Employee emotional displays in the extended service encounter

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of happiness expressed by service firm employees when they are depicted in marketing communications materials, such as printed ads and videos. Design/methodology/approach Two experiments were conducted in a fitness service setting, in which employee display of happiness was manipulated (low vs high). Findings Both experiments showed that expressions of high levels of happiness produced a more positive attitude toward the service employee than expressions of low levels of happiness. Moreover, the impact of the expression of happiness on the evaluation of the employee was mediated by several variables, which suggests that the influence of depicted employees’ emotional expressions can take several routes. Practical implications The results imply that service firms should not only be mindful about which specific employee they select for appearing in marketing communications materials, they should also pay attention to the emotional displays of selected employees. Originality/value The present study contributes to previous research by assessing a set of potential mediators to explain why displays of happiness influence consumers, and by examining these effects in a marketing communications setting in which the customer is exposed to still images or video-based representations of the employee. The present study also focuses explicitly on happiness rather than on smiles.

Does the New Normal Violation of Social Norms? The Role of the Health Belief and Service Quality During the Covid-19 Pandemic

“…When an individual feels vulnerable and understands how serious the virus is, more awareness of unusual social behaviors would be recognized by all parties. Previous studies argued that in a pandemic situation, everything will run abnormally, including service context, making FLEs seemingly incompetent, less intimate and less humane (Fiske, 2018;Söderlund & Berg, 2019;Söderlund, 2020).…”

“…These two characteristics have been discussed specifically in the context of social norms, with an employee as the object and the service recipient as a customer. A previous study suggested that the two traits contribute to improving the customer's opinion of the staff (e.g., Söderlund & Berg, 2019). Servers' competence is important information for customers in terms of social behaviour during the Covid-19 pandemic, because unexpected social behaviors indicate a lack of proficiency (Söderlund, 2020).…”

“…Fiske et al (2007) and Fiske (2018) argued that it is related to an individual's capacity to execute a task in terms of intelligence, skills, and prowess. It is a universal necessity for waiters, and it influences customer evaluation (e.g., Söderlund & Berg, 2019). Employees with sufficient competence are expected to provide consumers with maximum services.…”

“…Farooq et al (2020) stated that perceived severity and vulnerability throughout the Covid-19 pandemic had a substantial impact on self-protection (Farooq et al, 2020) thereby accepting hypothesis 2. Hypothesis 3 showed that unusual social norms have a detrimental impact on competence, such that an employee who implements the health protocol is regarded to be less effective (Fiske, 2018;Söderlund & Berg, 2019;Söderlund, 2020). FLEs who are disciplined in the application of health protocols seem rigid in their interaction with customers.…”