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On the Role of Empathy in Customer-Employee Interactions

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Abstract

While the service literature repeatedly emphasizes the role of empathy in service interactions, studies on empathy in customer-employee interactions are nearly absent. This study defines and conceptualizes employee and customer empathy as multidimensional constructs and empirically investigates their impact on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. A quantitative study based on dyadic data and a multilevel modeling approach finds support for two effects of empathy in service interactions. The study reveals that customer empathy strengthens the positive effect of employee empathy on customer satisfaction, leading to more “symbiotic interactions.” The findings also indicate that empathic customers are more likely to respond to a dissatisfying encounter with “forgiveness,” in the sense that customer empathy is able to mitigate negative effects of customer dissatisfaction on customer loyalty. From these empirical results, the authors derive several implications for service research and the management of service encounters. In particular, the present study provides a valuable basis for strategies of “interaction routing,” that is, matching customers and employees on the basis of their psychological profiles to create smooth and satisfying service interactions. The authors elaborate on approaches to implement this strategy in service organizations.

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... Empathy plays an important role in achieving healthy intercultural communication and satisfying customers in tourism (Ülker et al., 2021). Wieseke et al. (2012) stated that empathic customers were more likely to forgive when they encountered unsatisfactory service, while customer empathy decreased the negative effects on customer dissatisfaction and loyalty. ...
... Cultural values are widely used to understand different cultures and find marketing strategies for them (Johnston et al., 2023;de Mooij & Hofstede, 2011). Basic empathy has two dimensions, cognitive and affective, and they are used to explain different consumer behaviours (Ngo et al., 2020;Wieseke et al., 2012). Trust is a dimension of relationship quality and measures trust in service personnel (Crosby et al., 1990) and these factors serve to provide customized service. ...
... This study discusses the empathy skills of customers, their skills in understanding the feelings, thoughts and behaviours of the personnel and giving appropriate responses (Delpechitre et al., 2019). As a matter of fact, empathic customers can forgive the negativities they encounter (Wieseke et al., 2012), focus on the good things and have a positive perspective (Pera et al., 2019), and they tend to be more satisfied with the service they receive. In other studies on customer empathy, it was found that consumers with high levels of empathy were more controlled even towards robots they received service from (Paiva et al., 2017), they were less angry and complained less (Konstam et al., 2001). ...
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Hotels that serve customers having different cultural values should improve their service capabilities to achieve customer satisfaction. This study researches how empathy, trust and cultural values affect hotel customer satisfaction and looks at the combinations of these components that lead to high customer satisfaction. The current literature on Hofstede’s five-dimensional cultural values, cognitive and affective dimensions of empathy, trust and customer satisfaction were used to develop the research model and present recommendations. To ensure cultural diversity, a face-to-face survey was administered to 553 tourists from six countries. The data obtained were evaluated using partial least squares structural equation modelling and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). According to the results, the effects of hotel customers’ empathy levels on their satisfaction occur through their trust in the business. The fsQCA revealed combinations of cultural values, empathy and trust that would generate high levels of satisfaction. The present study contributes to the relevant literature by addressing the relatively under-emphasized components that ensure that hotel customers are highly satisfied.
... Service failure often sparks customer anger, so service recovery is critical to fostering customer satisfaction (Mir et al., 2023). For instance, human agents' normative empathic display can elicit customer empathy, positively impacting the appraisal of perceived justice of service recovery and behavioral intentions (Wieseke et al., 2012). But traditional human-based interactions during service recovery could be soon disrupted by the growing adoption of Artificial Intelligence-based robot agents at the organizational frontline (Wirtz, 2020). ...
... Customer social cognition toward a service agent can increase customers' satisfaction and loyalty and weaken the adverse effects of a service failure (Wieseke et al., 2012). Following the service agent's remorseful apology, customer social cognition can positively impact forgiveness toward the service organization (Hill and Boyd, 2015). ...
... The coactivation of empathy and ToM can elicit compassion that positively impacts customers' perception of service quality (Wieseke et al., 2012) and intentions to spread positive word-of-mouth (Pozharliev et al., 2021). However, although robot agents with human-like features can give customers a feeling of warmth and affinity that can positively impact customer postrecovery satisfaction , technology-mediated service can reduce customers' level of compassion (Hwang and Mattila, 2020). ...
Article
Purpose Service failures evoke negative customer emotions, which human agents respond to through emotional labor. In turn, customers empathize with the human agent, providing a satisfying service recovery experience. However, robot agents could replace human agents and replicate emotional labor strategies. This study addresses whether customers empathize with apologetic robot agents and how it would affect the service recovery experience. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on emotional labor, social cognition and justice theory, two online scenario-based experiments (N1 = 411; N2 = 253) were designed in which customers watched a video simulating an interaction with a human or a robot agent during a service recovery procedure. Findings Study 1 shows that robot agents handle emotionally driven service recovery interactions and prompt desirable postrecovery behaviors (e.g. brand loyalty). Study 2 identifies customers’ empathy and compassion as mediators, explaining the effect of normative empathic display on customers' perceptions of interactional justice and behavioral intentions. Practical implications Robot agents are reliable substitutes for human agents in handling service recovery procedures. Customers can empathize with robot agents, leading to satisfying service experiences. Originality/value This study demonstrates customers’ capacity to empathize with robot agents during a service recovery procedure. It is also the first application in service research of the EmpaToM experimental procedure from social neuroscience to explore the social cognition dynamic between customers and service agents at the service encounter.
... Some studies have examined this in human-to-robot settings (e.g., Söderlund, 2022). So far, however, few studies have explicitly acknowledged that such attributions can be made also in a human-to-human setting, although the literature on customers' perceptions of employee empathy comprises an interest in a person's view of another person's beliefs about the first person's mind content (e.g., Collier et al., 2018;Min et al., 2015;Wieseke et al., 2012;Zhao et al., 2018). Regardless of the setting, however, the role of attributions of theory of mind for word-of-mouth has not been examined previously. ...
... In the present study, the evaluation variable is customer satisfactionthe customer's overall post-purchase/post-consumption evaluation of an agent. In a consumer-related context, indirect support for the assumption that having one's mental states considered by a human employee affects one's overall evaluation of the employee, and/or the firm that the employee represents, can be found in studies with variables such as employee empathy (Collier et al., 2018;Min et al., 2015;Wieseke et al., 2012;Zhao et al., 2018), the employee's understanding of customer emotions (Delcourt et al., 2016), the employee's attention to the customer, interest in the customer, and listening to the customer (e.g., Aggarwal et al., 2005;Butcher et al., 2003;Frazer Winsted, 2000). In the light of this, the following is hypothesized for customers' reactions to a service agent in a service encounter. ...
... Indeed, it is not uncommon that the authors refer to their word-of-mouth variable simply as "word-of-mouth", and it is up to the reader to find, in a measurement section, that the items have to do with either intentions or behavioral expectations. Another common approach also exists: the researcher measures word-of-mouth with specific word-of-mouth items, but the result is lumped together with participants' answers to repurchase items, typically under the overall label "loyalty" (e.g., Wieseke et al., 2012), so there is no way for the reader to identify what the specific effect on word-of-mouth is. ...
Article
A frequently made assumption – supported in a large number of empirical studies – is that customer satisfaction stemming from a service encounter influences the customer's subsequent word-of-mouth activities. The present study re-examines this association with respect to both human service employees and service robots (which are expected to become more common in service encounters in the near future). First, it is assumed that the customer's attribution of theory of mind to a service agent is an important source of information for the formation of a satisfaction assessment. Indeed, it is assumed that the agent's theory of mind is a prerequisite for understanding the customer's needs. Second, in contrast to many existing studies, word-of-mouth is captured in terms of the valence of what customers actually say (as opposed to various forms of intentions to engage in word-of-mouth, which represent a dominant contemporary operationalization of word-of-mouth). A between-subjects experiment was conducted in which a service agent's identity (service robot vs. human) and service performance (poor vs. good) were the manipulated factors. The results show that both these factors influenced attribution of theory of mind to the agent, and that attribution of theory of mind enhanced customer satisfaction. The results also show that customer satisfaction affected word-of-mouth content in a valence-congruent way.
... Empathy and mutual understanding are common themes in studies of customer-employee service interactions (e.g., Wieseke et al., 2012). Empathy is a complex concept and refers to a person's ability to sense another person's thoughts, feelings, and experiences, align with another person's feelings and emotions (Gremler and Gwinner, 2008), share emotional experiences (e.g., Duan and Hill, 1996), react to the observed experiences of another person (Davis, 1983), or enhance one's ability to anticipate the behaviors of others (Håkansson and Montgomery, 2003). ...
... As an example, in the context of sales, the empathy of a sales agent allows her/him to help customers by identifying their mental states and needs (Dawson Jr et al., 1992;McBane, 1995;Batson, 2009), taking customers' perspectives to offer them a product or service they genuinely need. It eventually would result in enhanced service quality (Bitner et al., 1990), consumer satisfaction (Wieseke et al., 2012), or customers' willingness to engage in social interaction and cooperative behavior (e.g., Gremler and Gwinner, 2008) while decreasing opportunistic behavior (Adam et al., 2021). ...
... Empathic concern manifests affective empathy and refers to showing concern for the emotional state of others (Wieseke et al., 2012), feeling compassion or sympathy for others (Bagozzi et al., 2012), and/or responding to another person's emotions without experiencing or feeling those feelings themselves, which helps to foster altruistic behaviors (Batson, 2009). ...
Article
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A R T I C L E I N F O Keywords: Voice-based artificial intelligence Voice AI Empathetic response in voice AI Attention to auditory information Auditory information exploration Consumer's narcissism A B S T R A C T Voice-based artificial intelligence, or voice AI, is becoming more prevalent in consumers' daily transactions. Utilizing the perception-action model of empathy, this study aims to understand the holistic nature of empathetic responses in voice AI and how this technology, when rendered empathetic, can affect consumers' attention to auditory information (perceived attention) and auditory information exploration, by reaching expected outcomes of the interactive process, consumer satisfaction, and consumers' willingness to use voice AI. The results of two pretests and two experiments explain the effect of empathetic response in voice AI on consumers' perceived attention and its subsequent effect on consumers' auditory information exploration, satisfaction, and willingness to use voice AI. In addition, the moderating effects of narcissism on relationships were also tested. Consumers' narcissism strengthens the effect of empathetic response on perceived attention to auditory information.
... The current study examines the effects of positive emotions in an intimate apparel shopping environment. Further, most studies on salesperson interactions were conducted in a B2B marketing environment (Jokiniemi et al., 2023;Ojiaku et al., 2023) with rare exceptions such as Wieseke et al. (2012). The current study, therefore, adds value to the existing B2C marketing literature by examining the role of salesperson's empathic interactions with customers in a relatively under-researched arena-female customers' intimate apparel marketing. ...
... Empathy, as a concept, denotes an individual's ability to comprehend and share the feelings of another person. It encompasses the capacity to recognize and understand the emotions and perspectives of others, often involving a sense of resonance with those emotions (Wieseke et al., 2012). When salespersons can accurately discern a customer's appraisal of a situation or product, they are better equipped to respond with empathy. ...
... Significant research within the realms of sales and service management has consistently highlighted the pivotal role of salesperson empathy as a key determinant of their performance and overall customer satisfaction (Bahadur et al., 2020). While some studies conceptualize empathy as a unidimensional construct (Aggarwal et al., 2005;Pilling & Eroglu, 1994), there is a growing consensus among scholars that a comprehensive understanding of salespersons' empathy necessitates a multidimensional framework, encompassing both cognitive and affective dimensions (Homburg et al., 2011;Wieseke et al., 2012Wieseke et al., , 2013. The present study adopts a perspective wherein sales personnel empathy is considered a bi-dimensional construct, comprising both cognitive and affective dimensions. ...
Article
Even though online shopping and self-service options are popular, salespeople still play a crucial role in influencing women's decisions when buying intimate apparel. This study looks into how sales staff influence Asian female consumers' choices in this industry. By studying 301 people who shop for intimate apparel, the research explores how salespeople's empathetic interactions affect customers' emotions, relationships and overall satisfaction. Drawing on empirical data from 301 participants engaged in intimate apparel shopping, the research examines how empathic interactions by salespersons impact customers' emotions, relational outcomes and overall satisfaction. Findings reveal that affective empathic interactions significantly enhance salesperson competencies and customer-oriented behaviours, leading to heightened levels of satisfaction. Moreover, the study elucidates the mediating roles of customer competence and hedonic value in shaping satisfaction levels. The implications of these findings for improving customer satisfaction in intimate apparel retail are discussed.
... In service encounters, empathy positively impacts communication and interaction processes between salesperson and customer (Parasuraman et al., 1998). Thus, given the crucial role of empathy in influencing consumers' perceptions, motivation, and evaluation in traditional service encounters (Comer & Drollinger, 1999;Wieseke et al., 2012), understanding people's reactions to state-of-the-art frontline technologies in the era of AIhuman collaboration is equally vital (Ahearne et al., 2022;Aw et al., 2022). However, to date the business-related literature fails to provide any structured guidance in relation to the design of empathic VAs (Liu-Thompkins et al., 2022). ...
... A salesperson's individualized attention and care can prompt empathic responses from the observer based on the belief that the counterpart is warm and personal (Preston & de Waal, 2002). When a sales operator demonstrates empathy through understanding, listening and feedback (Wieseke et al., 2012), the customer's trust and confidence in the service provider typically increases, leading to behavioral changes (Parasuraman et al., 1988). It follows that empathy is a central construct in understanding marketing-related interactions (Aaker & Williams, 1998). ...
... Such a finding contributes to the theorization of the role of AI empathy in marketing-related interactions (Caruelle et al., 2022;Huang & Rust, 2021;Liu-Thompkins et al., 2022) and shows that emotional responses to AI agents become central in the human-AI interaction process as long as the observers think that the interaction is warm and personal (affective empathy). Consequently, we confirm the crucial empathy's role in ensuring positive shopping experiences, even when the sales operator is an AI agent and not a human (Ahearne et al., 2022;Aw et al., 2022;Wieseke et al., 2012). ...
Article
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Artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled voice assistants (VAs) are transforming firm-customer interactions but often come across as lacking empathy. This challenge may cause business managers to question the overall effectiveness of VAs in shopping contexts. Recognizing empathy as a core design element in the next generation of VAs and the limits of scenario-based studies in voice commerce, this article investigates how empathy exhibited by an existing AI agent (Alexa) may alter consumer shopping responses. AI empathy moderates the original structural model bridging functional, relational, and social-emotional dimensions. Findings of an individual-session online experiment show higher intentions to delegate tasks, seek decision assistance, and trust recommendations from AI agents perceived as empathic. In contrast to individual shoppers, families respond better to functional VA attributes such as ease of use when AI empathy is present. The results contribute to the literature on AI empathy and conversational commerce while informing managerial AI design decisions.
... According to the service marketing literature, empathy is the ability to step into another's shoes to observe, feel, sense, and interpret the external world. More profoundly, empathy also encompasses vicariously participating in another's emotional experiences or mirroring a response to a witnessed event Wieseke et al. 2012). Empathy is deemed essential for employees, especially in service settings, and plays a pivotal role in their success when interacting with customers (Bitner 1992). ...
... They can either elevate or tarnish the brand image during customer interactions (Gelb and Rangarajan 2014; Harris and de Chernatony 2001;Iglesias et al. 2017). Thus, a customer's positive brand experience hinges on employee behaviour, both cognitively and emotionally (Wieseke et al. 2012). Furthermore, Iglesias et al. (2019) find employee empathy negatively moderates the relationship between SBE and customer satisfaction and suggest that the significance of a positive SBE diminishes in the presence of high employee empathy compared to situations where employee empathy is low. ...
... Most extant studies (e.g. Brakus et al. 2009;Iglesias et al. 2019;Wieseke et al. 2012) show the customer satisfaction and loyalty represent the 'holy grail' of the business world, and find that customer satisfaction can significantly affect brand loyalty. This research shows that not all dimensions of customer satisfaction lead to attitudinal and behavioural loyalty. ...
Article
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This research investigates five sensory cues (i.e. visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile, and taste) influencing sensory brand experience leading to brand loyalty through customer satisfaction, brand attachment, and customer lovemarks. It also investigates the role of employee empathy in moderating the effect of sensory brand experience on customer satisfaction, brand attachment, and customer lovemarks. Our investigation followed a mixed-method research design, a predominantly quantitative approach by using questionnaire responses from 512 Chinese consumers, which is supported by 10 in-depth interviews and 4 focus group discussions to gain early insights into the subject area. The results suggest that five sensory cues have a significant impact on sensory brand experience and, in turn, contribute to customer satisfaction, brand attachment, and customer lovemarks. It also suggests that not all dimensions of customer satisfaction and brand attachment predict brand loyalty, and employee empathy negatively moderates the relationship between sensory brand experience and customer lovemarks.
... Empathy is defined as a person's intellectual or imaginative understanding of another person's condition or state (Hogan, 1969). Related to service, empathic customers were found to be less angry and more forgiving when they encounter a service failure (Wieseke et al., 2012). In a study with "classic" human frontline employees, customer empathy towards an employee was found to enhance social interactions, foster supportive attitudes, and create a more satisfying experience (Lazarus, 1991;Wieseke et al., 2012). ...
... Related to service, empathic customers were found to be less angry and more forgiving when they encounter a service failure (Wieseke et al., 2012). In a study with "classic" human frontline employees, customer empathy towards an employee was found to enhance social interactions, foster supportive attitudes, and create a more satisfying experience (Lazarus, 1991;Wieseke et al., 2012). Scholars in the field of social service research support this, showing that empathy-related expressions are often beneficial to build or strengthen social bonds between interaction partners (Gerdes, 2011), which in turn increase warmth perceptions (Cuddy et al., 2008;Judd et al., 2005). ...
... The empathy-related message seeks to evoke understanding and empathy and create feelings of warmth and mutual connection (Cuddy et al., 2008;Lazarus, 1991;Wieseke et al., 2012). Asking for understanding regarding the chatbot's limited abilities is possible at any interaction stage or situation, as the chatbot refers to its own lack of abilities (vs. the user). ...
Article
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Chatbots as prominent form of conversational agents are increasingly implemented as a user interface for digital customer-firm interactions on digital platforms and electronic markets, but they often fail to deliver suitable responses to user requests. In turn, individuals are left dissatisfied and turn away from chatbots, which harms successful chatbot implementation and ultimately firm’s service performance. Based on the stereotype content model, this paper explores the impact of two universally usable failure recovery messages as a strategy to preserve users’ post-recovery satisfaction and chatbot re-use intentions. Results of three experiments show that chatbot recovery messages have a positive effect on recovery responses, mediated by different elicited social cognitions. In particular, a solution-oriented message elicits stronger competence evaluations, whereas an empathy-seeking message leads to stronger warmth evaluations. The preference for one of these message types over the other depends on failure attribution and failure frequency. This study provides meaningful insights for chatbot technology developers and marketers seeking to understand and improve customer experience with digital conversational agents in a cost-effective way.
... Three items were adapted from the scale of interpersonal trust at work [48] to assess trust in meetings. Three items were adapted from multi-item scales of multidimensional empathy [49,52] to assess empathy among the participants. Three items were adapted from the altruism scale [51] to assess the participants' helping behaviors. ...
... Although many attempts have been made to understand emotions, most have analyzed the emotions of each person separately, and most studies involving multiple persons have been limited to conceptual studies [30,39]. Few empirical studies have dealt with multiple persons, and those limited to self-report and observation failed to adequately account for instantaneous changes in emotions [52,62,63]. However, most studies using neuroscience tools to capture emotional fluctuations have been limited to analyzing individuals in laboratory settings, because it is difficult to capture the emotional fluctuations of multiple persons in real-world conditions [44,[64][65][66]. ...
Article
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Emotions fluctuate during the process of social interaction. Although the co-creation of emotions through organizational behavior has been discussed theoretically in existing research, there is no method to demonstrate how emotions are co-created. Instead, previous studies have paid much attention to empathy, in which a person’s emotions are contagious. In contrast to self-report, which is a traditional method that can only assess emotions at a single point in time and adapts to empathy, biometric technology has made it possible to analyze emotional fluctuations over time. However, previous studies have focused only on understanding the emotional fluctuations of individuals separately. In the present study, we developed a system to measure the co-creation of emotions using a wearable device. The pulse rate was converted into valence as a positive–negative emotion, and the fluctuations in valence were analyzed by cross-correlation. We demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed system through triangulation by integrating biometrics with observation and self-report. The proposed system was verified to measure the co-creation of pair and group emotions using real-world data beyond laboratory settings. The present study contributes to business administration by proposing a critical concept for measuring the co-creation of emotions based on a constructionist approach.
... During live streaming, consumers often rely on the streamer's introduction to obtain relevant product information, and their decision-making process is inevitably influenced by these self-presentation behaviors [22]. Studies have shown that, to achieve sales objectives, salespeople are committed to providing consumers with detailed product information [23,24] and use emotional communication to establish resonance with consumers [25]. However, some salespeople may adopt strategies such as exaggerating themselves, belittling competitors, or flattering consumers to achieve sales goals [26,27]. ...
... Early marketing research has shown that empathy is significantly related to salesperson performance and is crucial for successful sales interactions [29]. This characteristic can better fulfill viewers' emotional needs during the shopping process and enhance their shopping experience [25,30]. When observing e-commerce live streaming, we found that some streamers kindly remind consumers to pay attention to safety on their way home and not to watch live streaming while walking. ...
Article
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In recent years, live streaming has become the mainstream way of online shopping in China. As the dominant player and performer in live streaming, streamer plays a crucial role in consumers’ purchase decisions. Therefore, this study focuses on the self-presentation behavior of streamers in the context of e-commerce live streaming and explores the mechanism of its influence on consumers’ purchase intention from the perspective of persuasion knowledge. A total of 538 consumers from China participated in this anonymous survey and the results indicate that helpful and empathetic behaviors of streamers can significantly enhance consumers’ purchase intention, while derogatory, exaggerated, and flattering behaviors of streamers can significantly diminish consumers’ purchase intention. Persuasion knowledge played a mediating role and had a significant negative effect on purchase intention, while anticipated inaction regret weakened its effect on purchase intention.
... Although growth has recently emerged in research on artificial intelligence and automation in the banking industry and how it impacts consumer behavior (see Hentzen et al., 2022 for a comprehensive literature review), existing studies have not fully explored consumer needs, attitudes, and preferences regarding the transition from human-led to AIinformed financial services delivery and its implications . In the financial services industry, employees play a fundamental role in meeting consumer needs (Bahadur et al., 2020;Wieseke et al., 2012) and how consumers perceive employees compared to automation affects financial behavior (Raza et al., 2023;Northey et al., 2022;Lee and Wang, 2023;Chou et al., 2023;Riedel et al., 2022;Zhang et al., 2021). However, research on the variables that affect consumer performance expectancy is scant (Wang et al., 2017;Shaikh and Karjaluoto, 2015). ...
... In the retail financial industry, consumers have relevant bargaining power since they can compare the financial products and services offered by financial intermediaries with those offered by competitors (Raza et al., 2023). In this type of market, employee performance becomes highly relevant (Aburayya et al., 2020;Liao and Chuang, 2004); thus, the financial services industry is one where employees play an essential role in meeting consumer needs (Bahadur et al., 2020;Wieseke et al., 2012). The literature on customer-bank relationships suggests that for enduring relationships-which are important for bank profitability-employee conduct is crucial since it affects both perceptions of service performance and the subsequent behavioral outcomes (Lachance and Tang, 2012;Wasan, 2018). ...
Article
Purpose This study aims to investigate the drivers of bank automation system performance expectancy compared to that of bank employees. The purpose is to shed light on the role played by consumers' cognitive schema on automation that is the perfect automation schema (PAS). Design/methodology/approach A survey was administered to about 500 Italian subjects to measure their PAS; financial knowledge, anxiety, and security; and sociodemographic and socioeconomic variables. Ordered probit regressions and an instrumental variable two-stage least squares regression are run. Findings The analyses reveal that cognitive schemas play a crucial role in consumer expectations in banking. Individuals with stronger PAS tend to have more positive expectations about bank automation performance compared to employee performance. Financial anxiety and knowledge positively affect bank automation performance expectancy while women, older people, and financially insecure subjects have poor expectations of automated banking systems. Originality/value This study extends the understanding of key consumer characteristics that affect bank automation performance expectancy compared to that of bank employees in services delivery in the Italian context. Moreover, it provides useful results for researchers, practitioners, banking institutions, and regulators.
... Extant work has emphasised that empathy is vital to the service experience (Umasuthan et al., 2017). It is crucial for relationship building and the favourable evaluation of the service experience (Wieseke et al., 2012). Moreover, Wieseke et al. (2012) explained that empathybased service interactions can mitigate service failures, as customers might be willing to forgive mistakes. ...
... It is crucial for relationship building and the favourable evaluation of the service experience (Wieseke et al., 2012). Moreover, Wieseke et al. (2012) explained that empathybased service interactions can mitigate service failures, as customers might be willing to forgive mistakes. An empathetic and user-centric design can aid employees in adapting their contexts for an ameliorated customer experience (Stock and Hoyer, 2005). ...
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Purpose This study aims to develop an empathetic and user-centric customer support service design model. Though service design has been a critical research focus for several decades, few studies focus on customer support services. As customer support gains importance as a source of competitive advantage in the present era, this paper aims to contribute to industry and academia by exploring the service design model. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted a theories-in-use approach to elucidate mental models based on the industry’s best practices. In-depth interviews with 62 professionals led to critical insights into customer service design development, supported by service-dominant logic and theory of mind principles. Findings The ensuing insights led to a model that connects the antecedents and outcomes of empathetic and user-centric customer service design. The precursors include people, processes and technology, while the results are user experience, service trust and service advocacy. The model also emphasises the significance of the user’s journey and the user service review in the overall service design. Research limitations/implications The model developed through this study addresses the critical gap concerning the lack of service design research in customer support services. The key insights from this study contribute to the ongoing research endeavours towards transitioning customer support services from an operational unit to a strategic value-creating function. Future scholars may investigate the applicability of the empathetic user service design across cultures and industries. The new model must be customised using real-time data and analytics across user journey stages. Practical implications The empathetic and user-centric design can elevate the customer service function as a significant contributor to the overall customer experience, loyalty and positive word of mouth. Practitioners can adopt the new model to provide superior customer service experiences. This original research was developed through crucial insights from interviews with senior industry professionals. Originality/value This research is the original work developed through the key insights from the interview with senior industry professionals.
... Consumer attentiveness toward the robot they interact with can enhance mutual understanding (Gremler & Gwinner, 2000). It may contribute to a favorable assessment of robot performance and elevate customer satisfaction (Wieseke et al., 2012). ...
... Our study echoes prior research on human empathy, suggesting that humans feel empathy not only for their peers but also for fictional characters, game characters, and even robots (Paiva, 2017). Furthermore, from the service management perspective, the present study addresses Wieseke et al. (2012) call for research on consumer empathy as an explanatory variable in service interactions. This research reveals the importance of activating customer emotional response in robot service recovery. ...
... For the Indian retail market, targeting young shoppers, focusing on price bands and smart technologies like augmented reality smart glasses, and creating immersive experiences (Pfeifer et al. 2023) may work well. For the Polish counterpart, the traditional role of knowledgeable sales staff demonstrating empathy and helping reduce stress through decision support could enrich shopping satisfaction to the highest level (Wieseke et al. 2012;Lucia-Palacios et al. 2018). In summary, these tailored implications present practical opportunities for retailers to optimize their atmospherics and social factors according to cultural nuances in cross-border shopping behaviors. ...
Article
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While previous studies have examined the influence of store atmospherics and social factors independently, limited research has investigated their synergistic impacts across cultures. In particular, the interactions between ambient scents, companionship influences, and cross-cultural shopping customs remain underexplored. Therefore, this study investigates how ambient scents influence retail shopping behaviors with a companion across cultures. Data were collected via surveys administered to customers in Polish and Indian shopping malls ( N = 579), examining the impact of detected fragrances on time spent, money spent, purchase decisions, cognitive responses, and attitudes. Shopping with a companion in a scented environment has a more positive influence on time spent, money spent and impulse purchases in India than in Poland. There is no difference between these two cultures regarding cognitive responses to a scented retail environment, but there are significant differences for attitudinal responses and repurchase intentions. We found a positive association between the consumer rating of the shopping environment in terms of the ambient scent and the amount of money spent in India, but not in Poland. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed for optimizing atmospheric design according to cultural customs around shopping companionships.
... Customer satisfaction is significantly impacted by employees' compassion (Markovic et al., 2015;Wieseke et al., 2012, Daniels, et al., 2014Meneses & Larkin, 2012). In the instance of the banking industry, numerous conversations between staff and clients were necessary to complete various processes (Chakrabarty, et al., 2012;Lee, et al., 2011). ...
... Empathy in company-customer interaction has attracted a growing attention in business research (Gorry and Westbrook, 2011;Mackinnon et al., 2013;Varca, 2009), particularly concerning sales (Delpechitre, 2013;Peterson and Limbu, 2009), service production (Pryor et al., 2013;Wieseke et al., 2012), and leadership (Choi, 2006;Cornelis et al., 2013;Dietz and Kleinlogel, 2013;Hobson et al., 2004;Patient and Skarlicki, 2010). Also, empathy towards the customers and end users has been a long-term interest in design inspired innovation research (e.g., Brown, 2009;Koskinen et al., 2003;Martin, 2009;McQuaid et al., 2003). ...
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This research focuses on customer-oriented lean innovation and introduces the innovation empathy framework that has been developed for the early phases of innovation processes. The framework is based on the idea that increased empathy towards customers helps innovators gain a better understanding of customers' problems and needs, and increases the possibilities to generate more value to the customers. The analysis of the test use of the framework with business managers illustrates how empathising, i.e., putting oneself in the role of the customer, can be rehearsed through empathising exercises and, more importantly, through empathetic facilitation.
... Empathy describes the emotional response to another person's emotional state (Eisenberg & Strayer, 1987). While empathy is known as an essential factor in establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships between customers and human advisors (Wieseke et al., 2012), recent research shows that the degree to which customers believe that a chatbot possesses empathy also plays an important role in chatbot-human interaction . Integrating literature postulating that empathy depicts an emotional reaction with TCV, we suggest that customers' perception of a chatbot's empathy in response to their own emotional state represents an emotional value for customers. ...
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Chatbots offer customers access to personalised services and reduce costs for organisations. While some customers initially resisted interacting with chatbots, the COVID‐19 outbreak caused them to reconsider. Motivated by this observation, we explore how disruptive situations, such as the COVID‐19 outbreak, stimulate customers' willingness to interact with chatbots. Drawing on the theory of consumption values, we employed interviews to identify emotional, epistemic, functional, and social values that potentially shape willingness to interact with chatbots. Findings point to six values and suggest that disruptive situations stimulate how the values influence WTI with chatbots. Following theoretical insights that values collectively contribute to behaviour, we set up a scenario‐based study and employed a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis. We show that customers who experience all values are willing to interact with chatbots, and those who experience none are not, irrespective of disruptive situations. We show that disruptive situations stimulate the willingness to interact with chatbots among customers with configurations of values that would otherwise not have been sufficient. We complement the picture of relevant values for technology interaction by highlighting the epistemic value of curiosity as an important driver of willingness to interact with chatbots. In doing so, we offer a configurational perspective that explains how disruptive situations stimulate technology interaction.
... Castano's (2012) comprehensive review highlights empathy's role in human social interactions. In the context of customer service, frontline employees play a vital role in interacting with customers (Axtell et al., 2007) and promoting forgiveness after service failures (Wieseke et al., 2012). Bove's (2019) systematic study further underscores empathy's potential in safeguarding brand reputation and fostering ethical decision-making. ...
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... Empathy strengthens the ability to competently interact with others and to display behaviors appropriate for a given situation or person [7]. By fostering a more complete and accurate understanding of the interaction partner, empathy elevates the ability to predict or anticipate the actions or reactions of others [8]. ...
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At the highest level of the hospitality industry, the clientele of luxury hotels is different from that of other hotels, and these customers have higher expectations for the services provided by the hotels. In order to retain these customers, many hotels use and continuously improve the loyalty program to help maintain their customer relationships. Through qualitative analysis, this paper will examine the impact of the loyalty program on consumer behavior at luxury hotels through qualitative analysis.
... A gazdaság nem minden területén van azonban az emberi kapcsolatoknak egyforma szerepe. A humán kapcsolatok (H2H -Human to Human) legfontosabb színtere nyilvánvalóan a szolgáltatások területe (Wieseke et al., 2012). A fizikai termékek esetében is látható, hogy a hosszú ideig uralkodó "termék-domináns logikát (G-DL -Goods Dominant Logics)" egyre inkább felváltja a szolgáltatásdomináns logika (S-DL -Service Dominant Logics), és ezáltal az humán kapcsolatok itt is egyre fontosabb szerepet kapnak (Kotler et al., 2022). ...
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Törőcsik Mária Professzor Asszony a Pécsi Tudományegyetem Közgazdaságtudományi Kar teljes történelmének egyik legkiemelkedőbb életművet felmutató oktatója, akit – mint ahogyan e kötet is bizonyítja – nagyon sok kollégája szeret, még több tisztel, de még annál is sokkal többen tanultak tőle valami fontosat. Törőcsik Mária, sokunk Marikája a Kar legelső női professzora, és ez férfi kollégákhoz képest többszörös erőkifejtést kívánt meg Tőle az élet komplex kihívásait illetően, beleértve ebbe természetesen és első helyen a családot, de persze az idő nagy részében férfi kollégák dominálta munkaközegben való teljes értékű helytállást is. Különösen imponáló volt az, ahogy a Marketing és Turizmus Intézet első igazgatójaként lendületesen és elszántan épített fel egy sokra hivatott, nagyon tehetséges marketinges csapatot, és ezzel párhuzamosan tudta a turizmus vertikumot az elvárásokat felülmúló sebességgel és hatékonysággal integrálni az intézeti, a kari és a tágabb szakmai közegbe. Törőcsik Professzor Asszony az oktatói/kutatói utánpótlásnevelés terén egészen rendkívülit alkotott, a témavezetésével eddig végbement 18 (!) sikeres doktori védést csak az tudja helyiértékén kezelni, aki valaha megtapasztalta már konzulensként, hogy milyen mennyiségű és milyen odaadású munkát kíván meg akár egyetlen doktorandusz útjának sikeres egyengetése is. Nem kétséges, hogy a Marika személyiségéből szervesen fakadó személyes odafordulási képesség, a kötet szakmai vezérfonalént is megjelenő empátia milyen jelentőséggel bírt e sikerben. De legalább ilyen fontos az, hogy az értéket, a minőséget és a szorgos munkát konzekvensen előtérbe helyező, ám ha kellett, akkor szigorúsággal határos, kérlelhetetlenül nyílt és őszinte kommunikáció is párosult hozzá. Ezen értékek a Kar kultúráját is mélyen átitatják, és nem csak arról van szó, hogy Professzor Asszony személyes attitűdje milyen szépen simult ehhez, hanem inkább épp fordítva: a közös kultúra építése, és értékek kicsiszolása tekintetében van Professzor Asszonynak – több, szintén kiemelkedő teljesítményű „Alapító Anyával és Atyával” egyetemben megkerülhetetlen szerepe és érdeme. Még egy kérdésről szeretnék szót ejteni, mégpedig a marketing és a pénzügy viszonyáról. A vállalati gazdálkodás funkcionális területei, ezt már a legelső félévben minden közgazdászhallgató megtanulja. A marketing, illetve a pénzügy a vállalati gazdálkodás legfontosabb területei, gondolja tanulmányai végére az alapszakos friss diplomások többsége, súlypontozva aszerint, hogy ő maga melyik szakon végzett. A sokkal szerényebb számú mesterszakos végzettek néha már kiterjesztett értelmezésben gondokodnak: „ami működik, ott a marketingnek szerepe van”, vagy „a pénz körül forog minden”. A doktoranduszok – gondos professzoraiknak köszönhetően – hajlamosak visszatérni a kezdetekhez, némi parafrázissal: a marketing és pénzügy is szolgálólányok. Jómagam, a tapasztaltabb korosztályok képviselőjeként hajlamos vagyok úgy látni, hogy a megfelelő analógia a két diszciplína viszonyára mégis inkább a testvéreké. Hasonlóak a génjeik és a szocializációjuk, gyermekkorban hasonló családi impulzusközegben keresik fejlődési lehetőségüket, közben egymáshoz képest is folyamatosan pozícionálják választott szerepeiket. Ami biztosan közös bennük, hogy itt nem elvont diszciplínákról beszélünk, az elméleti felismerések relevanciáját egyszerűen nem lehet értelmesen megítélni azok praktikus relevanciája és haszna nélkül. Ezért fontos kiemelni, hogy Törőcsik Professzor Asszony a gyakorló marketinges szakemberek számára is állandó hivatkozási pont, nem csak a tudományos közleményekben. Nagyon sok, jól megérdemelt és széles körű szakmai impaktot tükröző elismerés mutatja világosan, hogy milyen komplex és releváns életműről van itt szó! Nem tudom, hogy létezik-e hasonlóan általános, a tudományos közegen túlmutató szakmai elismertségű életmű idehaza a pénzügyek területén az elmúlt évtizedekben. De valószínűbbnek tartom a nemleges választ, és ez újabb, sajátos fénytörésben emeli ki azt a pályafutást, azt a szeretetre és tiszteletre méltó személyiséget, akit most ünneplünk. Kedves Marika: köszönet mindenért, még nagyon sokáig szeretnénk számítani Rád!
... Service settings, such as higher education universities provide interactions with their customers. Such interactions may depict levels of courtesy through EM that may resonate with the receiver, resulting in changes in satisfaction and consumer intentions [41]. According to Aggarwal et al. [42], staff empathy towards its customers acts as a positive trait that can build long-term trust and satisfaction, leading to loyalty. ...
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Student loyalty generally refers to the formed bond between the student and a university. This relationship between a university and its students proves essential in a university’s success in the competitive field of higher education institutions. The aim of this study was to determine the factors affecting students’ loyalty among high school students to pursue their college or higher education in their current universities by utilizing Self-Determination Theory and Extended Theory of Planned Behavior. A total of 1224 high school students voluntarily participated and answered an online questionnaire that consist of 80 questions. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) showed that competency had the highest direct significant effect on perceived behavioral control which subsequently led to student satisfaction, followed by relatedness and empathy. In addition, student satisfaction had the highest direct effect significant effect on student loyalty, followed by university image and effectiveness. Interestingly, university ranking, programs offered, and kinship patronage also had significant indirect effects on student loyalty. This new framework may be a theoretical foundation for universities to enhance student loyalty and student recruitment. Considering students as customers, the satisfaction of students would result in an increase in the application which would present an increase in population, sales, marketability, and profitability of the university.
... Following the three-factor theory of anthropomorphism (Epley et al., 2007), individuals desire social interaction, i.e., a sociality motivation, because by nature, they are social beings (Hari et al., 2015). In this context, the perception of empathy is an essential part of human-to-human interaction (Reynolds & Scott, 1999;Wieseke et al., 2012), and CA research shows that users are indulged to assign empathy to CAs that are perceived to be human-like (Pelau et al., 2021), despite that they are not reacting to users' emotions (Clark, 2010;Daher et al., 2020). For instance, in health advising CAs, Daher et al. (2020) reveal that empathic CAs that interact with human-like characteristics, such as showing a more supportive manner, are preferred over advice-only CAs. ...
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The increasing need for organ donations remains a worldwide challenge as transplant waiting lists grow and donation rates persist at constant levels. The increasing popularity of conversational agents (CAs) has prompted new strategies for educating and persuading individuals to adjust their cognitive and behavioral beliefs and become donors. However, how CAs should be designed to modify uninformed users' intention to donate remains unclear. Against this background, we conducted an online experiment (N=134) to examine the impact of a human-like CA design on users' intention to become organ donors. Based on the three-factor theory of anthropomorphism and the elaboration likelihood model, we derive three theoretical mechanisms to understand the influence of a CAs human-like design on users' intention to donate. The findings show that perceived anthropomorphism does not directly impact persuasion and empathy but is mediated via perceived usefulness to influence the intention to donate.
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Emotional intelligence is essential in customer experience because it allows us to engage with clients on a level that is more intimate and personal. It’s additionally about addressing their issues; comprehending their emotions, recognising their sentiments, and ultimately demonstrating that we truly care for them.
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This research aims to explore and understand the quality of public services in making e-KTPs in Sangkapura District, Gresik Regency. The method used in this research is descriptive qualitative, referring to the four factors of Tjiptono's theory (2000). These include Tangible, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance and Empathy. In collecting data, this research used observation, interviews and documentation of the research location in Sangkapura District. The research results show that the Sangkapura District Government is always trying to improve the quality of e-KTP services. However, these efforts are still not optimal because there are still deficiencies in the Responsiveness aspect, empathy aspect and there are several obstacles. Such as slow database response and lack of a public complaint suggestion box. Using e-KTP technology is expected to increase efficiency, reduce opportunities for document forgery and so on.
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Religious symbols, such as the hijab, are often deemed undesirable or banned in public employment. We test if clients’ perceptions and their performance are influenced by a hijab-wearing public servant, and further test if clients’ reflections on empathy or professionalism about the public servant mitigate potential negative effects. We preregistered and conducted a two-step 2 × 3 between-subjects experiment ( n = 2,680; representative sample in Austria). We find no evidence that the wearing of a hijab by a public servant negatively influences clients’ perceptions, nor their performance during a public service process. The reflection answer with respect to professionalism or empathy, however, is related to clients’ performance: Clients’ positive reflection on public servants’ empathy or professionalism—independent of whether the public servant wears a hijab or not—positively relates to their performance in terms of task correctness. We discuss the relevance of these results regarding religious stereotyping and public employment policies.
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Purpose This study aims to explore consumer motivations to mitigate the contagion effect in access-based consumption after instances of prior customer misbehavior. Reverse contagion, demonstrated through customer citizenship behavior, entails using both firm-provided and personal resources to cocreate value, even in the presence of norm violations by others. The research delves into the influence of empathy, narrative appeal and past misbehavior severity on customer behavior, specifically in the context of reverse contagion. Design/methodology/approach Two scenario-based studies and a field study were used within the context of scooter-sharing to assess the conceptual model. Study 1 ( n = 156) and Study 2 ( n = 97) were conducted through surveys. Study 3 ( n = 54) was a field study. Findings The results emphasize the crucial role of empathy in breaking the cycle of misbehavior contagion. Specifically, the findings suggest that narrative appeals have the potential foster greater empathy, encouraging customers to counteract the contagion. However, the intensity of prior misbehavior lessens the efficacy of narrative appeals in triggering reverse contagion, thereby moderating the mediating effect of empathy. Originality/value This study investigates reverse contagion stemming from customer misbehavior in accessed-based consumption. It delves into the impact of empathy, narrative appeal and previous misbehavior on the dynamics of value codestruction and cocreation. This comprehensive examination of these factors within a unified framework represents a new contribution to the literature. The results illuminate this intricate phenomenon, offering valuable insights for managers to address adverse customer behavior and harness the positive aspects of reverse contagion.
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Purpose This paper aims to formally conceptualize service mega-disruptions as any far-reaching and unforeseen general environmental stressor or threat that impacts a service organization’s ability to provide a desired level of service. The authors differentiate sudden large-scale general environmental threats from traditional service failures in scope and scale of impact via number of customers and sectors affected and duration and speed of the disruption. Design/methodology/approach This paper draws from service recovery theory to build a conceptual model of service mega-disruptions. The resulting conceptual model maps service failure recovery strategies against a service mega-disruption recovery approach to examine consumer response to changes in service value. This work further articulates additional research needs including conceptualization, measurement and methods as traditional drivers of service recovery and the value of the service experience change in response to service mega-disruptions. Findings This work proposes a research agenda to investigate whether service mega-disruptions can bypass the need for service recovery due to a consumer self-moderating process. As past research shows, the less control a service provider has over a failure, the more customers attribute fault to the situation and transfer blame away from an organization. This paper suggests that this self-moderating process disrupts the need for service providers to court forgiveness for a failure with perceptions of similarity and controllability providing an alternate pathway to customer forgiveness. Similarly, it is suggested that service mega-disruptions play a role in transforming service ecosystems into tighter, more contractual systems with less agency for service providers and poorer ability to adjust to market conditions. The duration and longevity of effects on service providers’ control, agency and ability to adjust following a service mega-disruption must be researched further. Originality/value This paper builds theory to develop a conceptual model of service mega-disruptions and their role in customer engagement and reshaping the service ecosystem. This paper culminates in the proposition of a research agenda that aims to build research capacity among services marketing scholars as service providers’ coordination and market conditions are challenged by service mega-disruptions.
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In spite of the rise of new media in a B2C context, companies still prefer to handle complaints privately. As such, many complaints are handled via email resulting in a professional communication genre of its own. In this study we performed a cross-cultural genre analysis to understand the specific discourse structure of the moves within response mails to complaints, on the one hand, and the importance of the communicative function of Conversational Human Voice within this genre, on the other. With this aim, we collected authentic organizational email replies to complaints from telecom companies active in the UK and Spain (36 and 44 emails respectively). The results indicate that the British and Spanish data sets show a similar discourse structure in terms of move frequency. The submoves that are prototypical for all data sets are Greeting, Explanation, Conclusion, and the closing submoves Sign-off and Signature. The data sets differ mainly in their frequency for the interpersonal submoves Empathy, Gratitude, and Apology, which are more prevalent in the English corpus, and the more business-oriented moves, such as Contact reason, Marketing, and Future contact, which are mainly present in the Spanish corpus. This suggests that organizational email replies to complaints are a rather conventionalized genre, with some linguacultures putting more effort in company-customer interactions by using more interpersonal submoves. Regarding the cross-cultural analysis of the expression of Conversational Human Voice we observed an influence of the respective linguacultures in the sense that the Spanish data are less personal and less invitational than the English mails, although they present more empathetic intensifiers. Furthermore, both data sets show only a limited extent of informal language. We evaluate these findings in the light of previous work.
Chapter
Mindfulness can help leaders deliver proactive customer service by promoting self-awareness, empathy, and cognitive flexibility. This chapter explores how cultivating mindfulness and in turn developing these related qualities can help leaders deliver exceptional customer service. For example, self-aware leaders are in touch with their own emotions and biases, which helps them to regulate their responses and thereby avoid reacting impulsively. Empathic leaders understand the customer's perspective and needs, which allows them to better anticipate and address those needs. Cognitively flexible leaders can easily adapt to changing customer demands and provide innovative solutions to their unique situations. This chapter also highlights the benefits of mindfulness within the context of customer service, including these factors: Reduces stress and burnout. The demands of customer service can be stressful, and mindfulness can help leaders to manage their stress levels and prevent burnout. Improves communication and collaboration. Mindfulness can help leaders to communicate more effectively with both their customers and colleagues and to collaborate more effectively on solving problems. Increases creativity and innovation. Mindfulness can help leaders to think more creatively and come up with innovative solutions to customer issues. Improves customer satisfaction. When leaders are mindful, they are more likely to provide customers with a positive experience, which leads to increased customer satisfaction. Overall, mindfulness is a valuable tool for leaders who want to deliver exceptional customer service. By cultivating mindfulness, leaders can develop the qualities that are essential for providing proactive, empathetic, and innovative customer service.
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Complex, highly intangible services such as life insurance consist largely of credence properties. Insurance providers engage in relationship-building activities that emphasize buyer-seller interaction and communication. Economists contend consumers are prone to make quality generalizations based on the strength of these relationships, perhaps to the detriment of price competition. The authors report contrary results suggesting that, though relationship marketing adds value to the service package, it is not a substitute for having a strong, up-to-date core service.
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This article outlines particular social and emotional aspects of learning through the study of empathy and its associated concept, empathic intelligence. Reference is made to the origins of the word empathy and its historical development through art appreciation, psychology, psychoanalysis, philosophy, infant studies, and education. In education, it is argued that empathy is a function of mind, brain, and feeling. The concept of empathic intelligence is presented as a practical way for educators to improve their professional practice. Empathic intelligence posits that particular desirable behaviors in educators, and those involved in interpersonal and intrapersonal work, can have positive effects on those with whom they engage, provided the professionals' empathic disposition is matched with other abilities. These include a capacity to engage and create a dynamic between thinking and feeling, coupled with expertise and enthusiasm.
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Reviews the literature of social and developmental psychology on empathy theory and research. These 2 subdisciplines differ in their definitions and measures from each other, as well as from the counseling/psychotherapy area. At the same time, all 3 disciplines identify 2 major types of empathy: (a) affective empathy, or feeling the same way as another person, and (b) cognitive or role-taking empathy. Four proposals that result from an integration of these 3 literatures are discussed: First, empathy should be viewed as a multistage interpersonal process that can involve emotional contagion, identification, and role taking. Second, empathy in children is probably different from empathy in adolescence and adulthood. Third, empathy can but does not necessarily lead to helping behaviors. Last, empathy in counseling/psychotherapy can be helpful in certain stages, with certain clients, and for certain goals. However, at other times it can interfere with positive outcomes. (79 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).
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One of the major advantages of personal selling compared to alternative promotional methods has been described as selling's ability to adjust its messages to meet the buyer's needs. The belief that the key to effective selling is the salesperson's ability to adapt and adjust is one that has widespread popularity. However, like many so-called truisms, this belief has had limited empirical support in the selling literature. The research reported in this article examines the relationship between salesperson productivity and salesperson adaptability in a field setting. Productivity is measured by examining both salesperson and sales manager reports of a salesperson's performance. Adaptability is assessed by using Spiro and Weitz' (1990) ADAPTS scale and by using Merrill and Reid's (1981) versatility scale. Study participants include retail salespeople, their customers, and their sales managers. The results are consistent with prior research, which indicates that questions regarding the efficacy of adaptive selling continue to exist.
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The concept of symbiotic marketing was first proposed by Adler almost two decades ago. This study provides an overview of its nature and scope and examines the environmental and organizational developments that have contributed to the widespread acceptance of symbiotic marketing as a way of doing business. The feasibility of pursuing the symbiotic option to exploit various strategic growth opportunities are highlighted. Guidelines for planning and implementation of symbiotic programs are presented.
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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.
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Despite continuing research effort, little success has been achieved in the use of personality and personal characteristics to predict the performance of salesmen. From an empirical study, a set of personality variables and personal characteristics that appear to have value in the selection of industrial salesmen are identified. A synthesis of theoretical and empirical research appropriate to the selection problem is reported, and some suggestions are made to guide future research in industrial selling.
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A multistage model of the process by which an industrial salesperson influences a customer's preferences is introduced. The relationship between a salesperson's abilities during the two initial stages-impression formation and strategy formulation-and relative sales performance was examined. Industrial salespeople's perceptions of their customers' brand attribute perceptions were matched against the customers' actual perceptions, and a normative change strategy model was matched against the salespeople's reported change strategies. Variations in these abilities accounted for 20% of the variance in actual field sales performance.
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The authors develop and test a model of service employee management that examines constructs simultaneously across three interfaces of the service delivery process: manager-employee, employee-role, and employee-customer. The authors examine the attitudinal and behavioral responses of customer-contact employees that can influence customers' perceptions of service quality, the relationships among these responses, and three formal managerial control mechanisms (empowerment, behavior-based employee evaluation, and management commitment to service quality). The findings indicate that managers who are committed to service quality are more likely to empower their employees and use behavior-based evaluation. However, the use of empowerment has both positive and negative consequences in the management of contact employees. Some of the negative consequences are mitigated by the positive effects of behavior-based employee evaluation. To increase customers' perceptions of service quality, managers must increase employees' self-efficacy and job satisfaction, and reduce employees' role conflict and ambiguity. Implications for the management of customer-contact service employees and directions for further research are discussed.
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A new approach for research on effectiveness in sales interactions is proposed. This approach is based on considering the moderating effect of the salesperson's resources, the customer's buying task, and the customer-salesperson relationship. A contingency framework is presented and research directions related to the framework are suggested.
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The concept of customer orientation in salespeople is defined, a scale is developed to measure the degree to which salespeople engage in customer-oriented selling, and the properties of the scale are reported. A test of the nomological validity indicates the use of customer-oriented selling is related to the ability of the salespeople to help their customers and the quality of the customer-salesperson relationship.
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This paper expands on past conceptual models of listening and delineates the attributes of effective listening in the sales encounter. It argues that the most effective level of listening combines empathy with the techniques of active listening. Empathy is defined as the ability to discern another person's thoughts and feelings with some degree of accuracy and involves listening on an intuitive as well as a literal level. A set of propositions is posited that describe how active empathetic listening can facilitate the personal selling process. Suggestions to improve the quality of salespeople's listening are given.
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This paper examines the impact of two salesperson ability-related characteristics on successful sales interactions in the context of selling to retail apparel buyers. The study followed a 2 × 2 × 2 between-groups factorial design using scenarios to manipulate salesperson empathy, salesperson professionalism, and merchandise salability at two levels each. The study explores the impact of these factors, along with several retail buyer demographics, on retail buyer's likelihood of listening to future sales presentations and placing an order. The results support the importance of both salesperson empathy and professionalism and also identify an important professionalism by empathy interaction. Suggestions are provided for additional research.
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Complex, highly intangible services such as life insurance consist largely of credence properties. Insurance providers engage in relationship-building activities that emphasize buyer-seller interaction and communication. Economists contend consumers are prone to make quality generalizations based on the strength of these relationships, perhaps to the detriment of price competition. The authors report contrary results suggesting that, though relationship marketing adds value to the service package, it is not a substitute for having a strong, up-to-date core service.
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Customization strategies aimed at providing customers with individually tailored products and services are growing in popularity. In a service context, the responsibility for customization frequently falls on the shoulders of front-line customer contact employees. Few marketing scholars, however, have considered what it means to be adaptive in these roles and how customization behaviors can be encouraged. Drawing on marketing, organizational behavior, and psychology literatures, the authors define and empirically test antecedents of two distinct dimensions of employee adaptive behavior: interpersonal adaptive behavior and service-offering adaptive behavior. Results indicate that an employee’s level of customer knowledge, certain personality predispositions, and intrinsic motivation positively influence the propensity to adapt both their interpersonal style and the actual service offering. Implications for market segmentation, employee selection, training, and motivation are offered.
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Because of increasing concern over whether they are really satisfying their customers, more retail and service firms are using mystery shoppers (sometimes also referred to as secret, phantom, or anonymous consumer shoppers) to monitor their frontline operations, to assess their customer service, and to benchmark their competitors’ performance. But virtually nothing is known about the psychometric quality of the data collected in mystery shopping studies, and how it compares with that of customer survey data. Yet such information is necessary for organizations to know when to use mystery shopping, how to design mystery shopping studies, and what weight to place on their results. Here we use a generalizability theory approach to assess the psychometric quality of mystery shopping data. First, we design a study to compare the use of mystery shopping and a traditional customer survey when collecting data to assess the service quality of competitive stores. Second, we evaluate the psychometric performance of a set of secondary mystery shopping data collected to evaluate and benchmark the performance of branches of a retail network. Finally, in a follow-up study, we examine whether mystery shopping data collected to scale the more objective store environment are more reliable than data for service quality.