From third party to significant other for service encounters: a systematic review on third-party roles and their implications

Abstract

PurposeDyadic interactions between customers and service providers rarely occur in isolation. Still, there is a lack of systematic knowledge about the roles that different types of nontechnological third parties – that is, other customers, pets, other employees and other firms – can adopt in relation to customers and service providers during encounters. The present study aims to unravel these roles and highlight their implications for customers, service providers and/or third parties.Design/methodology/approachThis research relies on a systematic review of literature in the Web of Science using a search string pertaining to the research study’s objectives. In total, 2,726 articles were screened by title and abstract using clear inclusion and exclusion criteria, thereby extracting 189 articles for full-text eligibility. The final sample consisted of 139 articles for coding and analysis.FindingsThe analyses reveal that other customers, pets, other employees and other firms can adopt five roles: bystander, connector, endorser, balancer and partner. Each role has different implications for customers, service providers and/or third parties. Additionally, the five roles are associated with distinct constellations of the customer, the service provider and the third party. These roles and constellations are dynamic and not mutually exclusive.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the service encounter literature by providing a thorough understanding of the various third-party roles and their implications for customers, service providers and/or third parties during encounters. As such, this research sheds light on the conditions under which third parties become “significant others” in service encounters and identifies avenues for future research.

The service triad: an empirical study of service robots, customers and frontline employees

“…Lastly, we encourage researchers to further expand the service triad by investigating how third parties – such as other employees or other customers – are influenced by and influence the interplay between customers and a team of service robots and frontline employees. Researchers increasingly consider the role of third parties who interact with customers and/or service providers (Abboud et al , 2020), and future research can explore how employees fulfill the third-party roles of bystander, connector, endorser, balancer or partner role in indirect interactions (Abboud et al , 2020). This research direction builds on Bowen's (2016) call for further investigation of employee roles in an evolving service context characterized by growing technologies augmenting employees.…”

Emotional communication by service robots: a research agenda

“…When deciding on an adequate emotional response, service robots need to consider relevant others around them (Abboud et al. , 2021).…”

“…When deciding on an adequate emotional response, service robots need to consider relevant others around them (Abboud et al, 2021). For example, in restaurant settings, customers might often not eat and order alone.…”

Better together: involving consumers in the ideation, creation and dissemination of transformative value

“…Moreover, third-parties influence consumers during the core service (e.g. by providing informational or emotional resources, Abboud et al. , 2021).…”