Intercultural differences of customer emotions in service encounters

Investigation and managerial implications

Tesis (Bachelor) , 2009 , 73 Páginas , Calificación: 1,3

Economía de las empresas - Otros

The thesis is structured as follows: In a first step, the basics of services marketing are presented and the distinguished characteristics of services are addressed. Consequently, service encounters are introduced as the first building block of this thesis. In addition, the fundamentals of emotions and culture are outlined. Subsequently, chapter 3 deals with the relevance of emotions and culture in service encounters. In the following, the interplay between culture and emotion is brought to the fore by presenting the three main approaches concerning this matter. Subsequently, the perspective is narrowed down on the cultural dimension of Individualism/Collectivism and its influence on emotions (chapter 4). The compiled results from this approach are then employed to deduce implications for the management of services in general and concrete consequences for service staff in particular (chapter 5). Ultimately, main findings are summarized, an outlook is given and suggestions for further research opportunities into this domain are suggested.

Table of content

Table of figures

List of abbreviations

1. Introduction
1.1. Problem definition and description
1.2. Objective and organization of the research
1.3. Originality and value of this thesis

2. Theoretical background
2.1. Basic concepts of services marketing
2.1.1. The characteristics of services
2.1.2. The service encounter
2.2. Fundamentals concerning emotions
2.3. Fundamentals concerning the term culture

3. The role of emotions and culture in service encounters
3.1. The relevance of emotions in service encounters
3.2. The relevance of culture in service encounters

4. The interplay of culture and emotions
4.1. Cultural background as a determinant of customer emotion
4.1.1. Basic emotion theory
4.1.2. Componential theories of emotion
4.1.3. Cultural theories of emotion
4.1.4. Recapitulation
4.2. Effects of individualistic versus collectivist cultures on emotions
4.2.1. Premises, assumptions and caveats
4.2.2. Compiled results

5. Implications for the management of services
5.1. Implications for the management of service staff
5.1.1. Selection of service staff
5.1.2. Personnel development
5.1.3. Empowerment and basic service conditions
5.2. Concrete consequences for service staff
5.2.1. Concrete consequences for individualistic service staff
5.2.2. Concrete consequences for collectivist service staff
5.3. Implications for the physical environment and service failures

6. Conclusion, outlook and future research opportunities

7. List of appendices and appendices

8. List of references

Table of figures

Figure 1: Descriptive and explicative understanding of culture

Figure 2: The relation of the self to others in individualistic and collectivist cultures

Figure 3: Culture pervades all categories of the consumer decision-making process in services

Figure 4: Emotion process and cultural influence

Figure 5: Circular ordering of eight affective descriptors

List of abbreviations

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

1. Introduction

This thesis generates illuminative insights for managing intercultural service encounters by investigating the interplay between culture and emotions through the example of the cultural dimension of individualism/collectivism (IC).

1.1. Problem definition and description

The globalization of the world has been one of the most central and heavily discussed topics for years now (see for instance, Müller (2002) for an overview). This holds true for the scientific context as well as the public discourse. Most notably, the globalization of world economy has created many opportunities for service companies to expand internationally (Knight, 1999).

In the course of this development, a further facet has been added to the interactive character of services. Increasingly, as a result of the ongoing globalization process, individuals from different cultures come together and interact in service encounters, bringing with them the most diverse demands, expectations and desires.

However, in the area of marketing, systematic research on the multifarious effects of culture is surprisingly thin (Maheswaran/Shavitt, 2000, p. 1). Regarding the current shift toward a service-oriented economy, Vargo/Lusch (2004) identify an especially urgent need for cross-cultural research with respect to the consumption of services.

In a similar notion, Chan/Wan (2008, p. 89) highlight: “The increasing trend toward globalization of markets has created a challenge for managers to straddle different cultures. The challenge is particularly daunting for service operations, which are inherently failure prone as well as culture sensitive because of the prominent role of human elements in the production and consumption of services.”

In interpersonal service encounters, emotions play a vital role. Emotions can influence the outcome of a service encounter in manifold ways. Among others, Mattila/Enz (2002) stress the role and importance of emotions in service encounters. Their study shows that emotional displays of customers have crucial consequences for a service business because they are associated with customer satisfaction, the encounter and the stay.

Relatively sparse research exists on the role of culture in service encounters, in spite of the importance of the topic (Winsted, 1997, p. 338). Two valuable exceptions deserve to be mentioned though. One the one hand, Stauss/Mang (1999) propose a model of intercultural provider and consumer performance gaps, which has experienced an extension by Warden et al. (2003) in the meantime. On the other hand, Bianchi (2001) investigates the effect of cultural differences on customer satisfaction with service encounters.

In what ways the cultural background of an individual influences his or her emotions, as well as their expression, has been the subject matter of countless investigations. Mesquita/Frijda (1992) provide a comprehensive review of this issue. The different streams of research in this area are discussed in detail in chapter 4.1.

However, an integrated, systematic approach to synthesize the interplay of culture, emotions and service encounters is still missing.

1.2. Objective and organization of the research

Therefore, in a first step, this thesis addresses the current gap in existing research by examining and systemizing the relationship between cultural background and the experiencing and displaying of emotions. In a further step, these findings are incorporated into the examination of service encounters. Moreover, implications for the management of services and potential consequences for service firms and their staff are developed and evaluated.

The thesis is structured as follows: In a first step, the basics of services marketing are presented and the distinguished characteristics of services are addressed. Consequently, service encounters are introduced as the first building block of this thesis. In addition, the fundamentals of emotions and culture are outlined. Subsequently, chapter 3 deals with the relevance of emotions and culture in service encounters. In the following, the interplay between culture and emotion is brought to the fore by presenting the three main approaches concerning this matter. Subsequently, the perspective is narrowed down on the cultural dimension of IC and its influence on emotions (chapter 4). The compiled results from this approach are then employed to deduce implications for the management of services in general and concrete consequences for service staff in particular (chapter 5). Ultimately, main findings are summarized, an outlook is given and suggestions for further research opportunities into this domain are suggested.

1.3. Originality and value of this thesis

The originality of this thesis arises from the amalgamation of three distinct areas of research which, taken on their own, have already delivered valuable results and insights, but promise to yield even more fruitful, diverse and unexpected results in an integrated contemplation. The thesis highlights the immense importance that cultural and emotional factors have in service encounters, both individually, and in combination. Consequently, chapter 5 offers practitioners concrete advice on how to deal with intercultural customers and their emotions.

2. Theoretical background

In order to lay the foundation for this thesis, three building blocks are presented in chapter 2. Before introducing the complexes of emotion and culture, services are briefly characterized. In addition, the service encounter, which presents the stage for the interplay of culture and emotions, is dealt with.

2.1. Basic concepts of services marketing

Chapter 2.1.1. highlights the distinct characteristics of services compared to products, while chapter 2.1.2. introduces the service encounter as the first building block of this thesis.

2.1.1. The characteristics of services

What distinguishes the service industry from manufacturing? It is widely recognized that services share certain characteristics that demarcate them from products (Zeithaml/Parasuraman/Berry, 1985). The intangible nature of services, although services often include tangible aspects, is probably the most fundamental and universally cited difference between services and goods (Bitner/Zeithaml, 2003, p. 20; Lovelock, 1992, p. 6). Furthermore, services can be considered heterogeneous, as they result out of interactions between employees and customers, who vary in their expectations and performances respectively (Bitner/Zeithaml, 2003, p. 21). Thus, the service outcome depends highly on personal conditions of the persons involved e.g. their motivation and emotional state. Services usually are consumed at the same time they are produced, i.e. they are inseparable. This implies that the customer has to be present during the delivery of the service and will therefore affect its outcome. Not only will he affect his personal outcome, but that of other customers as well, when visiting a football game for example (Bitner/Zeithaml, 2003, pp. 21­22). Thus, customers are co-producers of services.

2.1.2. The service encounter

The characteristics of services as highlighted in chapter 2.1.1. result in a distinctive importance of the customer-firm contact situation for the quality perceptions of customers. The term ‘service encounter’ is used to describe the contact situation between service customer and service firm when the service is being created (Stauss, 1999, p. 273). The importance of service encounters arises from their crucial position as building blocks for service quality and thus, customer satisfaction. Customers shape their perceptions according to service encounters and from their point of view, the most vivid impressions of services occur during the service encounter (Bitner/Zeithaml, 2003, p. 99).

There is no uniform accordance as to an exact definition of the term ‘service encounter’, but existing definitions can be categorized into an ample and a more narrow view. The broader sense regards all aspects of the service firm with which the customer gets into contact during the delivery of the service. Shostack (1985, p. 243) defines service encounters as “a period of time during which a consumer directly interacts with a service”. Another term which is often found in literature is ‘moment of truth’, which Grönroos (2007, p. 81) describes as “the time and place when and where the service provider has the opportunity to demonstrate to the customer the quality of its services”. Albrecht (1988, p. 26) describes the moment of truth as “any episode in which the customer comes into contact with the organization and gets an impression of its service”. This view includes customers’ contacts with all elements of the service process, employees as well as physical surroundings (Stauss, 1999, p. 274).

Furthermore, Bitner/Zeithaml (2003, pp. 102-104) distinguish three types of service encounters. (I) Remote encounters which do not involve any direct human contact such as drawing money from an ATM machine, (II) phone encounters which can often be found in the context of customer service and (III) face-to-face encounters which occur between an employee and customer in direct contact. In accordance with the third type, Surprenant/Solomon (1987, p. 87) define the service encounter as a dyadic interaction between service customer and –employee, while Czepiel et al. (1985, p. 14) see it as a “form of human interaction”. This personal aspect of service encounters will be crucial for this thesis, as the concepts of emotion and culture, which are defined and developed in chapters 2.2. and 2.3. respectively, manifest themselves through persons. Consequently, face-to-face encounters are at the heart of the discussion of this thesis.

2.2. Fundamentals concerning emotions

Defining emotions is far from an easy task. It seems that almost everybody who deals with the subject of emotions comes up with his or her own, more or less resourceful, definition. This would explain the fact that Kleinginna/Kleinginna (1981) could collect 92 definitions for emotions. The reason why it is so hard to find a universal definition of emotions is accurately described in the following citation: “Emotion is a peculiar word. Almost everyone thinks he understands what it means, until he attempts to define it. Then practically no one claims to understand it” (Wenger/Jones/Jones, 1962, p. 3). According to Feldman-Barrett (1998, p. 5), “there is still little consensus on what emotion is or is not”.

Consequently, the ambition of this thesis cannot consist in giving a comprehensive overview of different definitions, but to find a suitable one which serves the purpose of this thesis. However, it should be noted that “emotion should not be taken for granted in scientific discourse [...] because it is a fairly complex and culture-specific word which does require explanation” (Wierzbicka, 1999, p. 9). So ultimately, what is an emotion? The definition by Kroeber-Riel/Weinberg (1999, p. 106) gives a first orientation: “Emotions are inner arousals which are perceived as pleasant or unpleasant and are experienced more or less consciously”. Throughout this thesis, the terms ‘emotion’ and ‘feeling’ will be used interchangeably. Nevertheless, a distinction between emotions and moods has to be drawn. Emotions generally are more intense, attention-getting and aroused by specific objects (Gardner, 1985, p. 282), whereas “moods are concerned with larger, longer lasting, existential issues about a person's life and how it is going” (Lazarus, 1991, p. 49) and have no such specific reference point.

As a dimension of nonverbal behavior, emotions have special communicative characteristics (Guirdham, 1999, p. 83) and play a vital role in communications. This finding is of central importance for intercultural relations, when examining cultural similarities and differences in emotions (Ekman, 1999, p. 317). Apart from that, emotions serve a motivating function, direct human behavior to certain objectives, give feedback about one’s own motivational constitution and make persons aware of inner conflicts (Zimbardo/Gerrig, 2004, pp. 558-560). Furthermore, they help to build a moral system in societies, express cultural values and help create conceptions of the self (Vester, 1991, p. 117). Lastly, emotions serve an adaptive function, by adjusting people’s behaviors to prevailing social and environmental contexts (Maier/Pekrun, 2003, p. 285).

The experiencing of emotions is a universal feature of human existence (Maier/Pekrun, 2003, p. 282). They are represented in the individual and collective memory, are “marked” by culture and “cultivated” through cultural codes (Vester, 1991, p. 98).

Based on their assumptions that there are two different construals of the self, which stem from differences in individualistic and collectivist orientations, Markus/Kitayama (1991, p. 235) make a distinction between ego-focused and other-focused emotions. While ego-focused emotions are directed at personal goals, desires, abilities or needs of a person, other-focused emotions are triggered by surrounding people and result from taking the other’s perspective. Subsequently, they assume that independent and interdependent self-construals, the two dimensions identified by them, are related to ego- and other-focused emotions. In cultures where an independent self is prevalent, people are expected to become independent from others and to emphasize and follow individual goals. People with an independent self, focus on their own attributes, abilities, and preferences. They are prone to express these in public and in private. The interdependent self is shaped by the belief that the self cannot be viewed separately from others or the social context (Eid/Diener, 2001, p. 870). Consequently, Markus/Kitayama (1991) presume that emotions, in the way they are displayed and in their frequency of appearance, are in turn correlated to differences in individualistic and collectivist cultures (Maier/Pekrun, 2003, p. 299). This is an interesting approach that will be picked up later on in this thesis.

Finally, a definition of emotion that comes near to being inclusive, and yet stays comprehensible for the majority of people, is Rosenberg’s (1998, p. 250): “Emotions are acute, intense, and typically brief psycho-physiological changes that result from a response to a meaningful situation in one’s environment”. This definition comprises three key elements related to customers: (I) emotions are about what is relevant to customers, (II) emotions are comparatively short experiences and provide us with a snap view of how customers relate to service, service providers and products, and (III) emotions are complemented by body changes. If these body clues are precisely read, they can reveal how customers will likely behave (Barlow/Maul, 2000, pp. 20-21).

After having outlined the concept of emotion, in the following chapter, the concept of culture and especially the dimension of IC will be brought to the fore.

2.3. Fundamentals concerning the term culture

Already in 1952, Kroeber and Kluckhohn compiled 164 definitions of the term culture (Kroeber/Kluckhohn, 1952). Up to this day, this number surely has not decreased. Regarding the goal of this thesis, it does not make a lot of sense to provide a complete overview of all the culture terms that sociologists, anthropologists, psychologists and other researchers have come up with over the years. Similar to emotions, there is little to no consensus about which definition is the most concise and there is “not one which has been embraced by a substantial number of scientists” (Lonner/Adamopoulos, 1997, p. 76).

Therefore, the goal of this section is to present a systematization of different understandings of the term ‘culture’, adopt a suitable definition which serves the purpose of this thesis and to identify dimensions which allow the operationalization and application of the selected understanding.

Mang (1997, pp. 88-97) presents a convincing approach and structure on the thorny issue of culture, which proves very useful for the purpose of this thesis: The distinction between a descriptive and an explicative understanding of culture (depicted in figure 1) gives a first orientation and can be credited to Osgood (1951) and Kluckhohn/Kelly (1972).

Characteristic for a descriptive understanding of culture is the focus on what is perceivable immediately (Holzmüller, 1995, p. 31). It focuses on everything that is observable, be it material artifacts like clothing or architecture or immaterial ones like language or social manners. It deals with everything that is at the surface, hence the descriptive concept of culture is very close to what makes up ‘surface culture’. In the explicative understanding on the other hand, attitudes, norms of behavior and other unobservable artifacts of mental culture form the center of attention. These items do not meet the eye at first glance, they are hidden under the surface and therefore to be considered parts of ‘deep culture’. The explicative concept identifies causes of visible, culture-specific human behavior, taking into consideration historical development processes.

illustration not visible in this excerpt

Figure 1: Descriptive and explicative understanding of culture Source: Own illustration based on Holzmüller (1995, p. 30)

The question whether culture and social system are inextricably linked or whether they can exist independently, is only partially answered by this systematization. To illustrate this issue, a descriptive understanding of culture equates culture and social system, while the explicative view sees culture as a subsystem (Holzmüller, 1995, p. 69). Allaire/Firsirotu (1984, p. 201) indicate that using the terms culture and social system synonymously, has the consequence that culture is expressed directly through certain types of behaviors as an integrated component of a socio-cultural system. Viewing culture and social system as two independent factors, results in a view of culture as a background phenomenon which controls the absorbing, processing and storing of information and hence also controls our behavior in an unconscious manner.

Emotions and their varying across cultures and the resulting implications for the service encounter are at the heart of this thesis. Although emotions were traditionally not regarded as cognitive processes, this distinction is now viewed as for the most part artificial and a stream of research is examining the cognitive psychology of emotion (e.g. Lewis/Douglas, 1998). Therefore, a definition of culture which separates culture and social system is most useful for this thesis. Culture is to be regarded as a cognitive background phenomenon throughout this thesis which controls our behavior in an unconscious manner. Hence, an explicative view of culture is chosen over a descriptive one.

Keesing (1974, p. 89) defines culture as: “a person’s theory of what his fellows know, believe, and mean, his theory of the code being followed, the game being played, in the society into which he was born [...]. It is this theory to which a native actor refers in interpreting the unfamiliar or the ambiguous, in interacting with others [...]. Culture in this view is ordered not simply as a collection of symbols fitted together by the analyst, but as a system of knowledge, shaped and constrained by the way the human brain acquires, organizes and processes information and creates internal models of reality”.

This definition emphasizes the view of culture as a background phenomenon existing in the subconsciousness of people. People across cultures are not aware of the cultural influence on the behavior they show. When interacting with other people, they automatically refer to playing culturally specific roles. Hence, culture subconsciously provides recommendations on how to interact with other people and the perception of behavior. Culture creates “a system of knowledge for dealing with the world” (Keesing, 1974, p. 89).

The separation of culture and social system is necessary in order to ensure the comparability of emotional processes across cultures. Supporters of this etical position hold the opinion, that fundamental processes of the human brain regarding perception, thinking and learning are identical across cultures and can therefore be captured by “pancultural” (Douglas/Craig, 1983, p. 133) measurement methods.

An emical approach implies that a definition would have to be chosen which uses culture and social systems as synonyms (Douglas/Craig, 1983, p. 133). This approach assumes that there are culture specific phenomenons concerning attitude and behavior, whose gathering would require developing country specific measurement instruments and therefore does not permit cross-cultural comparability of the analyzed constructs. Nevertheless, Holzmüller (1995, p. 56) indicates that these positions form extreme points of a continuum.

After having outlined the understanding of the term culture in this thesis, there is a need to operationalize this term in order to be able to conduct a comparison of emotions across cultures. Hence, it is necessary to choose indicators which represent specific aspects of a culture and show a connection with regards to content with the issues under scrutiny (Holzmüller, 1995, p. 74).

One of the most popular and widely cited efforts of classifying different cultures according to dimensions dates back to Hofstede, “who offers the seminal work in operationalizing national culture” (Bianchi, 2001, p. 2). He identified four, later five, dimensions of national culture differences. Hofstede (2001) offers a comprehensive insight of his work for the inclined reader. Among these five dimensions, one stands out as to look particularly promising to serve the purpose of this thesis and will therefore be presented in detail. The dimension in question is individualism/collectivism. It is one of the most extensively studied and approved constructs for describing and comparing cultures (e.g. Hofstede, 1980, 1991; Hui/Triandis, 1986, Oyserman/Coon/Kemmelmeier, 2002); (Chan/Wan, 2008, p. 73). Furthermore, it has been applied in numerous studies dealing with the relation of culture and emotions (e.g. Markus/Kitayama, 1991; Scherer, 1997; Stipek, 1998), partly because it helps to explain culture-specific communication behavior. These studies emphasize that the distinction between individualistic and collectivist societies is essential to the cross-cultural comprehension of customers’ emotions. According to Hofstede (2001, p. 209), this dimension “describes the relationship between the individual and the collectivity that prevails in a given society”. Individualists are inclined to view themselves as independent entities, defining themselves apart from others.

illustration not visible in this excerpt

Figure 2: The relation of the self to others in individualistic and collectivist cultures Source: Based on Brislin (1993, p. 49)

In collectivist cultures, people see themselves as parts of a group, defining themselves in relation to others. These divergent self-concepts result in individualists focusing on personal goals, personal welfare, freedom and self-responsibility, while collectivists stress social connections, social roles, collective interests and duties to others (Chan/Wan, 2008, p. 73).

Figure 2 summarizes some of the main differences between individualists and collectivists in pictorial form. However, Brislin (1993, p. 50) adds a caveat to the concept of IC: “It is important to note that these generalizations will not fit all cases. [...] The generalizations about individualists and collectivists refer to trends over large numbers of people. [...] This concept concerning ‘trends over large numbers of people’ is important to keep in mind whenever culture and cultural differences are discussed”.

Another concept, introduced by Hall (1976), which is dealt with in chapter 4.2. is the distinction between high- and low context cultures. High context cultures on the one hand use a lot of implicit messages which are enclosed in the physical environment and in nonverbal communication. Low context cultures on the other hand can be described by explicit and specified messages (Stauss/Mang, 1999, p. 335). Most Asian and Latin American cultures can be classified as high context, while the American and most European cultures can be placed in the low context category. The context orientation of cultures according to Hall is related to Hofstede’s dimensions of IC. This finding will be picked up again in chapter 4.2.

After having outlined the concepts of emotion and culture we will now shed some light on the relevance these constructs have in service encounters. Before investigating the interplay of emotions and culture in service encounters, their individual impacts on the ‘moments of truth’ are analyzed.

3. The role of emotions and culture in service encounters

Service encounters are influenced by emotions as well as culture. This chapter assesses the roles and influences that emotions and culture have in service encounters.

3.1. The relevance of emotions in service encounters

Emotions play an important role in our lives. Especially in interactions with other people, emotions are essential. Ekman (1992, p. 171) states that “the primary function of emotion is to mobilize the organism to deal quickly with important interpersonal encounters”.

The role of emotion is gaining attention as a central element in understanding the consumption experience (Oliver, 1997). In spite of the significance of this matter for service companies (Brown/Kirmani, 1999, p. 333; Knowles/Grove/Pickett, 1999, p. 187), empirical research on customers’ affective reactions to service encounters remains scant (the few exemptions include Menon/Dubé, 2000; Price/Arnould/Tierney, 1995).

Bitner/Zeithaml (2003, p. 44) identify three ways through which emotions can influence the behavior of service customers. (I) Positive emotions can make customers more cooperative and eager to adopt behaviors that help to make the service encounter a success. A customer in a cheerful emotional state is probably more likely to follow the instructions of a physical therapist or to listen attentively to the safety briefing on an airplane. By contrast, a customer in a negative emotional state will be less willing to follow the routines which are vital to the effectiveness of a given service and might even sabotage the encounter to a certain extent. (II) Emotions influence service customers in so far, as they bias the way they assess service encounters and providers. Emotions augment and magnify experiences, making them either more positive or more negative than they might seem if those emotions were lacking. After successfully closing a deal, a businessman might be delighted by the service he receives on his flight back, although it had not been altered by the provider since the last time he flew. On the other hand, going to a movie being in a sullen emotional state might make that movie seem boring or bothersome when under normal circumstances one might have enjoyed it. (III) Emotions affect the manner information about service is taken in and stored. Feelings connected with an encounter become an indivisible element of the memory. If a patient gets to know a nice person in the waiting room and chats with her, his assessments of the doctor will likely be favorable due to this conversation and not based on what the doctor performed on him. In summary, any service typified by human interaction is heavily dependent on the emotions of the service personnel, the service customer and other customers consuming the service simultaneously.

Previous research suggests that emotional responses are specifically influential in consumer assessments of high contact services such as medical or consultant services (Jayanti, 1996; Johnson/Zinkhan, 1991). Mattila/Enz (2002) on the other hand, have conducted a study which sheds some light on the impact of customer emotion and mood on customers’ evaluation of both the service provider and the global service experience in mundane, brief service encounters. Making use of three basic dimensions which have been identified in previous research (Price/Arnould/Deibler, 1995), the authors focus on service interactions characterized by a short duration, low affective content and a nonpersonal setting which means they are conducted in ‘public’, like a hotel checkout for example. These encounters form the overwhelming bulk of our interactions with service providers we conduct on a daily basis and are therefore of weighty importance to service managers.

One of the hypotheses the authors put forward, proposes that “customers’ displayed emotions during the service encounter will be positively associated with their evaluation of the service encounter and the overall assessment of the firm” (Mattila/Enz, 2002, p. 270). This hypothesis could be validated empirically. Both the evaluation of the service encounter and the general assessment of the firm are correlated with the emotions customers express during the encounter. It is therefore vital for service employees (SEs) to be able to read and interpret emotional cues they are given from their customers in order to customize and personalize the service delivery and even correct service failures in real time by giving direct feedback to customers’ emotional expressions (Mattila/Enz, 2002, p. 275).

Bloemer/de Ruyter (1999, p. 326) establish a link between emotions and customer loyalty. They propose that emotions towards a service provider contribute significantly to customer loyalty. That is, if, apart from delivering a satisfactory service, the service employee (SE) succeeds in inducing positive emotions in his customers, it will lead to notably higher rates of loyalty among his customers. In a similar notion, Stauss (1996) puts forward that different types of satisfaction may exist in relation to the pattern of emotions, cognitions and intentions that the customer articulates. This may also help to explicate the observed weak links between satisfaction and customer loyalty.

In sum, emotions play an essential, but until recently underestimated, role in the relationships between service providers and customers. Feelings constitute economic value or monetary worth when they affect a customer’s decision to come back or never to return to a particular service firm (Fox, 2001, p. 231). That is why service marketers need to be conscious of the emotions of customers and SEs and should make an effort to affect those emotions in positive ways. They need to promote positive emotions such as pleasure, delight and satisfaction and prevent negative emotions such as frustration, anxiety, disgust and anger (Bitner/Zeithaml, 2003, pp. 44-45).

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• Universidad: Catholic University Eichstätt-Ingolstadt
• Calificación: 1,3
• Autor: Pirmin Seßler (Autor)
• Año de publicación: 2009
• Páginas: 73
• No. de catálogo: V135893
• ISBN (Ebook): 9783640428588
• ISBN (Libro): 9783640424733
• Idioma: Inglés
• Etiqueta: Intercultural, Investigation