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Too much service? The conceptualization and measurement for restaurant over-service behavior
Abstract
Though prior studies have raised the issue that excellent service that exceeds customer expectations can negatively impact customer perceptions, we still lack a comprehensive understanding of this phenomenon in the foodservice industry. This study aims to conceptualize restaurant over-service behaviors and develop a multi-dimensional instrument for this construct. This study uses focus groups to identify restaurant over-service behaviors. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factory analysis (CFA) yield a five-dimension, 23-item instrument. The categorization and descriptions of restaurant over-service behaviors may serve as a reference for managers to determine whether their high-quality services overwhelm customers and to identify negative perceptions of excessive services. If the needs of customers can be understood alongside how certain service actions disturb customers, elements that lead to over-service can be eliminated or corrected, allowing for time, effort and money to be invested more effectively.
... Therefore, this research aims to perform an empirical study of the food service industry to explore the relationship between over-service behavior (as antecedent), relationship quality (as mediator), and revisit intention (as consequence). The three variables involved in this study are interpreted as follows: over-service behavior is the specific kind of behaviors that exceed customer expectations but lead to unpleasant feelings (Sun et al., 2022). On the other hand, relationship quality is defined as the 'degree of appropriateness of a relationship to fulfill the needs of the customer associated with the relationship' (Hennig-Thurau & Klee, 1997, p. 751). ...
... In providing good service to customers, a restaurant must have certain limits. Providing excessive service aspects can have a negative effect on a restaurant (Sun et al. 2022). Communication with the customer becomes an important thing to ensure the service provided is in accordance with the wishes of the customer himself. ...
Omnichannel in restaurants provides ordering methods through various integrated channels. Customers can place orders using an online platform without waiting for a waiter from a restaurant to help them. Through this method, customers can order food and choose a payment method that affects the customer experience. The research aims to see the effect of omnichannel implementation on consumer behavior in restaurants. The research will examine the relationship between omnichannel implementation and three variables, namely service quality, perceived value, and customer satisfaction. The research method used is quantitative with SEM used to see the relationship between the variables of the study. With this research, it is hoped that knowledge about omnichannel can be better understood academically and practically and that omnichannel can be applied optimally so that it can provide benefits for both business and customers. From the research conducted, it was found that omnichannel influences service quality, perceived value, and customer satisfaction both directly and indirectly. Good omnichannel implementation in restaurants is needed to support the improvement of services that can be offered by restaurants to customers. This research concludes that the application of omnichannel can improve service quality, perceived value, and customer satisfaction in restaurants in Indonesia. Keywords: omnichannel, restaurant, service quality, customer satisfaction, perceived value
... Afterwards, it is to qualitatively determine excessive service behaviors in recreation. Finally, it is to develop and improve the overservice behavior of recreation (Sun et al. 2022). ...
... The Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management (JHTM) is the official journal of CAUTHE, an organisation committed to providing academic leadership in the fields of hospitality, tourism and events. Accordingly, JHTM is a leading journal dedicated to expanding knowledge and enhancing theoretical debates relevant to the management of tourism, travel, leisure, recreation and eventswith articles focused on innovative methodologies and ground-breaking conceptual frameworks (e.g., Chen et al., 2023;García-Carríon et al., 2023;Liu et al., 2022;Manfreda et al., 2023;Sun et al., 2022;Wang et al., 2023;Zhang et al., 2023). Appositely, this Special Issue reflects on critical issues and subsequent discussions which emerged from the 2022 CAUTHE Conference hosted by Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia and held online in February 2022. ...
... Disconfirmations (positive or negative) take place when there is a discrepancy between expectations and outcomes. A negative disconfirmation occurs when the outcome is worse than expected or when the service performance is less than anticipated [93,94]. Negative disconfirmations are particularly prone to producing dissatisfaction or complaining behavior. ...
By looking at complaints made by guests of different star-rated hotels, this study attempts to detect associations between complaint attributions and specific consequences. A multifaceted approach is applied. First, a content analysis is conducted to transform textual complaints into categorically structured data. Furthermore, a web graph analysis and rule-based machine learning method are applied to discover potential relationships among complaint antecedents and consequences. These are validated using a qualitative projective technique. Using an Apriori rule-based machine learning algorithm, optimal priority rules for this study were determined for the respective complaining attributions for both the antecedents and consequences. Based on attribution theory, we found that Customer Service, Room Space, and Miscellaneous Issues received more attention from guests staying at higher star-rated hotels. Conversely, cleanliness was a consideration more prevalent amongst guests staying at lower star-rated hotels. Qualitative research was conducted to corroborate the findings. Other machine learning techniques (i.e., Decision Tree) build rules based on only a single conclusion, while association rules attempt to determine many rules, each of which may lead to a different conclusion. The main contributions of this study lie in the fact that this is one of the first attempts to detect correlations within the online complaining behaviors of guests of different star-rated hotels by utilizing rule-based machine learning.
The utilization of robotic technology in the service sector, particularly in restaurants and cafes, is an emerging technology that has not been widely implemented in Indonesia. Although Indonesia ranked third in technology capital, it is contrasting with the adaptive attitude (ranked 59th). Furthermore, studies that focus on factors influencing service robot utilization, especially from the Indonesian consumers’ perspectives, remain understudied. This exploratory study aims to delving into both, the driving factors and barriers, to utilize service robots in restaurant and cafes by employing behavioral reasoning theory model. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 24 informants who have (not) used service robots in restaurant or cafes. The study found (1) robot appearance, (2) unique services, (3) service reliability, (4) emotional satisfaction, and (5) hygiene to be the reasons for utilizing service robots. While the inhibiting factors, including (1) need for social presence, (2) privacy concerns, (3) lack of customer control, and (4) technological anxiety, are perceived as risks when being served by service robots. This study enhances understanding of consumers’ perspectives toward service robots and expands the reasoning theory literature as the study found noteworthy insights. The findings of this study are relevant for business practitioners who are willing to incorporate service robots into their services as it provides specific empirical data from customers’ points of view to optimize service robot utilization and improve their intention to visit the restaurant and cafes.
This study draws on social exchange theory and the technology acceptance model to examine how civility climate behaviors and self-service technology influence customer civility. Utilizing multilevel modeling with data from 379 employees and 304 customers over three time lags, the research identifies that civility climate behaviors significantly enhance customer civility. The findings reveal that a civility climate toward customers fully mediates this relationship, and self-service technology strongly moderates it, strengthening the positive effects. The study contributes by shifting focus from employee responses to proactive customer engagement strategies. It provides empirical support for the impact of consistent service delivery, solving problems, personalized interactions, and going the extra mile on customer civility. These insights highlight the importance of balancing technological investments with customized service to optimize customer outcomes. Service managers should train staff to deliver on promises, solve problems promptly, and use user-friendly self-service technologies to foster a positive civility climate. This approach enhances customer experiences, supports a respectful service environment, and contributes to employee well-being and organizational performance.
How do consumers respond to over-service behaviors in restaurants? Based on the transactional theory of stress and coping, this research investigates the negative effects of over-service on restaurant consumers. A cross-sectional study and two experimental studies were conducted. The results revealed that over-service can become a stressor, intensifying consumers’ perceived service stress and exerting negative impacts on their satisfaction and revisit intention. Furthermore, these effects were moderated by a desire for control. When encountering over-service, consumers with a high desire for control showed heightened perceived service stress, resulting in lower satisfaction and revisit intention. Conversely, for consumers with a low desire for control, these effects were attenuated. This research introduces a fresh theoretical lens to view over-service and offers practical managerial recommendations for enhancing service quality in the foodservice industry.
With the rapid development of sharing economy, meal-sharing platforms are dedicated to expanding their influence and inclined to cooperate with online travel agencies (OTAs). The consequences of such an action remain unclear. Based on expectation disconfirmation theory (EDT) and dataset from EatWith, this study conducted empirical analyses with a difference-in-differences (DID) research design. The results suggest that the meal-sharing platform’s integration into an OTA brings more tourists to hosts at the cost of ratings decrease. This study underscored the double-blade effect of platform integration that the hosts, platform managers, and industry required attention and need to balance in practice.
Although the literature generally indicates that service attentiveness can increase consumer satisfaction, providing extra care and attention in service encounters may backfire and lead to negative consumer outcomes. In addition, because of cross-cultural differences, the effects of high service attentiveness may vary across international markets. The authors conduct a qualitative study, a field experiment, and two laboratory experiments in three countries (Canada, the United States, and China) across various service contexts (hairdressing, telecommunications, and computer repair) to examine cross-cultural consumer responses toward high service attentiveness. Consumers’ negative responses toward high service attentiveness are mediated by their suspicion of ulterior motive, which varies according to their self-construal. Specifically, consumers with an interdependent self-construal (either chronic or primed) tend to have greater suspicion of and negative responses toward high service attentiveness. Furthermore, the effect of interdependent self-construal fostering greater suspicion is attributed to a sharper in-group (vs. out-group) distinction, which is mitigated when the service employee is perceived to be an in-group member. The authors conclude by discussing the theoretical and managerial implications and suggesting future research directions.
The attainment of quality in products and services has become a pivotal concern of the 1980s. While quality in tangible goods has been described and measured by marketers, quality in services is largely undefined and unresearched. The authors attempt to rectify this situation by reporting the insights obtained in an extensive exploratory investigation of quality in four service businesses and by developing a model of service quality. Propositions and recommendations to stimulate future research about service quality are offered.
This paper examines the influence of customer-facing technology in full-service restaurants. As a new addition to the service experience, tabletop devices offer the customer more control over the dining experience, and also increase customer participation in the service process, which has the potential to upset the traditional exchange between service providers and customers in restaurants. To examine how customers react to the use of tabletop devices, this study examines 1,343 point-of-sales transactions from 20 units of a full-service casual dining restaurant chain and matches customer in-restaurant transactions to their reactions to tabletop devices used during their meals. Results show that over 70% of the customers who used tabletop devices reported positive affect toward the device, with approximately 79% of customers reporting that the device improved their experience, citing convenience, ease of use, and credit card security as some benefits of using the technology. Approximately 80% of the customers who used the device reported that they would return to the restaurant because of the positive affect. The results also indicate that likeability of the device and tip percentage were positively and significantly connected to customer reports of the devices having a positive effect on experience and on desire to return. In addition, when customers reported increased return intentions, likeability of the device was higher regardless of reports of the device improving restaurant experience, showing that the introduction of tabletop devices had a positive effect for most-but not all-customers.
This article focuses on the trade-off between efficiency and customer experience management in the financial services sector. It is based on the author's extensive work with financial services companies and review of the literature. Its main conclusions are that many financial services suppliers are under pressure to improve efficiency and margin, in some cases to increase the contribution to improving their balance sheet in the wake of the problems of the last few years. This financial pressure is leading some of them to choose the perceived win-win of a self-fulfilled customer experience with minimal staff intervention. As a result, consumers will be provided with ever more sophisticated self-service information and communications technologies, especially by suppliers using a multi-channel approach. Consumers will increasingly use their own technology, especially smart-phones, pads and other portable devices, to identify the best offers, to make comparisons between products and services, to manage relationships with financial services companies and to manage their accounts. Younger consumers’ strong preferences for buying in their own way will pervade the sector. The trend to self-service may lead to more and more consumers making the wrong decisions, in the absence of advice. For the more complex products, services or buying situations, supplier or third-party diagnosis of customer needs may be a substitute for self-diagnosis, but will not necessarily lead to better outcomes for consumers. This third-party diagnosis may be expert, for example, from sites dedicated to the purpose, or inexpert, for example via social media. Where advisory companies embrace the social approach, we may see an ideal situation evolving in which consumers do not need to exit social networks to obtain expert advice and coaching, and will be able to immediately compare expert advice from different sources, and with less expert advice and experience of outcomes. Financial services suppliers who fail to come to terms with these developments will lose market share to those who lead in applying information and communications technology to support self-service. Eventually, the self-fulfilled experience will be the norm, except for the most difficult and risky situations. Even here, the role of human intervention will be reduced.
Self-service technologies (SSTs) can help firms reduce labor costs while providing more channel options, but customers must be convinced of their value before foregoing a full service alternative. To understand how customers evaluate an SST, the authors conducted three studies to analyze the importance of convenience in the evaluation process along with exploring what constructs ultimately influence customers’ need for human interaction with an SST. Surveying both users’ experiences with an SST and also nonusers’ perceptions of an SST, a comprehensive analysis was undertaken to assess the perceived benefits of using an SST. In Study 1, the authors found that convenience had a strong positive effect on the perceived accuracy, speed, and exploration intentions of an SST. Building on these results, Studies 2 and 3 reveal that SST users have a lower need for interaction when they are satisfied with an SST, while nonusers’ trust perceptions had the greatest influence on the need for human interaction during an SST transaction. The authors discovered that user satisfaction can be enhanced by focusing on the speed and accuracy of an SST, whereas nonusers’ perceptions of accuracy and exploration increased the trust placed in an SST.
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.
Relatively little research has addressed the nature and determinants of customer satisfaction following service failure and recovery. Two studies using scenario-based experiments reveal the impact of failure expectations, recovery expectations, recovery performance, and justice on customers’ postrecovery satisfaction. Customer satisfaction was found to be lower after service failure and recovery (even given high-recovery performance) than in the case of error-free service. The research shows that, in general, companies fare better in the eyes of consumers by avoiding service failure than by responding to failure with superior recovery.
Existing research in services marketing has mostly focused on service encounters in which the service provider fails to meet customer expectations. Service encounters in which customer expectations are exceeded have not been as thoroughly examined. This article focuses on service encounters characterized by service provider generosity: the act of giving customers value beyond their expectations. Utilizing an experimental research design, the authors demonstrate that consumer reactions to such behavior are moderated by the organizational level of the service provider as well as the existence of a past purchase history. Counter to conventional belief, under certain conditions, overgenerosity may hinder customer assessments of a service. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications for services marketing strategy and research.
Given the proliferation of factor analysis applications in the literature, the present article examines the use of factor analysis in current published research across four psychological journals. Notwithstanding ease of analysis due to computers, the appropriate use of factor analysis requires a series of thoughtful researcher judgments. These judgments directly affect results and interpretations. The authors examine across studies (a) the decisions made while conducting exploratory factor analyses (N = 60) and (b) the information reported from the analyses. In doing so, they present a review of the current status of factor analytic practice, including comment on common errors in use and reporting. Recommendations are proffered for future practice as regards analytic decisions and reporting in empirical research.
The intensely competitive environment existing in the restaurant sector makes it vital that firms achieve customer satisfaction in order to survive in the long term. Obtaining customer satisfaction means that customers repeat the experienced service and that they become an effective and efficient communication resource, at no cost to the firm. Prominent among the antecedents that determine the level of customer satisfaction are perceived quality and total perceived price. The research carried out shows that perceived quality has a direct and positive impact on the level of customer satisfaction, while, contrary to what was expected, total perceived price does not influence that satisfaction.
A conceptual model articulating the nature and determinants of customer expectations of service is proposed and discussed.
The model specifies three different types of service expectations: desired service, adequate service, and predicted service.
Seventeen propositions about service expectations and their antecedents are provided. Discussion centers on the research implications
of the model and its propositions.
Purpose
Restaurant operators can process a greater number of customers and increase revenues by reducing service encounter duration during high demand periods. Actions taken to reduce duration may be experienced by customers as an increase in the pace of the service encounter. While achieving a reduction in duration may be appealing from a revenue perspective, will customers' perceptions of the resulting pace of the service encounter negatively impact their satisfaction? The aim of this paper is to propose that, in the context of restaurant experiences that are hedonic and extended in nature, the overall relationship between perceived service encounter pace and satisfaction follows an inverted U‐shape.
Design/methodology/approach
Respondents were asked to recall a recent (i.e. within the last three weeks) restaurant experience, write a description of that experience, and then complete scales that measured their perceptions of pace and satisfaction with the experience.
Findings
The relationship between perceived pace and satisfaction has an inverted U‐shape. This holds both at the level of the overall service encounter and by service stage within the encounter. The effect of perceived pace on satisfaction is moderated by service stage, with a greater tolerance of a faster pace during the post‐process stage than during the pre‐process or in‐process stages.
Practical implications
The results of this study have implications for the application of revenue management strategies for duration control. Management need to consider the negative effect that service encounter pace can have on consumer satisfaction. Service stage should also be factored into strategy development for duration control.
Originality/value
This paper extends the wait time literature, demonstrating that as the perceived pace of the service encounter increases, satisfaction increases, but only up to a point, beyond which it decreases as perceived pace continues to increase.
Theme restaurants were designed to provide customers with not only a meal, but also an entertaining experience. After a rapid rise in popularity in the early to mid 1990s, theme restaurants began to experience a decline in market share. As this segment of the restaurant industry experiences the downsizing of many once popular brands, it is imperative that investigations are undertaken to determine the causes of this decline. Many researchers have attributed customer satisfaction and subsequent return intent as key indicators regarding the success of a restaurant. Although considerable research has been conducted on these indicators in the service industry, none has focused on theme restaurants in particular. Relying upon expectancy disconfirmation theory, this study adds to the existing body of customer satisfaction literature by examining four theme restaurant attributes (food quality, service quality, atmosphere, and novelty) and their influence on return intent. Interestingly, customers were least satisfied with novelty. Further, customer satisfaction with theme restaurant food quality and atmosphere were the only significant attributes influencing return intent.
Purpose-By extending the expectancy-disconfirmation theory and integrating the elaboration likelihood model, this study aims to explore the reference effects (i.e. disconfirmation and self-identity) and customer engagement that affect customer experience on satisfaction with a museum visit. The study is designed to test a dual-mediator mechanism involving disconfirmation and self-identity. The moderating role of cognitive, affective or behavioral engagements is also examined with the overall purpose to advance the understanding of customer experience in cultural consumption such as museum visits. Design/methodology/approach-A self-administered field survey in two stages was carried out on visitors to the Hong Kong Museum of Art. A total of 465 valid response sets were used for analysis. Hypotheses were tested using confirmatory factor analysis, three-step mediation test, structural equation modeling and moderation regressions. Findings-Disconfirmation and self-identity are found to be dual mediators in the experience-satisfaction relationship. Cognitive engagement reduces the effect of knowledge experience on disconfirmation and self-identity but increases that of the entertainment experience on disconfirmation and self-identity. Affective engagement amplifies the effect of knowledge experience on self-identity but mitigates the importance of entertainment evaluations. Practical implications-Findings highlight the importance of both perceived knowledge and entertainment experiences in visitors' evaluation of a cultural experience. Managers are suggested to craft promotional messages with the psychological appeal that connects visitors with museum services. Appropriate engagement tactics for museums can be developed to avoid overloading visitors with information. Originality/value-Previous studies treat disconfirmation as the dominant reference effect in the formation of customer satisfaction. This study shows both disconfirmation and self-identity as dual reference effects that link the customer experience to satisfaction in the museum context, serving as a pioneer in defining how the influence of experience on reference effects varies depending on how customers are cognitively and affectively engaged in such context.
Background:
College student drinking in on-premises establishments has been associated with heavy alcohol consumption and a range of problems including assault, fighting, risky sex, and drinking and driving. Although more strictly enforcing overservice laws might reduce heavy drinking in on-premises establishments, law enforcement agencies have few resource-efficient tools for doing so, resulting in these laws seldom being enforced.
Objectives:
In this paper, we report the results of an evaluation of the Stop Service to Obviously-impaired Patrons (S-STOP) program that was implemented in 303 bars and restaurants in 18 university communities in California using a randomized cross-over design (early vs. delayed implementation). The S-STOP program: (a) deployed pseudo-intoxicated patrons who attempted to purchase a drink when showing obvious signs of intoxication; (b) provided feedback to owners and managers on staff performance; and (c) offered free online refresher training for staff.
Results:
Overall, alcohol servers in bars and restaurants in these college communities were willing to serve a pseudo-intoxicated mystery shopper 90% of the time. The study found no evidence that S-STOP reduced the prevalence of alcohol sales to apparently impaired patrons during the two intervention stages of the study.
Conclusions:
The findings highlight the need for developing effective interventions to prevent overservice and should prompt college and university leaders to take the lead in addressing the problem of alcohol overservice at on-premises establishments by working with community leaders, law enforcement, and retailers.
Purpose
Service excellence has been recognized as a crucial means of achieving customer delight. Several recent studies have argued that redundant services may be perceived as unnecessary by customers; however, few studies have explored the construct of service redundancy. This study aims to identify and classify service redundancy in the foodservice industry.
Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative study conducted in-depth interviews with 72 participants, namely, 36 customers and 36 managers of fine dining restaurants in Taiwan. Content analysis of the data yielded the classification of service redundancy.
Findings
This study determined 16 categories of service redundancy categorized under three themes: service behavior, service regulations and environmental factors. Furthermore, six causes and four consequences of service redundancy were identified.
Research limitations/implications
Customers and managers of fine dining restaurants were interviewed; thus, the findings may not be fully generalizable to service redundancy in other restaurant types.
Originality/value
The contribution of this research is the construction of a model of service redundancy, which could serve as a theoretical foundation for further examination of service redundancy and the relationships between the related constructs.
The study aims to develop an integrated framework for evaluating library service quality and satisfaction in a simultaneous process. Multidimensional item-scale LIS SERVQUAL + measurement tool was used in this study. The reliability of the questionnaire items was done using Cronbach's alpha. To examine the relationship between service quality and satisfaction Pearson correlation coefficient and Linear regression analysis were used. Finally to establish the 4-level disconfirmation standard users' expected and perceived opinions were compared using Wilcoxon signed ranked test. Result shows that, the 4-dimensional structure of LIS SERVQUAL + has a closer relationship with overall perceived service quality and satisfaction, and service quality and satisfaction are significantly related to each other. The result also shows that, the comparisons between P & DE, P & RE, P & ZoT, and P & ME are significant to fit for 4-level ZOT. The effect of newly adapted ‘Disconfirmation of expectation's theory’ and its integration with LIS SERVQAUL + model may aid the authorities of academic libraries in the synchronized assessment of service quality and satisfaction.
A model is proposed which expresses consumer satisfaction as a function of expectation and expectancy disconfirmation. Satisfaction, in turn, is believed to influence attitude change and purchase intention. Results from a two-stage field study support the scheme for consumers and nonconsumers of a flu inoculation.
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.
The notion that companies must go above and beyond in their customer service activities is so entrenched that managers rarely examine it. But a study of more than 75,000 people interacting with contact-center representatives or using self-service channels found that over-the-top efforts make little difference: All customers really want is a simple, quick solution to their problem. The Corporate Executive Board's Dixon and colleagues describe five loyalty-building tactics that every company should adopt: Reduce the need for repeat calls by anticipating and dealing with related downstream issues; arm reps to address the emotional side of customer interactions; minimize the need for customers to switch service channels; elicit and use feedback from disgruntled or struggling customers; and focus on problem solving, not speed. The authors also introduce the Customer Effort Score and show that it is a better predictor of loyalty than customer satisfaction measures or the Net Promoter Score. And they make available to readers a related diagnostic tool, the Customer Effort Audit. They conclude that we are reaching a tipping point that may presage the end of the telephone as the main channel for service interactions and that managers therefore have an opportunity to rebuild their service organizations and put reducing customer effort firmly at the core, where it belongs.
Purpose
– The aim of this paper is to present a new framework for the evaluation of satisfaction in continually delivered business services (CDBS) contexts based on applicable theoretical perspectives and extant empirical research.
Design/methodology/approach
– The paper first describes and justifies the importance of the CDBS context. Then, a literature review of CDBS satisfaction research over the past ten years is presented and utilized in conjunction with theoretical insights from expectancy disconfirmation theory and social exchange theory to develop conceptual definitions, a general conceptual framework, and research propositions.
Findings
– The resulting conceptual framework focuses on global CDBS provider satisfaction as the outcome of three more specific satisfaction assessments: service satisfaction (driven by the actual performance of the service), economic satisfaction (driven by the customers’ economic outcomes from the exchange relationship) and social satisfaction (driven by the customers’ social outcomes and interactions in the exchange relationship).
Originality/value
– The study is the first to develop a framework of satisfaction for the CDBS context and presents propositions to guide future satisfaction research. The conceptual framework leverages insights from two existing models of satisfaction formation: expectancy disconfirmation (which provides deeper insight on service satisfaction) and social exchange theory (which provides deeper insights on social and economic satisfaction). The integration of these two models results in a more comprehensive view of satisfaction formation in the CDBS context than by using either model separately.
Interaction between customers and servers from different cultures provides an interesting case of intercultural communication. Although a server's attentive service on customers is common in full service dining restaurants, especially in the United States, this may not be preferable to customers from different cultures. Two studies examined cultural differences between Americans and Japanese customers on their preferences regarding U.S. restaurant servers' attentiveness and a moderating effect of culture on the relationship of server attentiveness with customer orientation, customer satisfaction and tip. A survey study (N = 975) and an experimental study (N = 145) found that server attentiveness had a positive effect on customer orientation, customer satisfaction and the amount of tip for Americans, but not Japanese customers. Implications and future directions were discussed.
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.
The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of culture on the relationship between server behaviors, specifically service check-back frequency and perceived service quality in restaurant businesses. The scenarios were presented to U.S. and Japanese citizens before collecting respondents’ perceived service quality ratings on the given service scenario. The main effects for check-back style and cultural group on service quality were significant. In addition, the moderating effect of culture on the relationship between check-back style and service quality was significant. Implications for restaurant service training are discussed for practical guidelines to provide culturally sensitive service to their customers.
This article discusses process management concepts that are essential to improvement initiatives such as strategic quality management, total quality management, Six Sigma, and lean manufacturing. One critical element to understand is 'process' because processes must be documented, and process owners must be identified before processes can be validated, managed and improved. A key concept is the role that process stakeholders play in the improvement of processes. Another vital concept is the relevance of empowerment to process ownership and improvement. The concept of value and its importance to customers is also discussed. The question is asked (and answered): ''What must people do in order to improve processes?'' Finally, measurement and baselines are discussed, and examples of processes, process owners, measurements and suggestions for improvement are provided.
A number of prior studies have found evidence for the expectancy-disconfirmation theory of citizen satisfaction with public services, which holds that citizens judge public services not only on experienced service quality but also on an implicit comparison of service quality with prior expectations. But the evidence to date has been based on surveys (observational studies) and on subjective measures of expectations and performance, which are likely endogenous. Thus, the present study aimed to test the expectancy-disconfirmation theory of citizen satisfaction with public services using an experimental method. Participants in an Internet panel (N = 964) were randomly assigned to receive either low- or high-expectations statements from a hypothetical government official and to view either low- or high-performance street cleanliness photographs, in an online survey experiment. The findings are in line with previous research and generally confirm the core relationships in the theory, although the effect of expectations varied by age and political ideology. Because this study is a true randomized experiment, it provides better evidence than previous studies regarding the true causal nature of these relationships.
Purpose
– To investigate customer satisfaction with service encounters characterized by an over‐attentive level of service, and the contextual and individual factors moderating the resulting satisfaction scores.
Design/methodology/approach
– The first of three formal experiments tests the prediction that consumer reactions vary with the margin between actual and expected levels of service. The second examines the influence of the tendency to psychological reactance on participants’ responses to excessive service. The third assesses the effect of a predisposition to suspiciousness on satisfaction scores, in scenarios which, respectively, specify that extremely over‐attentive service or “normal” service are directed at participants personally or is offered to all customers unselectively.
Findings
– The first experiment found moderately excessive service to be acceptable to most participants but unexpectedly over‐attentive service to affect satisfaction negatively. The second found the negative impact of extremely over‐attentive service to be limited to participants with a greater tendency to psychological reactance. The third found that a high predisposition to suspicion resulted in lower satisfaction levels whether the scenario specified extremely over‐attentive service that was personal or on offer to all, whereas the satisfaction scores of participants with a lower predisposition to suspicion were not affected in those scenarios.
Originality/value
– Whereas the relevant literature has focussed on customer reactions to service that falls below expectations, this paper studies service encounters in which it surpasses them. It hypothesizes a counterproductive effect on customer satisfaction and identifies contextual and individual factors that explain and predict that outcome.
Purpose
This study aims to examine the perceived fairness of overcompensation for severe service failures. The mediating effect of perceived fairness in the overcompensation‐negative word‐of‐mouth (NWOM) intent relationship is also explored.
Design/methodology/approach
An experimental design approach was utilized to test the study's hypotheses. Overcompensation amount was manipulated at three levels (50 percent, 100 percent, 200 percent of purchase price), with two forms of overcompensation (cash or credit) tested.
Findings
Cash‐based overcompensation yielded higher perceptions of distributive justice than full compensation, with no significant difference in distributive justice perceptions across cash amounts. Credit‐based overcompensation was perceived as no fairer than full compensation. Perceived distributive justice fully mediates the overcompensation‐NWOM intent relationship.
Research limitations/implications
The study's findings are based on a single service context. Further research across different service environments is needed to confirm the robustness of the results. The results are based on scenarios rather than real events. A longitudinal field study that examines consumer reaction at the point of service recovery and tracks actual subsequent behaviors is merited.
Practical implications
The study's findings suggest that, when a severe service failure occurs, service firms should consider going beyond full compensation, offering the consumer an additional cash amount. However, more is not necessarily better – a small additional cash amount may induce similar perceptions of fairness to larger amounts.
Originality/value
This study yields insights into the perceptions of distributive justice associated with different amounts and forms of overcompensation for severe service failure, and demonstrates the mediating effect of perceived distributive justice in the overcompensation‐NWOM intent relationship.
Customers increasingly rely on other consumers' reviews to make purchase decisions online. New insights into the customer review phenomenon can be derived from studying the semantic content and style properties of verbatim customer reviews to examine their influence on online retail sites' conversion rates. The authors employ text mining to extract changes in affective content and linguistic style properties of customer book reviews on Amazon. com. A dynamic panel data model reveals that the influence of positive affective content on conversion rates is asymmetrical, such that greater increases in positive affective content in customer reviews have a smaller effect on subsequent increases in conversion rate. No such tapering-off effect occurs for changes in negative affective content in reviews. Furthermore, positive changes in affective cues and increasing congruence with the product interest group's typical linguistic style directly and conjointly increase conversion rates. These findings suggest that managers should identify and promote the most influential reviews in a given product category, provide instructions to stimulate reviewers to write powerful reviews, and adapt the style of their own editorial reviews to the relevant product category.
This study assesses the satisfaction of different tourist groups using a conceptual model that combines the concepts of the Expectancy Disconfirmation Paradigm [Oliver, R.L. (1980). A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of satisfaction decisions. Journal of Marketing Research, 17, 460–469] and Service Quality framework [Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A., & Berry, L.L. (1985). A conceptual model of service quality and its implications for future research. Journal of Marketing, 49, 41–50; Cronin, J.J., & Taylor, S.A. (1992). Measuring service quality: A re-examination and extension. Journal of Marketing, 56, 55–68]. A sample of 424 tourists departing from Singapore Changi International Airport was surveyed with a structured questionnaire. A series of analyses were performed on the segmented groups—Europe, Asia, Oceania and North America. In both the disconfirmation and perceptions-only models used in this study, it was consistently found that ‘Price’ was insignificant in shaping overall satisfaction levels for all groups of tourists. ‘Accommodation and Food’ was significant for the North Americans’ overall satisfaction. ‘Attractions’ was significant for the European and Asian tourists while ‘Culture’ was significant for the Oceania tourists. There was no single factor that appealed to all the groups of travellers. It was also found that all tourists were willing to recommend Singapore to their relatives and friends and they were willing to revisit Singapore in the future.
Some organisations are becoming more concerned with delighting their customers than simply satisfying them. Yet despite an extensive literature on service quality and satisfaction little has been written about service excellence and how organisations can achieve delighted customers. The purpose of this exploratory but empirically based paper is to provide a definition of service excellence to help marketers and managers, where appropriate, design and deliver it. This paper is based on over 400 statements of excellent and poor service gathered from around 150 respondents. After categorising them, using a grounded theory approach, it is suggested that service excellence is about being “easy to do business with”. This has four key elements: delivering the promise, providing a personal touch, going the extra mile and resolving problems well. Further analysis of the frequencies of mention revealed the overarching importance of dealing well with problems and queries.
Reports on a study looking at dimensions of service provider performance that influence immediate emotional responses to service encounters, based on 914 service encounters. Identifies five service-provider dimensions that are significant predictors of emotional response to services. Finds that different service-provider dimensions influence positive as compared with negative emotional responses and that temporal duration and spatial intimacy of the encounter affect both the reported levels and relative importance of these service-provider dimensions to emotional responses.
A model is proposed which expresses consumer satisfaction as a function of expectation and expectancy disconfirmation. Satisfaction, in turn, is believed to influence attitude change and purchase intention. Results from a two-stage field study support the scheme for consumers and nonconsumers of a flu inoculation.
The article considers the applicability of traditional attitude and other constructs in service quality research. It is suggested that the effects of perceived service quality may be masked by non-linear relationships and under-identified explanatory models. Constructs that might assist researchers and practitioners improve their service quality research and strategies are identified.
Purpose
The paper seeks to provide a theoretical and empirical investigation of the relationship between consumer expectations and consumer perceptions of service quality.
Design/methodology/approach
The theory of cognitive reference points, adaptation‐level theory, and assimilation‐contrast theory are used to formulate hypotheses concerning the relationships between perceived service quality, consumer expectations, and perceptions. These hypotheses were empirically investigated through an experiment that manipulated expectations and perceptions while measuring perceived service quality.
Findings
The principal finding is that consumer expectations are positive predictors of perceived service quality (i.e. higher expectations lead to higher perceptions of quality). Another finding is that the relationship between expectations and perceived service quality is much stronger than prior literature suggests.
Practical implications
The practical implication of this study is that practitioners should seek to actively manage their customers' expectations to increase those expectations.
Originality/value
This paper is valuable to practitioners who are seeking to use expectations to achieve higher perceptions of quality among their customers. It is also valuable to researchers who are seeking to understand the relationship between expectations and quality perceptions.
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the satisfaction formation process under conditions of varying involvement for new, nontraditional, credence‐based service offerings.
Design/methodology/approach
Hypotheses were tested using an on‐line simulation of a service encounter, beginning with perceptions of an advertisement and continuing through satisfaction with the completed service report. ElderCare, an assurance service provided by Certified Public Accountants to the children of an elderly parent, was the context of study.
Findings
The findings indicated expectations were not influential in the satisfaction formation process for these services, regardless of involvement. Under conditions of high involvement, performance evaluation was the dominant predictor of satisfaction. Low‐involvement subjects used disconfirmation to assess satisfaction .
Research limitations/implications
Limitations of the research stem from the use of a convenience sample in a simulated service encounter. Future research should examine the influence of individual characteristics, particularly innovation, on the results. Additional research examining the determinants of model variables, from disconfirmation to involvement, across subjects in a variety of situations would also be valuable.
Practical implications
This research suggests a heightened need to guide the consumer experience where expectations are hard to develop and performance is hard to evaluate. Providers should carefully spell out key service dimensions, provide tangible information about performance outcomes for high‐involvement individuals, and focus on emotional appeals, provider qualities and sensory aspects of the service for low‐involvement individuals.
Originality/value
This paper helps researchers and practitioners better understand the applicability of expectancy disconfirmation theory and role of involvement in the context of new, nontraditional, credence‐based services.
No matter how much effort is placed into producing quality service, the true test lies in the perception of customers. To assess this perception, lodging executives have only a few quantitative instruments available from which to choose, since the development of such scales is still in its infancy. This study takes the reader through the step-by-step development of a reliable and valid quantitative measuring tool that lodging practitioners can implement to measure their customers’ perception of delivered quality. The procedures followed begin with the same original dimensions that were used to develop SERVQUAL. The resulting lodging quality index (LQI) emphasizes five clearly defined dimensions of service quality.
The expectancy disconfirmation model has dominated private-sector research on customer satisfaction for several decades, yet it has not been applied to citizen satisfaction with urban services. The model views satisfaction judgments as determined-not just by product or service performance-but by a process in which consumers compare performance with their prior expectations. Using data from a New York City citizen survey, this study finds that citizen expectations, and especially the disconfirmation of expectations-factors that previously have not been considered in empirical studies of the determinants of citizen satisfaction-play a fundamental role in the formation of satisfaction judgments regarding the quality of urban services. Interestingly, the modeling results suggest that urban managers should seek to promote not only high-quality services, but also high expectations among citizens. Additional implications for research and public management practice are discussed. © 2004 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.
Criteria for evaluating structural equation models with latent variables are defined, critiqued, and illustrated. An overall
program for model evaluation is proposed based upon an interpretation of converging and diverging evidence. Model assessment
is considered to be a complex process mixing statistical criteria with philosophical, historical, and theoretical elements.
Inevitably the process entails some attempt at a reconcilation between so-called objective and subjective norms.
Qualitative research in tourism is often blamed for missing the tenets of ‘good’ science. There are two major reasons for this. On one hand, positivism is still the prevailing paradigm in many areas of tourism research. On the other hand, qualitative researchers often fail to explain how and why their methods are sound. This results in confusion and misunderstandings. In this paper, basic criteria to assess the trustworthiness of a qualitative study are listed, and triangulation is proposed as a way to implement them. Refining the concepts of corroboration and validation, triangulation consists of strengthening qualitative findings by showing that several independent sources converge on them, or at least, do not oppose them. Denzin’s four basic types of triangulation (i.e. data, method, investigator and theoretical triangulation) are described and illustrated by appropriate tourism examples.