¿Y Usted? Social influence effects on consumers' service language preferences

Bell, Monique; Puzakova, Marina

doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.08.030

Cited by 14 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…On the one hand, scholars increasingly acknowledge the manifold languages spoken in MNCs (Tenzer and Pudelko 2017), study instances of language mixing (Schau et al 2017), explore speakers' linguistic positioning behavior (Millot 2017), and generally recognize the contextually conditioned, co-constructed, and culturally created nature of language (Du-Babcock and Tanaka 2017). On the other hand, natural languages are still often used as categorical variables, suggesting they are self-contained (Bell and Puzakova 2017;Touchstone et al 2017). Given the multidisciplinary nature of international business as a subject area, we hope that future studies will integrate concepts and methods from different academic disciplines to gain a deeper understanding of the complex linguistic influences on globalized business environments.…”

Section: Future Research Agendamentioning

confidence: 99%

Language in International Business: A Review and Agenda for Future Research

2017

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A fast growing number of studies demonstrates that language diversity influences almost all management decisions in modern multinational corporations. Whereas no doubt remains about the practical importance of language, the empirical investigation and theoretical conceptualization of its complex and multifaceted effects still presents a substantial challenge. To summarize and evaluate the current state of the literature in a coherent picture informing future research, we systematically review 264 articles on language in international business. We scrutinize the geographic distributions of data, evaluate the field's achievements to date in terms of theories and methodologies, and summarize core findings by individual, group, firm, and country levels of analysis. For each of these dimensions, we then put forward a future research agenda. We encourage scholars to transcend disciplinary boundaries and to draw on, integrate, and test a variety of theories from disciplines such as psychology, linguistics, and neuroscience to gain a more profound understanding of language in international business. We advocate more multi-level studies and cross-national research collaborations and suggest greater attention to potential new data sources and means of analysis.

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Section: Future Research Agendamentioning

confidence: 99%

Language in International Business: A Review and Agenda for Future Research

2017

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“…In a follow-up study using a sample of Mexican bilinguals (Spanish-English), the authors show that differences in negotiation outcomes dissipate when the stereotypes associated with the minority and the majority language are perceived equally favorable. Bell and Puzakova (2017) also take the majority versus minority distinction into account.…”

Section: During the Service Encountermentioning

confidence: 99%

Language use in services: Recent advances and directions for future research

Holmqvist

Vaerenbergh

Grönroos

2017

Journal of Business Research

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While many service management and marketing concepts stress the importance of the interaction between a customer and a service provider, prior research devotes relatively little attention to the role of language use in services. This article describes the importance of broadening understanding of this issue and reviews prior research in this area. Next, this article introduces the articles in this special section. Although these articles individually and collectively contribute to a better understanding of the role of language use in services, we contend that much still needs to be learned. In order to assist researchers in their exploration of this topic, this article ends with a future research agenda that might inspire researchers to expand on the boundaries of knowledge on language use in services.

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“…Using IAT to explain the linguistic means of asserting or assigning social identity, we argue that customers enter into service encounters with implicit, preexisting interaction positions and preferences; employee choice and use of interaction language serves as a cue, signaling the employee’s speculation of the customer’s ethnic identity given the latter’s perceptible attributes; and such speculations may pass as instances of identity assignment and beget customer divergence from employee behavior because of the feeling of being categorized into a particular social group (Bell and Puzakova, 2017). Identity assignment is viewed as customers’ perceptions of being categorized with certain groups without allowing them to express their individuality (Cornell and Hartmann, 2006).…”

Section: Literature Review and Hypothesis Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is a means of identity negotiation, which affects the subconscious behavioral coordination between any two parties and influences the two parties’ judgment of each other and of the interaction (Hall et al , 2015). Specifically, the choice and use of language acts as a mechanism of personal identity (Pavlenko, 2005) that indicates social structure and reflects sociopolitical considerations (Bell and Puzakova, 2017; Holmqvist et al , 2014). Giles et al (1977) show how the individual’s identification with ethnic group shapes their preference toward using the ethnic language.…”

Section: Literature Review and Hypothesis Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Literature also recognizes other related influencers of service experience, including attribution (Tam et al , 2014), intercultural communication competence (Ihtiyar and Ahmad, 2015) and personal cultural orientation (Sharma et al , 2015). While these studies have highlighted the role of language, there have been few explicit attempts to measure how language may influence customer experience during intercultural service encounters (Bell and Puzakova, 2017; Cayla and Bhatnagar, 2017; Touchstone et al , 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Customer response to service encounter linguistics

Zolfagharian

Hasan

Iyer

2018

JSM

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Purpose Focused on multicultural service encounters, this paper aims to argue that the interplay between customer language preference, employee choice and use of language affects perceived interaction quality, which in turn influences loyalty, customer brand identification and positive word-of-mouth. Design/methodology/approach Using Mexican Americans (Spanish) as the focal ethnic group (language), a 3 (contexts: Fast food-English; Post office-English; Post office-Spanish) × 4 (scenarios: customer language preference adhered to; adapted to; mixed; ignored) between-subject scenario-based experiment was conducted. Findings Customers perceive a higher, or at least equal, level of interaction quality when the employee choice of language adheres to their preference than when the employee switches to their preferred language after missing it initially. Both of these scenarios lead to significantly higher interaction quality compared to when the employee ignores customer language preference or combines elements from two languages throughout the interaction. The adverse effects of ignoring customer preferred language or mixing it with another language are accentuated among customers with low ethnic identification and those with low level of bilingualism. Prior findings regard the interplay among interaction quality, and the remainder of outcomes variables were also corroborated. Research limitations/implications The findings add to the literature that examines the dynamics of intercultural service encounters and draws attention to employee choice and use of language and its impact on a host of service outcomes, with interaction quality serving as a key mediator. Practical implications This study highlights the need for service firms to consider customer language preferences and train and empower employees to meet customer expectations. To the extent that the increasingly viable segments of minority customers remain underserved in most developed markets, this study provides insights into cultivating a profitable customer segment. Originality/value This study demonstrates the role of employee choice and use of language and its consequences.

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¿Y Usted? Social influence effects on consumers' service language preferences

Cited by 14 publications

References 37 publications

Language in International Business: A Review and Agenda for Future Research

Language in International Business: A Review and Agenda for Future Research

Language use in services: Recent advances and directions for future research

Customer response to service encounter linguistics

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