Four attitudinal components of customer loyalty were synthesised from the services literature and combined to produce a loyalty conceptualisation that excludes repurchase behaviour. This proposed conceptualisation of service loyalty was then modelled in two quantitative studies to determine the effects of potential predictors. The influence of consumers' evaluative judgements was compared against the effects of relational outcomes. The three evaluative judgement measures were service encounter satisfaction, perceived core service quality and value for money while relational measures comprised social comfort, social regard and friendship. It was found that while personal friendship between customer and service employee was significantly associated with loyalty, service encounter satisfaction was the major predictor. It was also found that the relational factors of social comfort and social regard played indirect roles through their influence on customer's evaluation of satisfaction and quality. Conversely, friendship was not related to the mediating variables of service encounter satisfaction and perceived core service quality.

This article explores the existence and extent of emotional contagion, as measured by facial displays and reported affective states, in a service failure event. Using video vignettes of customers complaining about a service failure as stimulus material, the authors measured the facial displays and affective states of service providers as proxies for emotional contagion. Following a two-step approach, service providers' facial expressions were first recorded and assessed, revealing that service providers' facial displays matched those of the angry consumer. Second, a mixed ANOVA revealed service providers reported stronger negative affective states after exposure to an angry complaint than prior to exposure. The results demonstrated that during a complaint situation, angry outbursts by consumers can initiate the emotional contagion process, and service providers are susceptible to “catch” consumer anger through emotional contagion. Implications for complaint management and future research are discussed.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the antecedent roles of the Chinese cultural values of “face” and “harmony” in influencing customer satisfaction/loyalty, and the service quality dimensions that are most salient to the context of Chinese diners.Design/methodology/approachA self‐administered survey was conducted for a convenience sample of Chinese diners in Australia.FindingsA factor analysis revealed three service quality dimensions: interaction quality, food appeal, and performance comparison. The results of a series of regression equations showed that both cultural factors and three quality dimensions are significantly and positively correlated to both customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. “Face” was shown to have an influence on customer satisfaction, while food appeal and performance comparison were found to influence both customer satisfaction and loyalty. Gender moderated the influence of both cultural values and quality on customer satisfaction and loyalty.Research limitations/implicationsA student sample limits generalisability of the findings to a wider population.Practical implicationsIn addition to insights on restaurant market segmentation, ideas to enhance the service encounter experience for diners are offered.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to investigate the efficacy of corporate social responsibility (CSR) knowledge on customer liking for the bank across two countries and cultural contexts. Design/methodology/approach -Three CSR variables were tested for their comparative influence on customer liking under different cultural value conditions. Surveys were completed by 204 bank consumers in Australia and 219 bank customers in Thailand. ANOVA and regression were used to test hypotheses. Findings -Perceptions of existing CSR performance and new CSR initiative had significant effects on liking for the bank. However CSR orientation had no effect. These influences varied substantially depending upon the community orientation of the target customer.Research limitations/implications -Understanding the differing roles of the two significant CSR variables provide insights into the complexities of CSR relationships. The successful introduction of a scale to measure a salient internal outcome measure, called liking for the bank, suggests future research opportunities. Practical implications -The differential impact of CSR information on customer responses highlights the importance of understanding different cultural contexts and suggests that careful segmentation strategies are required for particular CSR campaigns. In particular, new social-cultural segmentation bases may be required. Originality/value -A combination of three CSR variables, together with new CSR information reflecting aspects of CSR not previously used in combination. A new affective customer response measure was used. The first cross-cultural and country analysis to be conducted for CSR-customer response relationships within the banking sector. Use of the cultural value of community orientation as a moderator.

No abstract