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Confirmatory analysis of the factorial structure and validity of the service provider sociality scale
Abstract
This investigation assessed the factorial structure and validity of the Service Provider Sociality Scale (SPSS). The SPSS was administered to 455 customers, including 255 undergraduate students attending a small Midwestern college and 200 residents in communities surrounding the college. Confirmatory factor analysis results indicated that the service provider sociality measurement model had significant composite reliability and discriminant validity. Implications and recommendations for further research are provided.
... Вместе с тем эта проблематика разработана недостаточно полно и до сих пор неизвестно значение уровня социальности личности спортсмена разных возрастных групп [2]. В этой работе будем придерживаться мнения, что спортивная социальность -это набор способностей (навыков), измеряемых с помощью тестов [3]. В определении данного конструкта опираемся на теоретическое положение об основных социальных навыках. ...
... В определении данного конструкта опираемся на теоретическое положение об основных социальных навыках. Эти навыки относим к двум «ветвям» спортивной социальности (позитивное личное общение и уважительное поведение) [3]. ...
... Koermer, Ford, and Brant (2000) categorized socialites into two factors: courteous expressions (good manners, appreciative/ thankful manner) and personal connection (sales discussed your personal likes and dislikes, and discussed what you do for work). Communication is a medium of sociality which entailed both verbal and nonverbal behavior (e.g., smiling, direct eye contact) used to reduce psychological distance between individuals (Koermer, Ford, Toale & Dohanos, 2003).As stated by Kandampully (1998), establishing personalized relationships with customers is crucial because " customers' perception of exceptional service is often associated with the personal interaction of the employees " ( p. 431). This concept coincided with the findings of Ford (2001) and Zeithaml, Berry and Parasuraman (1996) that most customers desired personalized relationships and communication with service providers. ...
http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/57621778/management-evaluation-healthy-athlete-program-2007-shanghai-special-olympics-world-summer-games
... From toll-free numbers displayed at cash registers to customer feedback cards enclosed with season tickets, it is clear that nonprofit and for-profit organizations want to keep their customers happy and returning. Researchers have found that the communication behaviors and actions of these businesses can affect customers' perceptions of loyalty and ultimately determine the businesses' financial prosperity (Koermer & McCroskey, 2006;Koermer, Zabava-Ford, & Brant, 2000;Koermer, Zabava-Ford, Toale, & Dohanos, 2003). Inevitably, something will go wrong -a flawed product, a confused client, or an ill-treated customer -and contact ensues between a representative of the organization and the unsatisfied party. ...
This investigation examined the relationship between physicians' sociality usage and subsequent patient satisfaction. The SPSS (Service Provider Sociality Scale) was distributed to 198 adults from a midwestern state. Multiple regression results revealed that both courtesy expressions and personal connection socialities played a significant role in overall patient satisfaction with the physician. However, courtesy expressions accounted for more unique variance in patient satisfaction than did personal connections. No significant interactions were found between sociality and physician gender in the prediction of patient satisfaction in subsequent post-hoc analyses.
This investigation examined the relationship between service providers’ sociality usage and its influence on customer loyalty with the provider and service organization. The Service Provider Sociality Scale (SPSS) was distributed to 255 undergraduates attending a Midwestern liberal arts college and 200 residents from surrounding locales (N = 455). Regression analyses revealed that the SPSS factorial dimensions of courteous expressions and personal connection accounted for significant unique variance in customer loyalty with the service provider. Courteous expressions explained more unique variance in customer loyalty with the service organization than did personal connection. Implications and suggestions for further scholarly pursuits are provided.
This study examined the relationship between service providers’ sociality usage and customer satisfaction with the service provider. The Service Provider Sociality Scale (SPSS) was administered to 250 undergraduate students enrolled in a small, midwestern college and 194 residents from locales near the college. Whether it was a professional (doctor, hairdresser) or nonprofessional (convenience store clerk, fast-food employee) service provider, regression analyses revealed that “courteous expressions” and “personal connection” socialities were positive for both occupational groups; however, a stronger relationship existed for professional service providers. Nevertheless, regardless of service provider occupational type, courteous expressions explained significantly more unique variance in customer satisfaction than did personal connection socialities. Therefore, the communicative actions of service providers may influence customer perceptions of commitment and affect economic prosperity across service entities.
The authors report a study designed to evaluate the use of communication style by salespeople and their customers. Using a paradigm suggested by Sheth in which the communication styles of customers and salespeople are categorized as task oriented, interaction oriented, or self oriented, they assess whether communication styles are related to sales. They first develop scales to measure these styles and then test whether the styles affect the sales outcome. The results suggest that communication styles are a determinant of the success of the sales interaction.
In this article, we provide guidance for substantive researchers on the use of structural equation modeling in practice for theory testing and development. We present a comprehensive, two-step modeling approach that employs a series of nested models and sequential chi-square difference tests. We discuss the comparative advantages of this approach over a one-step approach. Considerations in specification, assessment of fit, and respecification of measurement models using confirmatory factor analysis are reviewed. As background to the two-step approach, the distinction between exploratory and confirmatory analysis, the distinction between complementary approaches for theory testing versus predictive application, and some developments in estimation methods also are discussed.
Relationships are an important aspect of doing business, and few businesses can survive without establishing solid relationships with their customers. Although the marketing literature suggests that personal relationships can be important to service firms, little specificity has been provided as to which relational aspects should receive attention. In this study, the authors examine one specific aspect of customer-employee relationships, rapport, that they believe may be particularly salient in service businesses characterized by a high amount of interpersonal interactions. Rapport has received relatively little attention in the marketing literature; the goal of this study is to fill this gap in the literature. In two different service contexts, the authors find support for two empirically distinct dimensions of rapport. They also find a positive relationship between these dimensions and satisfaction, loyalty intent, and word-of-mouth communication. They conclude by suggesting future research directions for further academic inquiry of rapport in service contexts.
A simple yet effective rating scale measure of satisfaction has been developed by sociological researchers studying the perceived quality of life. The author examines the suitability of this measure for marketing studies of consumer satisfaction/dissatisfaction. Reliability, validity, and selected measurement properties are evaluated empirically.
Factor analysis, path analysis, structural equation modeling, and related multivariate statistical methods are based on maximum likelihood or generalized least squares estimation developed for covariance structure models (CSMs). Large-sample theory provides a chi-square goodness-of-fit test for comparing a model (M) against a general alternative M based on correlated variables. It is suggested that this comparison is insufficient for M evaluation. A general null M based on modified independence among variables is proposed as an additional reference point for the statistical and scientific evaluation of CSMs. Use of the null M in the context of a procedure that sequentially evaluates the statistical necessity of various sets of parameters places statistical methods in covariance structure analysis into a more complete framework. The concepts of ideal Ms and pseudo chi-square tests are introduced, and their roles in hypothesis testing are developed. The importance of supplementing statistical evaluation with incremental fit indices associated with the comparison of hierarchical Ms is also emphasized. Normed and nonnormed fit indices are developed and illustrated. (43 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Interactions between 1,319 sales clerks and customers were observed. Clerk emotional behavior (Rafaeli & Sutton, 1987), clerk sex, wearing a smock and a name tag, the presence of other clerks or other customers, and customer sex were coded. As predicted, female clerks displayed positive emotions more frequently than male clerks, suggesting that sex role socialization may generalize to behavior at work. Male clients, however, received more positive emotional expressions than female clients, suggesting that individuals of both genders attribute higher status to men. Clerks were more likely to display positive emotions when wearing a uniform, suggesting that an organizational identifier such as a smock or name tag may increase an employee's self-awareness. Consistent with Sutton & Rafaeli (1987), clerks were less likely to display positive emotions if a line of customers or a coworker was present. No relationship was observed between work shift (time of day) and the display of positive emotions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Normed and nonnormed fit indexes are frequently used as adjuncts to chi-square statistics for evaluating the fit of a structural model. A drawback of existing indexes is that they estimate no known population parameters. A new coefficient is proposed to summarize the relative reduction in the noncentrality parameters of two nested models. Two estimators of the coefficient yield new normed (CFI) and nonnormed (FI) fit indexes. CFI avoids the underestimation of fit often noted in small samples for Bentler and Bonett's (1980) normed fit index (NFI). FI is a linear function of Bentler and Bonett's non-normed fit index (NNFI) that avoids the extreme underestimation and overestimation often found in NNFI. Asymptotically, CFI, FI, NFI, and a new index developed by Bollen are equivalent measures of comparative fit, whereas NNFI measures relative fit by comparing noncentrality per degree of freedom. All of the indexes are generalized to permit use of Wald and Lagrange multiplier statistics. An example illustrates the behavior of these indexes under conditions of correct specification and misspecification. The new fit indexes perform very well at all sample sizes.
Service marketers are confronted with two conflicting goals when designing service delivery systems, efficiency and personalization. The relative importance of each factor is determined by the nature of the specific service to be rendered, and by participants' expectations about degree of personalization. A study was conducted to test two assertions: (1) service personalization is a multidimensional construct and (2) all forms of personalization do not necessarily result in greater consumer satisfaction with the service offering. Three types of personalization strategies were proposed and operationalized in a simulated banking setting. Evaluations of service encounters that differed in the degree and type of personalization employed indicate that personalization is not a unitary phenomenon and must be approached carefully in the context of service design.
A perspective is presented on communicative competence that is based on Erving Goffman's model of face‐to‐face society. The concept o£ interaction involvement is then explicated in relation to the model as a fundamentally important cognitive dimension of communicative competence. Data from two studies are reported to support the validity of the interaction involvement concept and its operational definition. The results are interpreted as being useful for future basic research on communicative competence as well as applications in classroom and other instructional settings.
This study examined customer expectations for interactions with service providers in public, commercial service contexts. Two customer surveys revealed significant differences in expectations for "relationships" versus "encounters," and for personalized service communication in varied service contexts. The surveys also revealed that customers who expect relationships with providers tend to expect personalized service communication from those providers. Customers' current involvement in service relationships predicted their expectations for relationships versus encounters with service providers. Post hoc interviews also suggested that customers have distinct social expectations and time use expectations that coincide with their expectations for relationships or encounters and personalized service communication from different types of providers.
The statistical tests used in the analysis of structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error are examined. A drawback of the commonly applied chi square test, in addition to the known problems related to sample size and power, is that it may indicate an increasing correspondence between the hypothesized model and the observed data as both the measurement properties and the relationship between constructs decline. Further, and contrary to common assertion, the risk of making a Type II error can be substantial even when the sample size is large. Moreover, the present testing methods are unable to assess a model's explanatory power. To overcome these problems, the authors develop and apply a testing system based on measures of shared variance within the structural model, measurement model, and overall model.
For several years, the "systems" metaphor has guided organizational communication research. Recently, however, a sizable number of management and organizational communication scholars have explored another guiding metaphor--that of organizational culture. Present notions of organizational culture tend to focus on static, structural features of culture, and current research is often content to document the existence of such cultural features as organizational jargon, stories, ideologies, and strategic knowledge. Such a focus, although valuable, overlooks the cultural processes by which these structures are created, maintained, and transformed. Process notions can be introduced into the understanding of organizational culture by examining organizational communication as cultural performance. A look at five such performances described in current literature--performances of ritual, passion, sociality, politics, and enculturation--reveals that these are auspicious starting places for empirical research. (Author/FL)
This study assessed the dimensional structure of the Service Provider Sociality Scale, then determined whether service providers' use of different sociality dimensions predicts customer satisfaction and, in turn, whether customer satisfaction predicts loyalty. A survey of 256 undergraduate student “customers” revealed two significant dimensions of sociality: Personal Connection and Courteous Expressions. These dimensions explained 74% of the variance in customer satisfaction, but only Courteous Expressions accounted for significant unique variance in satisfaction. Satisfaction, in turn, strongly predicted loyalty.
Two studies examined the quality of clerk-customer interactions. In the first study, customers in a mall were followed from one purchase to another and retest reliability of customer sociability was found to be 0.73. A second study of the same and another mall found a retest reliability of 0.56 for customer sociability and a correlation of 0.57 between sociability of different salespersons serving the same customer. These results indicate that the sociability of salesperson—customer interactions is determined by stable individual differences in customer sociability, and suggest that salespeople do better to echo than to escalate customer sociability.
Personalized service communication: Perceived performance and disconfirmation of expectations as predictors of customer satisfaction and loyalty to professional service providers. Paper presented at the annual conference of the International Communication Association
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Ford, W. S. Z. (2001b, May). Personalized service communication: Perceived performance and disconfirmation of expectations as predictors of customer satisfaction and loyalty to professional service providers. Paper presented at the annual conference of the International Communica-tion Association, Washington, DC.
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Taking superficial relationships seriously: Weak-tie social support in customer service. Paper presented at the annual conference of the National Communication Association
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A resource exchange theoretical approach to customer service encounters. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Eastern Communication Association
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