How to reduce the negative impact of customer non-compliance: an empirical study

Abstract

This article focuses on the notion of customer non-compliance with front line employees' instructions and company's policies during the service encounter. The aim of the study is to offer an alternative solution to the issue of customer non-compliance, exploring the factors that reduce its negative impact on service quality. For that reason, we developed a conceptual framework integrating the negative influence of customer non-compliance on perceived service quality with three moderating effects. To test the validity of the framework, a hierarchical approach was followed and data were collected from 120 managers and 585 customers of 120 hotels. The results confirm the negative influence of customer non-compliance on perceived service quality and indicate three organizational factors as reducing moderators of this influence: customer orientation, service blueprinting effectiveness and employee empowerment.Based on these conclusions, important implications for academics and practitioners are drawn.

Open Collaboration as Marketing Transformation Strategy in Online Markets: The Case of the Fashion Sector

“…The participation of the customer in scenarios of creation or involvement, together with the organisations, can define the importance that the consumer brings in the processes of production and development of products or services of the current market [29][30][31][32]. Moreover, Kostopoulos et al [33] indicated that the participation of the client in processes of configuration or development of new products or services implies that the expectations or needs of the client are identified in a more specific way so that in this way, the supplying companies can satisfy the needs demanded from a much more successful production.…”

Understanding customers’ compliance behaviour to frontline employees’ fuzzy requests

“…Typically, customers' response to FLEs' fuzzy requests is either compliance or refusal. Compliance behaviour refers that customers follow FLEs' (or the service provider's) instructions, policies and procedures (Bowman et al, 2004;Kostopoulos et al, 2014). Accordingly, compliance behaviour is defined as overt behavioural adherence to fuzzy requests of FLEs (e.g.…”

“…As FLEs typically control over the service delivery, fuzzy requests occur as either situational driven options or deliberate plans to improve service capacity. That is, fuzzy requests from FLEs, which might be below the service benchmark, are beneficial to FLEs themselves when customers adapt to and comply with such behaviours in the service process (Fukawa and Erevelles, 2014;Kostopoulos et al, 2014). For example, customers are sometimes requested to share a private service space (e.g.…”

“…Delivery men often choose a convenient location, rather than the assigned time or place, to deliver goods to customers. Fuzzy requests from FLEs are thus perceived as a slight deviation from normal service scope, which may result in service failure and negatively affect the satisfaction and loyalty of customers when being refused (Hess et al, 2003;Kasabov and Warlow, 2010;Kostopoulos et al, 2014).…”

Customer compliance with employee fuzzy requests in service encounters: a self-determination theory perspective

“…Previous studies in relation to the factors that ensure customer compliance have focused on rational decision-making based on cost-benefit analysis (Dellande et al 2004;Lin and Hsieh 2011;Kostopoulos et al 2014). For example, following the rationality-based beliefs model, Li et al (2018) proposed that customer compliance is driven by several factors, including expected technical quality and perceived reasonableness.…”