Challenging the conventional perception that “power corrupts,” the authors assert that activation of customer power before a service encounter can lead to less negative behavioral manifestations toward a service provider after a service failure. Three experimental studies help substantiate this contention. Study 1 shows a sequential mediation process of how increased power leads to a more positive secondary appraisal and lessens the perceived severity of a failure. This process ultimately leads to (1) lower intentions for revenge and (2) lower demanded compensation. Study 2 solidifies these findings using stimuli for power inducement easily replicable by service managers. Study 3 establishes the boundary conditions and finds that the positive effects of power in postservice failure only holds for a single service failure context but not a double deviation context. This research offers an integrated explanation of how power leads to more positive behavioral actions through a sequential mediation effect involving cognitive appraisals. In doing so, this research sheds light on the nuances of power in affecting customer behavior. The practical method of activating perceived power may motivate service managers to apply it to buffer the potential negative effects of service failure. However, caution is advised, as such effects may diminish in the context of a series of failed resolution attempts.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how empowering consumers by means of co-designing activities influences both positive and negative consumer engagement with new service innovations. Design/methodology/approach Two experimental studies tested the proposed hypotheses. Participants were asked to imagine co-designing a hypothetical innovation, and then respond to scales that measured intervening variables. The first study measured participants’ valuation of the innovation as well as the intention to recommend it. The second study partially replicated the first one but measured participants’ perceived severity after a scenario where the innovation failed to deliver its promised performance. Findings Empowerment triggered a higher sense of engagement through the mediating effects of sense of power and psychological ownership. Subsequently, this effect not only drove more positive evaluations of the innovation but also exacerbated negative evaluations if the service innovation was not delivered successfully. Originality/value The current study highlights the importance of adopting a psychological perspective toward engagement and shows a balanced view of empowerment in the context of new service innovations.

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Researchers in service marketing have recently considered customer satisfaction from the viewpoint of what and how they experienced the service encounter resulting in the concept of customer experience management. Whilst several works have been developed in this area, there is still much that can be done to provide a comprehensive guide for marketers in understanding the service encounter from the point of view of customers. Building on the work of Verhoef et al's article in the Journal of Retailing (2009) and other works in the field, we propose a new customer experience framework (CEF) that focuses more centrally on the journey of the customer in experiencing the service. Our framework consists of five interacting layers: (1) Customer values, needs and wants; (2) Experiential Marketing Strategy; (3) Customer Experience Stages; (4) Accumulated Customer Experience (5) Customer Behavior Change. This differs from Verhoef et al's framework, which primarily focuses on looking at designing the optimal consumer experience from the viewpoint of the provider. We propose that the CEF will be useful both as a tool for experience creation and to analyze consumer experiences post-encounter.

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