to firms that compete with low tariffs and a defensivearchetype. Our work can serve as a basis to recommend specific competitive strategies for thehigh number of firms still following a stuck-in-the-middle positioning strategy.

Despotic Leadership and Front-Line Employee Deviant Work Behaviors in Service Organizations: The Roles of Moral Disengagement and Moral Identity

Research on despotic leadership and its impacts on the behavior of front-line employees (FLE) in service organizations is nascent. Drawing on the social cognitive theory of morality, we develop and test a model in two service settings investigating the direct and indirect effects of despotic leadership on three FLE deviant work behaviors. In Study 1, using a multi-wave, multi-data source research design with data derived from banks, telecommunications, and training/education service organizations in Pakistan, we demonstrate the ecological validity of our constructs. In Study 2, using a multi-wave, multi-source longitudinal research design, we investigated these relationships in hotels located in Pakistan and confirmed the results found in Study 1 and also investigated the sustainability of deviant work outcomes. Cumulatively, we found support for the direct effects of despotic leadership on FLE deviant work behaviors. Moral disengagement acted as a partial mediator of these relationships and moral identity moderated the mediated relationship between despotic leadership and FLE deviant work behaviors via moral disengagement. Our findings provide a nuanced understanding of despotic leadership and FLE deviant work behaviors in service settings. We contribute to the front-line services literature stream by focusing on the supervisor and FLE interaction and highlighting research and practice implications.

How Organizational Cynicism Can Promote Customer-Directed Deviance Via Employee Resource Depletion And How Experiencing Supervisory Support May Help Overcome This Effect

While research suggests that organizational cynicism prompts employees to engage in organizationally directed deviant behaviors, questions remain regarding whether, how and when organizational cynicism can also prompt employees to engage in deviance toward customers, who are third parties outside the organization-employee exchange relationship. Drawing on conservation of resources theory, we develop and test a model that addresses these questions. We theorize that organizational cynicism is an adverse and stressful experience that drains employees’ psychological resources over time, which in turn leads to customer-directed deviance. We further propose that perceptions of supervisor support help employees cope functionally with their lack of resources and reduce customer-directed deviant behavior. We tested our predictions in a two-week daily experience sampling study of call-center representatives and found that organizational cynicism indirectly predicts customer-directed deviant behavior via resource depletion when PSS is lower than when it is higher. Two post hoc studies (including a three-wave panel survey conducted over 6 months and a three-wave, time-separated survey conducted over one month) addressed the methodological limitations of this investigation and ruled out alternative explanations for our results. Implications for organizational cynicism and customer service literature are discussed.

The role of service quality in achieving sustainable development goal 3: shaping students' psychological well-being in an Egyptian higher education context

Purpose This study aims at exploring the role of higher education service quality in affecting students' psychological well-being through the lens of the sustainable development goals. This purpose is achieved through investigating the effects of functional and technical service quality dimensions on six psychological well-being dimensions, namely, environmental mastery, autonomy, self-acceptance, positive relationships with others, personal growth and purpose in life.Design/methodology/approach Using a survey, data were collected from 453 Egyptian students. The hypotheses are tested using structural equation modeling via SmartPLS 4. The study's limitations are the inability to use probability sampling techniques and length of the survey that led to low response rates.Findings The results show that functional service quality is positively associated with students' autonomy, positive relationships with others and self-acceptance, while functional service was found insignificant in affecting environmental mastery or self-acceptance. Further, positive results are found in the relationship between technical service quality and students' environmental mastery and self-acceptance. On the other hand, a negative relationship is detected between technical service quality and students' personal growth. Lastly, technical service quality is found to be insignificant in affecting students' autonomy or personal relationships with others.Originality/value This study responds to calls for more studies investigating how service quality can shape and affect customer well-being. Furthermore, this is the first study to investigate the different roles played by functional and technical service quality in affecting six psychological well-being dimensions of higher education students. Drawing on a sample of 453 Egyptian students, this study provides a novel contribution about the Egyptian higher education context, which is both understudied in the service literature and the well-being literature.

Embracing Digital Transformation in Financial Services: From Past to Future

Financial services are significantly impacted by digital transformation, which has been believed as one of the primary trends reshaping society and industry. A comprehensive understanding of digital transformation from an academic and management perspective is required, and it is crucial to close the knowledge gap using bibliometric and qualitative research techniques. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to identify the extensive research themes in digital transformation in financial services from 2000 to 2021, their significance and interdependencies, to determine which trending topics seem to be the most influential, to trace the evolution of digital transformation in the financial service, and to address new and under-researched field of research that is intriguing for future research. This study used a bibliometric analysis of 288 peer-reviewed research articles published over the last 22 years in digital transformation in financial services. The data were extracted from the Scopus database and used various bibliometric analyses such as conceptual structure analysis, co-citation network analysis, social structure, and keyword analysis using R software. The findings show an overall increasing trend in journal publications, author productivity, collaborative research by institutions, and countries’ collaboration from the year 2019, as well as major insights from co-citation analysis. According to Lotka’s law, most authors (769, or 95.77%) contributed only one article. In addition, the study assesses multiple research areas, such as the effects of digital transformation in financial services, applied technology and insights, and digitalization processes, comprising the latest trending topics in this research stream that extensively cover up in financial services. One of the limitations of this study is that it used only a single database. The author recommends that the findings of this research be reinforced with more targeted and extensive qualitative literature in this field of study. This study establishes a framework for policymakers, academics, and researchers to investigate the areas where digital technologies influence financial services. This study also highlighted several cutting-edge digital technologies used for different functions of the financial services of an organization. This study illustrates the bibliometric structure of the digital transformation literature in financial services and provides insights into the literature’s growth year over year. It provides a comprehensive understanding of this evolving field, guiding future research and facilitating informed decision-making in the financial industry.

A conceptual framework for how structural changes in emerging acute substance use service models can reduce stigma of medications for opioid use disorder.

Stigma toward people taking medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) is prevalent, harmful to the health and well-being of this population, and impedes MOUD treatment resource provision, help-seeking, and engagement in care. In recent years, clinicians have implemented new models of MOUD-based treatment in parts of the United States that integrate buprenorphine initiation into emergency departments and other acute general medical settings, with post-discharge linkage to office-based treatment. These service models increase access to MOUD and they have potential to mitigate stigma toward opioid use and MOUD. However, the empirical literature connecting these emerging service delivery models to stigma outcomes remains underdeveloped. This paper aims to bridge the stigma and health service literatures via a conceptual model delineating how elements of emerging MOUD service models can reduce stigma and increase behavior in pursuit of life goals. Specifically, we outline how new approaches to three key processes can counter structural, public, and self-stigma for this population: (1) community outreach with peer-to-peer influence, (2) clinical evaluation and induction of MOUD in acute care settings, and (3) transition to outpatient maintenance care and early recovery. Emerging service models that target these three processes can, in turn, foster patient empowerment and pursuit of life goals. There is great potential to increase the well-being of people who use opioids by reducing stigma against MOUD via these structural changes.

A dignity-vulnerability approach framework to maximize well-being outcomes by transformative service initiatives (TSIs)

PurposeThis paper aims to explore how service organizations can improve the effectiveness of well-being creation efforts given the pressing societal issues and global crises. In this paper, the authors examine two essential dimensions (dignity and vulnerability approach) to develop a theoretical framework. This framework can be used to increase the effectiveness of well-being outcomes created by transformative service initiatives (TSIs) and minimize their negative unintentional consequences.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on social marketing and humanistic management literature, this paper develops a framework for TSIs based on whether human dignity is recognized or ignored and whether a deficit-based or strength-based approach to vulnerability is used. This framework explains different types of TSIs and provides real-life examples.FindingsThe framework developed in this paper discusses four different types of TSIs: (1) exclusionary, a deficit-based approach where dignity is ignored; (2) opportunistic, a strength-based approach where dignity is ignored; (3) paternalistic, a deficit-based approach where dignity is recognized; and (4) humanistic, a strength-based approach where dignity is recognized. The paper also identifies five pathways that service organizations could use to implement these approaches, including two traps (utility and charity) and three opportunities (resourcing, humanizing and full awakening) embedded within these pathways.Practical implicationsThis paper provides examples of service industries and specific companies to exemplify the framework developed. Also, it discusses the well-being implications and potential well-being outcomes associated with each type of TSI.Social implicationsThis paper offers a novel framework based on two dimensions that are relatively new to the service literature, i.e. dignity and vulnerability approach. This paper also highlights the importance of including these two dimensions in future service research.Originality/valueThis paper offers a novel framework based on two relatively new dimensions to the service literature: dignity and strengths-based approach. This paper also highlights the importance of including these two dimensions in future service research.

Implementation Chatbot for SMEs Using Artificial Intelligence Markup Language to Improve Customer Integration and Business Performance

Chatbots have been extensively adopted to produce more positive customer experiences as customers now spend more time in digital surroundings. Despite the technological advancement and benefits of chatbots for client service, exploration of chatbot operations for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is limited. The absence of exploration explaining the struggles faced by SMEs contributes to the gap in SMEs’ chatbot adoption. This exploration determines the features and rudiments that fit with SMEs’ characteristics and their guests' interactions with chatbots. A mixed-methods approach is used to understand SMEs’ needs. The first study uses interviews with SME business owners and their customers in order to explore the features that chatbots should offer for SME by identifying combinations between chatbots' generic features and SMEs' customer characteristics. The second study tests features identified in SMEs customers to empirically test featured chatbots’ influence on anthropomorphism, perceived enjoyment, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and how they affect SMEs’ customer intentions to use chatbots and their shopping intentions. This paper contributes to the emerging service literature on the use of chatbots for service interactions, particularly for SMEs using Artificial Intelligence Markup Language. The data that has been obtained was analyzed using a Likert scale. As a result, the accuracy of using Artificial Intelligence Markup Language is 84.8%.

Improving Blood Donor Retention and Donor Relationships with Past Donation Use Appeals

Blood donation services seek new strategies to improve donor relationships and increase donor retention. In this study, we propose a novel strategy that employs appeals with feedback on the use of blood donors’ past donations. We theorize that this feedback increases the perceived relationship investment and, subsequently, the quality of the relationship with the blood donation service, thereby increasing redonations. An online experiment shows the positive effect of past donation use appeals on donation intention and transmission through perceived relationship investment and relationship quality. Three field studies with Red Cross Blood Donation Services confirm the effectiveness of past donation use appeals on redonation behavior compared with thank-you appeals and with a future donation use appeal. Past donation use appeals are effective for retention purposes, especially for more experienced donors and when sent shortly after the donation. Such appeals also lead to higher reactivation rates of inactive donors. In addition to having practical implications, the study contributes to the relationship and nonprofit service literature.

Relaxation, morning recovery state and customer- and coworker-directed extra-role service behavior: the moderating effect of work–family interface

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the impact of overnight off-work relaxation on the performance of frontline service employees (FLEs). Specifically, the authors focused on FLEs' customer-directed extra-role service behavior (C-ERSB) and coworker-directed extra-role service behavior (CW-ERSB) as indicators of outstanding service performance. Drawing on the conservation of resources (Hobfoll, 1989) and ego depletion theories (Baumeister, 2002), the authors hypothesized that the positive effect of overnight relaxation on ERSBs will be mediated by the state of recovery. Additionally, the authors examined the boundary conditions of these relationships by testing the moderating effects of work–family conflict (WFC) and family–work conflict (FWC).Design/methodology/approachThe study employed an episodic sampling method. One hundred thirty-five FLEs completed two daily surveys (before- and after-work) over five consecutive workdays, yielding 636 time-lagged day-level observations. Multilevel path modeling was performed to analyze the mediation and second-stage moderated mediation effects.FindingsResults showed that overnight off-work relaxation was positively related to FLEs' next-day C-ERSB and CW-ERSB via next-morning recovery state. The positive relationship between overnight off-work relaxation and the next-morning recovery state was weaker for FLEs who experienced overnight WFC. FWC during work hours weakened the positive relationship between the next-morning recovery state and CW-ERSB, but not the relationship between the next-morning recovery state and C-ERSB.Originality/valueThe study used an episodic sampling method to reveal the significance of off-work relaxation, recovery and family–work interface on FLEs' ERSBs, a critical yet underexplored phenomenon in service literature. This study sheds light on the pathways to achieve exceptional service performance by revealing the importance of overnight off-work relaxation and the conditions that promote ERSBs.