The effects of three customer-to-customer interaction quality types on customer experience quality and citizenship behavior in mass service settings

Abstract

Purpose Creating superior customer experience quality is important to firm success, but the link between customer experience quality and customer-to-customer interaction quality – a critical component of customer experience quality in mass service settings – has seldom been spotlighted. This paper aims to propose and test a theoretical model of the relationship among three types of customer-to-customer interaction quality (friend-interaction, neighboring customer-interaction and audience-interaction) and customer experience quality. They also examine these variables’ effects on customer citizenship behavior in mass service settings. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected data through a self-administered survey. The proposed relationships were tested using structural equation modeling. Findings Friend-interaction and audience-interaction quality perceptions significantly influence customer experience quality, with neighboring customer-interaction quality perception significant only for low communication quality. We find that enhancing customer experience quality is crucial to promoting citizenship behavior in mass service settings. Practical implications Neighboring customer-interaction quality perception has a significant effect on customer experience quality, particularly in a low communication quality situation. Therefore, service marketers should provide effective neighboring customer-interaction management schemes to enhance experience quality together with friend-interaction and audience-interaction management schemes when customers experience low communication quality. Additionally, service marketers should focus on enhancing communication quality only when anticipating low neighboring customer-interaction quality. Originality/value The findings highlight the effects of three types of customer-to-customer interaction quality on customer citizenship behavior through experience quality perception in mass service settings, and the effect of neighboring customer-interaction quality perception on customer experience quality, moderated by communication quality.

Conceptualization and model development of customer‐to‐customer encounter quality (CCEQ) in service settings

“…In the previous literature, there has been considerable progress as to the importance of other customers on focal customers’ behavior and attitude (Choi & Kim, ; Grove & Fisk, ; Kim & Choi, ; Lehtinen & Lehtinen, ; Lemke, Clark, & Wilson, ; Soderlund, ; Verhoef et al., ); however, little advance as to the managerial framework for customer‐to‐customer encounter. In Study 1, the conceptual structure of CCEQ was drawn through exploratory approach.…”

“…This allows us to consider customers as the human resource or quasi‐employees of a service firm (Bettencourt, ; Groth, ). A few studies have addressed the issues regarding other customers’ influence on focal customers (Choi & Kim, ; Grove & Fisk, ; Kim & Choi, ; Lehtinen & Lehtinen, ; Lemke, Clark, & Wilson., ; Soderlund, ; Verhoef et al., ). High‐quality experience of customer‐to‐customer encounters motivates customers to revisit the service provider (Guenzi & Pelloni, ).…”

Investigating the effects of customer-based brand equity on turnover intentions with mediating effect of customer citizenship behavior

“…Customer citizenship behavior (CCB) is customers' volunteer actions to assist other customers and support the brands (Nagy & Marzouk, 2018). Whereas, customers' engagement in citizenship behavior is not obligatory but it is being adopted by customers to assist brand and fellow customers (Kim & Choi, 2016). According to Yi and Gong (2013), CCB consists of four indicators that are helping behavior, advocacy, feedback, and tolerance.…”

“…In the aviation industry, services being delivered in a shared environment where customers share their time, space and equipment collectively. CCB foster customers to guide other customers to enhance their service experience (Kim & Choi, 2016). In addition, CCB encourage customers to support their fellow customers, providing feedback to brands to improve their services, being an advocate of brand and tolerating an undesirable situation which ultimately improve market share, sales and sustainability of brands and also lower the turnover intentions of customer (Revilla-Camacho et al, 2015).…”

The Application of Structural Equation Modelling for Predicting the Link between Motivation and Experience Quality in Creative Tourism

“…Past studies report that tourist intention to revisit and recommend an attraction is an impact of customer experience with the performance. Further, literature also informs that tourist experience quality has a positive consequence on tourist behaviour toward attraction such as their level of satisfaction and loyalty as well as their memories [12,13]. While past studies were conducted in the general attraction arena, as far as the authors' knowledge, no research has been undertaken in the creative attraction context.…”