Construction, validation and generalization of SERVSTRESS: a measure for service induced customer stress

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to construct and validate a generalizable scale to measure service induced perceived stress for customers of personal services with a high level of intangibles having both online and offline components. Design/methodology/approach Five studies were conducted to this end. The first was qualitative and the rest were quantitative (survey) with a total sample size of 1,300. The last study was conducted in a different country than the first four. Findings The studies resulted in a five-dimensional SERVSTRESS scale to measure service induced stress for customers with the following dimensions, namely, psychological stress; information stress; complexity stress; personnel stress and outcome stress. The scale was tested in a nomological network. Research limitations/implications The present study addresses a hitherto unaddressed gap in marketing literature with the construction and validation of a scale to measure service stress of a customer (named SERVSTRESS) using data from five studies spanning two countries. Practical implications The SERVSTRESS scale is relevant for the practitioners as it adds more value beyond the traditional service quality measures and allows the marketer to understand the nature of the stressors (with a specific focus on which is going right and which is going wrong) in the service delivery and allow him/her to take remedial actions. Originality/value The originality of the study is in the creation of a new scale to measure personal service stress and uncovering its underlying dimensions.

Effect of masculine eating and drinking beliefs on male consumers’ concern with healthy eating and binge drinking

“…This leads to a reliable and valid scale that measures such beliefs. To achieve this study goal, our scale development process involves all steps described by DeVellis (2012), which have been used in prior research (Roy and Jain, 2020): item generation; item reduction; purification and dimensionality of the scale; validity and reliability; discriminant validity; and nomological validity. …”

Shopping companions in retail environments: A view from different perspectives

“…Furthermore, retail managers should equip their stores and frontline employees with useful tools for dealing with different kinds of shopping companion influences: such as, for instance, rest areas, a coffee bar, or various in-store entertainment options. For a better understanding of how consumer emotions are affected by the interplay of companions and salespeople, elements of the recently developed measurement scale "SERVSTRESS" (Roy & Jain, 2020) could be of particular interest.…”

“…Especially in situations where the opinions and advice of shopping companion and salesperson are incongruent, such negative effects on the shopper as uncertainty about the purchase decision could occur. While there are means by which customers' emotional perceptions based on service interactions, including those relating to selling, can be addressed (Roy & Jain, 2020), they have not yet been applied to situations in which a shopping companion is also present.…”

“…It would therefore be advisable in future studies to treat emotion as an explanatory variable in behavioral change due to the influence of a companion. Moreover, it would seem promising to focus future research on shoppers' inherent psychological resources as well as those companioninfluenced emotional responses (Roy & Jain, 2020). Since stress may result from a perceived gap between situational demands and personal abilities (Maier & Wilken, 2014;Papen, Niemand, Siems, & Kraus, 2019), is a rather subjective construct.…”

“…Customer experience research might therefore usefully address the question of which elements in the design of the shopping experience could favor or mitigate companions' influences in order to ensure shoppers' wellbeing. While salespeople certainly play a crucial role in the customer experience, due to their closeness to the shopper, it has been shown that they can be perceived by shoppers as another source of stress (Roy & Jain, 2020). In order to take into account the impact of this additional influence on shoppers when they are already with a chosen companion, future research could set out to combine these two influence factors and evaluate their combined effects.…”