Robots are the next wave in service technology; however, this advanced technology is not perfect. This research examines how social perceptions regarding the warmth and competence of service robots ...influence consumer reactions to service failures and recovery efforts by robots. We argue that humanoid (vs. nonhumanoid) service robots are more strongly associated with warmth (whereas competence does not differ). This tendency to expect greater warmth from humanoid robots has important consequences for service firms: (i) consumers are more dissatisfied due to lack of warmth following a process failure caused by a humanoid (vs. nonhumanoid; Study 1); (ii) humanoids (but not nonhumanoids) can recover a service failure by themselves via sincere apology, restoring perceptions of warmth (Study 2A); (iii) humanoids (but not nonhumanoids) can also effectively provide explanations as a recovery tactic (Study 2B); and, importantly, (iv) human intervention can be used to mitigate dissatisfaction following inadequate recovery by a nonhumanoid robot (Study 3), supporting the notion of human-robot collaboration. Taken together, this research offers theoretical implications for robot anthropomorphism and practical implications for firms employing service robots.
•CSR is more effective under communal (vs. exchange) relationship norms.•CSR is ineffective if consumers perceive company CSR motives as self-serving.•CSR enhances customer satisfaction and loyalty ...intentions in communal relationships via consumer inferences of a company's warmth.•CSR can be framed to signal competence for effectiveness in exchange relationships, but at a cost to warmth in communal relationships.•CSR can help companies to recover customers when service failure occurs.
The researchers investigate how corporate social responsibility (CSR) affects customer response following service failure within the context of buyer–seller relationships. A series of three experiments demonstrate that CSR is more effective under communal (vs. exchange) relationship norms, consistent with the alignment of CSR with the communal norm of concern for the needs of others. The effectiveness of CSR is also shown to vary as a function of company motives and CSR framing, serving as theoretically and managerially relevant boundary conditions. Together, these findings increase our understanding of how and when CSR will have a positive impact on consumers and, in turn, companies via customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Research on consumer satisfaction with green hotels has yielded mixed results; some studies have shown a positive relationship with CSR initiatives and others have shown a negative relationship. To ...reconcile these two opposing views, we examine the mediating effects of perceived warmth and competence as potential psychological mechanisms explaining consumers’ reactions to green hotels. We also investigate the moderating role of firm motives in influencing consumers’ reactions to green initiatives. Results from Study 1 indicate that when service delivery is successful, consumer satisfaction is higher for green (vs. non-green) hotels. However, the advantage for green hotels disappears when guests experience service failures. Results from Study 2 show that consumer satisfaction with green hotels is enhanced when a firm engages in green initiatives for public-serving (vs. self-serving) motives. Overall, the results show that perceived warmth and competence mediate the relationship between service outcomes and consumer satisfaction and behavioral intentions.
Engaging consumers in prosocial practices can increase their favorable responses toward a company. We suggest that cuteness cues of a third party (i.e., neither beneficiary nor benefactor) spur ...consumer engagement in such practices. It is well-known that a cute X stands a higher chance of being helped than a non-cute Y. This research examines a novel effect of cuteness which we call the “aww effect”: How does an exposure to a cute X influence consumers’ prosociality benefitting a non-cute Y? The results from four studies show that viewing cute images and listening to cute sounds prompt prosocial responses enhancing the welfare of a non-cute target. Moreover, cuteness cues increase the effectiveness of an appeal emphasizing benefits to non-cute targets (vs. benefits to the self). Taken together, our findings lend converging support to the aww effect and inform marketers of an effective use of cuteness cues to engage consumers in prosocial initiatives.
Despite the rapid growth of the luxury hospitality market, academic research has largely neglected the differences between luxury hospitality services and luxury goods, as well as the role of status ...seeking on luxury consumption. Relying on the status consumption and experience recommendation theories, the authors examine the combined effects of consumer characteristics (need for status) and product type (hospitality services vs. goods) on consumers’ word-of-mouth intentions. The results suggest that parvenus, who are high in need for status, are more likely to talk about their luxury goods purchases than patricians, who are low in need for status. More interestingly, both parvenus and patricians indicate equally strong intentions to spread positive word of mouth on luxury hospitality purchases. This study also extends the experience recommendation theory and reveals that parvenus are less likely to choose luxury hospitality services than patricians to advance their happiness.
The relative use of an internal reference price (IRP) versus an external reference price (ERP) becomes an important issue in the travel and lodging contexts as the increased promotional activity by ...destinations and hotels is likely to be based on price-comparison advertisements. However, there is little guidance on how tourism and hospitality organizations can use pricing structure to influence reference price, which is cardinal to travelers’ evaluation of price acceptability. Thus, the current research examines how pricing characteristics of the lodging services shift travelers’ sensitivity to two different types of reference prices, and therefore, influence their price evaluations. Compared with IRP, our findings indicate that individuals are more sensitive to and affected by ERP. The results also demonstrate that information accessibility and perceived diagnosticity are key mechanisms that lead to the differential effect of IRP versus ERP on travelers’ price evaluations. Relevant managerial implications are drawn regarding price and promotion strategies.
•The results of this study underscore how culture and service failure type jointly influence customer responses after service failure.•Customers in a high-power distance culture (e.g., China) tend to ...feel higher levels of anger and disappointment following a process (vs. outcome) service failure.•Customers in a low-power distance culture (e.g., the US) tend to feel higher levels of disappointment following an outcome (vs. process) failure.•This study examined the mediating role of discrete negative emotions in driving face-to-face complaining and switching intention across two cultural contexts (high-power and low-power distance culture).•This study links failure type to customers' emotional and behavioral responses so that service providers can use failure type as a situational cue to predict customers’ reactions and proactively identify service failures that would otherwise go unnoticed.
Understanding customer responses to service failures enable practitioners to minimize the negative impact of service failures. The purpose of this study is to examine the joint effect of service failure type and culture (power distance) on two discrete negative emotions and investigate the mediating role of discrete negative emotions in driving face-to-face complaining and switching behavior across two cultures (The US and China). Our findings suggest that customers in a high-power distance culture (China) feel higher levels of anger and disappointment following a process (vs. outcome) failure, and therefore, are more likely to complain face-to-face and switch. Whereas customers in a low-power distance culture (US) only feel higher levels of disappointment following an outcome (vs. process) failure, yet prefer to switch silently. Our findings provide hospitality firms with practical implications on employee training and how to proactively identify service failures that customers are unlikely to complain about.
In this editorial, we offer a critical assessment of the service failure and recovery (SFR) literature and suggest that the field is at a crossroads in terms of growth and relevance. Specifically, we ...address two key questions: (1) What is the current state of the field? (2) What avenues should SFR researchers pursue to promote a new stage of success? To answer the first question, we tracked the evolution of SFR articles over the last 15 years by using Web of Science. Our analysis suggests that the recent growth of SFR research is mainly attributable to articles published in specialized journals; the number of articles published in leading journals remains stable and relatively low for the last 10 years. This situation reflects the poor integration of two core SFR domains: Behavioral-subjective research tends to be published in specialized journals, whereas quantitative-objective articles have been in high demand in leading journals. To answer the second question, we propose a dozen research avenues to help the integration of the two domains, so that the whole field can regain prominence. These research avenues are organized in four categories: (1) expanding the static “customer-firm” dyad, (2) studying new contexts that challenge the assumption of recovery, (3) collecting better data and using stronger analytics, and (4) building on the synthetic knowledge base already created. By making such changes, the SFR domain will reclaim its rightful place as an important subfield of service science.
Despite the prevalent use of savings messages (e.g., “get $x off” and “save $x”), no previous tourism and hospitality research has examined their effect on consumer responses. To fill that void, this ...study investigates the joint effect of savings message type (gain-framed vs. nonloss-framed) and weather conditions (sunny vs. rainy) on consumer attitude. The results show that individuals in rainy weather respond more favorably to a gain-framed (vs. nonloss-framed) message, and this effect is attenuated among people in sunny weather. Furthermore, this study reveals a boundary condition. When the amount of savings is presented in percentage terms (e.g., “get x% off” and “save x%”), the superiority of a gain frame disappears. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.
•Weather impacts the efficacy of gain-framed and nonloss-framed savings messages.•A “get $x off” (vs. “save $x”) message is more effective in rainy weather.•The two savings messages are equally effective in sunny weather.•A “get % off” message is not superior to a “save %” cue in rainy weather.
Purpose
This study aims to understand consumers' reactions to hospitality corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaigns under different resource scarcity reminders, an important but overlooked ...contextual factor, and examine how such scarcity reminders interact with message framing, a widely used technique in CSR communication.
Design/methodology/approach
Three experimental studies were conducted. Studies 1 and 2 examined the main effect of resource scarcity reminders (environmental vs personal) on consumer engagement via self-other orientation. Study 3 further investigated the interactive effect between resource scarcity reminders (environmental vs personal) and message framing (gain vs loss) with hope as a key mediator.
Findings
Studies 1 and 2 show that environmental (vs personal) scarcity activates a more salient other orientation, subsequently increasing consumers' donation and word-of-mouth intentions. Study 3 reveals that environmental (vs personal) scarcity makes people more hopeful with gain-framed messages. Moreover, the elevated hope enhances perceived efficacy (attitude toward the company), leading to higher donation (word-of-mouth) intention.
Practical implications
Hospitality marketers could remind consumers of the harsh environment to elicit other orientation and encourage CSR participation. Using gain-framed messages or other hope-inducing appeals would be particularly advantageous in engaging consumers in CSR campaigns during heightened environmental scarcity.
Originality/value
Focusing on consumer responses to CSR campaigns, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first to reveal reminders of resource scarcity as a novel antecedent factor and further uncover how such reminders interact with message framing to affect CSR engagement.
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