Customer service is a central feature of the service context. As service research has evolved into a burgeoning multidisciplinary field, management scholars have developed an impressive body of research regarding the antecedents, processes, and outcomes of customer service. We provide an integrative review and synthesis of the literature with a focus on three important and interrelated aspects of customer service that specifically focus on the interpersonal service interaction between employees and customers: ( a) affect in customer service, including emotional labor and emotional contagion processes; ( b) customer mistreatment, the low-quality interpersonal treatment of customers toward service employees; and ( c) customer service behaviors, including customer orientation and service-oriented citizenship behaviors. We review theoretical perspectives for each of these streams of research and summarize the current knowledge regarding empirical findings. We provide a critical assessment of the literature and conclude with a discussion of future research agendas and practical implications for service managers.

Service scripts are behavioral and verbal prescriptions used in many organizations as a way of standardizing employees’ behaviors during their interactions with customers. Yet, they have rarely been studied empirically. There are mixed suggestions in the literature about the beneficial vs. detrimental effects of service scripts. Based on social exchange and citizenship behavior theories, this study investigates whether the relationship between service scripts and an important customer outcome, customer citizenship behavior (CCB), depends on employees’ level of customer orientation. Based on 285 matched dyads of employees and customers from a variety of service organizations, the study found that when service scripts are performed by employees with low customer orientation, service scripts have more detrimental effects on CCB in terms of reducing the propensity among customers to provide unsolicited feedback and their intentions to return to the service firm. There was also support for the mediating role of perceived service quality in accounting for these contingent relationships. These findings contribute to the literature on managing employee behavior and CCB.

The mental health and well-being of employees is an increasingly important issue, both in terms of the financial costs to the Australian economy and human costs to society. This review examines two major technology-driven trends in the workplace and presents evidence for their impact on mental health, both positive and negative. First, we consider how we work, with a focus on changes which have been driven by automation and advanced technology in the workplace. Next, we consider where and when we work, with a focus on flexible work arrangements afforded by changes in telecommunication technology. Finally, we look forward with a critical lens to examine the implications for future research and for industry, government and education. JEL Classification: I31

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