Customer delight and work engagement

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of the current research is to evaluate how customer contact level and customer service-based role conflict influence the relationship between customer emotions and work engagement, while simultaneously evaluating psychological capital as an outcome of work engagement. Customer service research highlights the impact of employee attitudes and behaviors on customer satisfaction. More recently, this relationship has been examined in reverse, evaluating how customer emotions influence the employee. Unfortunately, previous research has not evaluated variables that inhibit the impact of customer emotions on the employee. Design/methodology/approach -Data were collected from frontline employees across high and low customer contact service contexts. The hypothesized relationships were tested using structural equation modeling. Findings -This research provides empirical evidence that employee-perceived customer delight impacts employee work engagement. However, through a process of feedback, customer service-based role conflict impacts the relationship between customer emotions and employee emotions. Finally, the conceptual model illustrates how engaged employees can create their own personal resources vis-à -vis the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. Research limitations/implications -This research identifies both antecedent and outcomes variables associated with work engagement, as well as identified mediating factors. Practical implications -Results suggest that the quality and level of contact that frontline employees have with customers impact their work engagement. Furthermore, engaged frontline employees have the ability to create their own personal resources. Originality/value -This research makes contributions to the understanding of the impact of positive customer emotions on frontline employees.

Fulfilment of administrative and professional organisational obligations and nurses' customer-oriented behaviours

“…Given the central important role of staff it is not surprising that how the employee feels is an important predictor of customer satisfaction (Barnes et al . ). For instance, it has been shown that employee emotions have a direct impact on customer emotions (Hennig‐Thurau et al .…”

“…Previous studies have highlighted that the interaction between customer and frontline employee is paramount to customer satisfaction (Pimpakorn & Patterson 2010). Given the central important role of staff it is not surprising that how the employee feels is an important predictor of customer satisfaction (Barnes et al 2014). For instance, it has been shown that employee emotions have a direct impact on customer emotions (Hennig-Thurau et al 2006) and customer satisfaction (Yagil 2012).…”

Exploring the Role of Service Delivery in Remarkable Tourism Experiences

“…In recent years, the subject of CD has attracted researchers' attention and is the focus for much marketing research, primarily in tourism experiences [7], understood as a customer's positive emotional response to an "unexpected" service experience [17]. There is also considerable research underlying frontline employees as the highest impacting main factors in successful SD, and thus customer delight [13,15]. In a general manner, SD describes the interaction between service providers and customers [18], wherein the customer finds an extra which goes beyond occasional RCE.…”

“…According to Kranzbüehler et al [6], consumers can evaluate their journey cognitively, affectively, and through their senses. Although recent research strongly supports the conceptualization of customer delight as a more effective response [8], this study recognizes findings from Nordhorn et al [14], whose results reveal that consumers respond more positively in affective terms to a very good service, giving as much importance to the intangible attributes as to the tangibles attributes in the elicitation of emotional reactions.From a service-oriented perspective, there is substantial research underlying the significant factors in excellent service delivery, based on the frontline employees [13,15]. However, from a customer-oriented perspective, there is a lack of studies analyzing the consequences and contingency factors of SD in RCE and exploring to what extent these factors interact to provide an excellent service and to evoke delight behaviors in customers.…”

“…From a service-oriented perspective, there is substantial research underlying the significant factors in excellent service delivery, based on the frontline employees [13,15]. However, from a customer-oriented perspective, there is a lack of studies analyzing the consequences and contingency factors of SD in RCE and exploring to what extent these factors interact to provide an excellent service and to evoke delight behaviors in customers.…”