Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://hdl.handle.net/10397/91811
| Title: | Mitigating the negative effects of service failure through customer identification | Authors: | Song, J Huang, J Jiang, Y |
Issue Date: | 2021 | Source: | Psychology and marketing, 2021, Early view, p. 1-11, https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21615 | Abstract: | This study investigated the effect of numerical customer identification (i.e., assigning numbers to identify customers) in the service context on the numbered customers' reaction to service failures. We manipulated numerical identification in different ways (room number, customer number, table number, and order number) and measured customers' tolerance of services across various settings (in a restaurant, a spa, and a café) in four studies. The results demonstrated that after being identified by a number, customers tend to exhibit a higher tolerance of service failures (Studies 1 and 2), and this effect is mediated by a sense of self-dehumanization among the numerically identified customers (Study 3). Moreover, the investigated effect diminished when customers had heightened individuation (e.g., by disclosing personal information) to buffer against dehumanization (Study 4). Our findings contribute to the underexplored research area on customer identification, broaden the numerical research and dehumanization literature in marketing, and bring practical implications for firms to mitigate the negative effects of service failures and decrease customer dissatisfaction. | Keywords: | Customer identification Dehumanization Dissatisfaction Individuation Numerical identification Service failures |
Publisher: | John Wiley & Sons | Journal: | Psychology and marketing | ISSN: | 0742-6046 | DOI: | 10.1002/mar.21615 |
| Appears in Collections: | Journal/Magazine Article |
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