Consumer envy during service encounters

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to explore consumer envy in the context of service encounters. Envy-elicited cognitive appraisals, emotions, interpersonal and organizational consequences were examined. Design/methodology/approach An online survey was used to collect 311 actual episodes of consumer envy. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses were used to answer the research questions. Findings This research identified five different triggers of consumer envy during service encounters, each associated with distinct cognitive appraisal patterns. Moreover, envious customers might experience three qualitatively different shades of envy labeled as “blue envy”, “red envy” and “green envy”. Actions taken by service providers are found to be a major cause of consumer envy, and they elicit emotions associated with complaining, negative word of mouth, lower encounter satisfaction and lower repurchase intention. Research limitations/implications While significant contributions are made, this study relied on self-reported data. Given that envy is considered a private and sensitive emotion, participants may have withheld from sharing some of the more socially undesirable details of their envy episodes. Practical implications The results stress the importance for service providers to avoid a perception of unfair preferential treatment. This perception of service unfairness is associated with hostility directed at service employees and negative organizational consequences. Originality/value This study is among the first to examine consumer envy in the context of service encounters.

An Investigation of Nonbeneficiary Reactions to Discretionary Preferential Treatments

“…Our findings also extend studies that examine both types of envy (van de Ven, Zeelenberg, and Pieters 2009) by specifying distinct, additive influences on behaviors toward not just the envied other but also the agent (i.e., employee and company) that administers the PT. We thus suggest the need to understand the role that other parties play in a triadic envy episode in future research (Anaya et al 2016).…”

“…According to social comparison theory (Festinger 1954), witnessing superior treatments received by other customers may trigger, consciously or unconsciously, an upward social comparison that subsequently evoke feeling of envy (Parrott and Smith 1993). For instance, a traveler who sees someone else receives a free hotel upgrade may experience envy because of the visibility and initiation of social comparisons that cause one’s standing compared to others as inferior (Anaya et al 2016).…”

“…Study 2 aims to (1) examine the moderating effect of nonbeneficiary-firm relationship (Hypotheses 3 and 4), (2) empirically demonstrate the respective underlying mechanisms of undeservedness and perceived control, and (3) rule out an additional alternative explanation related to perceived fairness. We use hotel services, a main subsector of the hospitality industry and a common context for studying PTs (Anaya et al 2016), as the study context.…”

“…Study 3 focuses on café/restaurant where PT is commonly seen (e.g., Anaya et al 2016; Butori and DeBruyn 2013). We collected field data from a coffee café in Seoul, South Korea.…”

“…Appraisal theory predicts that people who witness PTs granted to others might engage in social comparisons, which likely produce the emotion of envy (Lange and Crusius 2015; Roseman, Antonious, and Jose 1996). Envy is likely felt by customers in service encounters because they are highly receptive of others’ service experiences (Anaya et al 2016). Envy involves comparative inferiority and envious people attempt to alleviate these feelings by reducing the disparity between themselves and the person they envy (Heider 1958) by either pulling others down or improving themselves (Parrott and Smith 1993).…”