Toward holistic frontline employee management: An investigation of the interplay of positive emotion displays and dress color

Abstract

Frontline employees' visual appearance is important in many service industries.Positive emotion displays are especially crucial, as are esthetic displays such as dress color. However, emotion and esthetic displays have commonly been examined independently of each other in marketing research. We contribute to research and practice by drawing attention to customers' holistic perception of frontline employees, indicating that emotion displays and esthetic displays, such as dress color, are jointly processed. Across four experiments, we demonstrate that the effects of positive emotion displays on customer tipping and employee warmth can be amplified by using warm (vs. cold) dress colors. Drawing on emotions as social information theory, we show that this interaction is explained by a cognitive inferential (i.e., the perception of fit) and not by an affective pathway through positive affect.Our findings guide managers on how to choose dress colors to increase the beneficial effects of positive emotion displays.

Fake smiles. Customer reactions to employees’ display inauthenticity and choice restrictions

“…Scholars have been increasingly concerned with customer perceptions of frontline employees’ positive emotion display inauthenticity (Bruder et al, 2021; Kulczynski et al, 2016; Liu et al, 2019; K. L. Wang et al, 2021) as it is a persistent phenomenon in service interactions despite managerial interventions in the form of display rules and authenticity training (Groth et al, 2009; Hülsheger et al, 2015; G. Wang et al, 2011). Previous research, however, is inconclusive regarding customer reactions to display inauthenticity, with some studies suggesting negative effects and others finding no effects (for recent meta‐analyses, see Hülsheger & Schewe, 2011; Kammeyer‐Mueller et al, 2013), suggesting the presence of moderating factors (Grandey & Gabriel, 2015).…”

“…Scholars have been increasingly concerned with customer perceptions of frontline employees' positive emotion display inauthenticity (Bruder et al, 2021;Kulczynski et al, 2016;Liu et al, 2019;K. L. Wang et al, 2021) as it is a persistent phenomenon in service interactions despite managerial interventions in the form of display rules and authenticity training (Groth et al, 2009;Hülsheger et al, 2015;G.…”

“…Frontline employees are commonly required to show positive emotion displays when serving customers (Pugh, 2001). Positive emotion displays are generally conceptualized in terms of smiles (e.g., Bruder et al, 2021; Hennig‐Thurau et al, 2006) and the accompanying tone of voice (e.g., Gabriel & Diefendorff, 2015; Goldberg & Grandey, 2007). Positive emotion displays are qualified by their (in)authenticity (Hochschild, 1983).…”

“…After checking out different learning materials at a digital kiosk, they saw a series of pictures depicting a female employee in a real bookstore. Picture stimuli are ecologically valid (Bateson & Hui, 1992) and commonly employed in service research (Bruder et al, 2021; Lechner & Mathmann, 2021). Each picture was presented on a separate page, including a short text describing the situation and a speech balloon with a short statement from the employee.…”

Red matte and glossy blue: how color and reflectance drive consumer indulgence

“…Given the un-smooth (smooth) nature of matte (glossy) reflectance, we expect matte (glossy) surfaces to be perceived as warm (cool), evoking the temperature priming effect (Baek et al, 2018;Choi et al, 2016), matching that of warm (cool) color. Consumers would see the warmth (coolness) of warm (cool) color and matte (glossy) reflectance as coherent, thereby increasing fit perception (Bruder et al, 2021), leading to a change in their arousal level (brought about by color) and matching that of the congruent stimuli (warm-matte and coolglossy) (Das et al, 2020). Following the above argument, the lack of fit between warm-glossy and cool-matte due to a mismatch in their temperature perceptions would decrease coherence and perceived fit, leading to a reduction in arousal, subsequently reducing self-reward focus and the resultant indulgence.…”