Adriaan T.H. Pruyn

Effects of waiting on the satisfaction with the service: Beyond objective time measures

A major concern for service managers is to counteract negative effects of waiting. In this study, the effects of objective waiting time and waiting environment on satisfaction with the service were investigated. Two elements of the waiting environment were distinguished: the attractiveness of the waiting room and the presence of television (TV) as an explicit distracter. The mediating role of three subjective variables (perceived waiting time, acceptable waiting time and the (cognitive and affective) appraisal of the wait) was explored. Waiting appears to influence satisfaction quite strongly. The adverse effects of waiting can be soothed more effectively by improving the attractiveness of the waiting environment than by shortening the objective waiting time. Objective waiting time influences satisfaction mainly via a cognitive route: through perceived waiting time (in minutes) and the long/short judgment of the wait. Perceived attractiveness of the waiting environment operates mainly through affect, and thus serves as a mood inducer. The acceptable waiting time appears to be a critical point of reference, since surpassing it provokes strong affective responses. Although the presence of TV did not result in the expected effect of distraction, the tendency to watch it was found to be dependent on the length of the wait (and thus, boredom).

Organizational Identification During a Merger: Determinants of Employees' Expected Identification with the New Organization

In order to investigate the development of organizational identification during a merger, a quasi-experimental case study was conducted on a pending merger of police organizations. The research was conducted among employees who would be directly involved in the merger and among indirectly involved employees. In contrast to earlier studies, organizational identification was measured as the expected identification prior to the merger. Five determinants were used to explain the employees expected identification: (a) identification with the pre-merger organization, (b) sense of continuity, (c) expected utility of the merger, (d) communication climate before the merger and (e) communication about the merger. The five determinants appeared to explain a considerable proportion of the variance of expected organizational identification. Results suggest that in order to obtain a strong identification with the soon-to-be-merged organization, managers should pay extra attention to current departments with weaker social bonds as these are expected to identify the least with the new organization. The role of the communication variables differed between the two employee groups: communication about the merger only contributed to the organizational identification of directly involved employees; and communication climate only affected the identification of indirectly involved employees.

Customer control and evaluation of service validity and reliability

A control and attribution model of service production and evaluation is proposed. Service production consists of the stages specification (input), realization (throughput), and outcome (output). Customers may exercise control over all three stages of the service. Critical factors of service production are service validity (is the correct service produced?) and reliability (is the service correctly produced?). With more control, customers feel more responsibility for and satisfaction with the service outcome. If this is the case, there is less attribution of service outcomes to the service provider and more to the customer, as a party in the service production. Self-perceptions and perceptual and attributional biases play a self-serving role to justify customer service engagement. Attributions of service outcomes determine perceptions of service quality and behavioral responses such as (dis)satisfaction, complaints, repeat buying, and service loyalty. These customer control and evaluation processes are captured in a set of propositions, advanced to serve future research

Stress-reducing effects of indoor plants in the built healthcare environment: the mediating role of perceived attractiveness.

OBJECTIVEnNatural elements in the built healthcare environment have shown to hold potential stress-reducing properties. In order to shed light on the underlying mechanism of stress-reducing effects of nature, the present study investigates whether the stress-reducing effects of indoor plants occur because such an environment is perceived as being more attractive.nnnMETHODnA single-factor between-subjects experimental design (nature: indoor plants vs. no plants) was used in which participants (n=77) were presented with a scenario describing hospitalization with a possible legionella diagnosis. The study was conducted from March to May 2007 in the Netherlands. Subsequently, they were exposed to a photo of a hospital room. In this room were either indoor plants, or there was a painting of an urban environment on the wall. Afterwards, perceived stress and the perceived attractiveness of the hospital room were measured.nnnRESULTSnParticipants exposed to the hospital room with indoor plants reported less stress than those in the control condition. Mediation analysis confirmed that indoor plants in a hospital room reduce feelings of stress through the perceived attractiveness of the room.nnnCONCLUSIONnThis study confirms the stress-reducing properties of natural elements in the built healthcare environment. It also sheds light on the underlying mechanism causing this stress-reduction.

Employee identification before and after an internal merger: A longitudinal analysis

Earlier studies have shown that perceived external prestige (PEP) and communication climate influence employees overall organizational identification. This paper presents the results of a longitudinal study into the determinants of organizational identification at two organizational levels during an internal merger. Data were collected in a university where four divisions merged into two new divisions. Respondents filled out a questionnaire on organizational identification, PEP and communication climate 4 months before the merger (T1) and 2 years after the merger (T2). Results indicate that pre-merger identification primarily influences post-merger identification at the same organizational level. Furthermore, the determinants of employees overall organizational identification differ from the determinants of employees division identification. Internal communication climate is particularly important for employees identification with their division. PEP affects employees identification with the overall organization. Management implications are discussed for monitoring employee identification both in times of (internal) mergers and in general.

Room to Move: On Spatial Constraints and Self-Disclosure During Intimate Conversations

The tendency to disclose information is affected by several factors, including the environment in which a conversation takes place. The study reported investigates the effect of spaciousness impressions on self-disclosure during interviews on intimate lifestyle-related topics comprising substance intake, sexuality, and emotions. To influence perceived spaciousness, desk size (interpersonal space) and room size (architectural space) were manipulated. The results show that room size in particular affects self-disclosing behavior with increases in architectural space positively affecting self-disclosure. However, the effects obtained varied considerably across the different topics, and decreases in interpersonal space hampered self-disclosure on sexuality-related topics. Furthermore, nonverbal measures revealed that readjustments of posture, interpersonal distancing, and refrains from establishing eye contact are used to counteract space intrusions.

Horizontal and vertical communication as determinants of professional and organisational identification

This paper aims to present the results of a study into the relationship between horizontal and vertical communication and professional and organisational identification.

Lighting affects students’ concentration positively: findings from three Dutch studies

The importance of lighting for performance in human adults is well established. However, evidence on the extent to which lighting affects the school performance of young children is sparse. This paper evaluates the effect of lighting conditions (with vertical illuminances between 350u2009lux and 1000u2009lux and correlated colour temperatures between 3000 and 12 000u2009K) on the concentration of elementary school children in three experiments. In the first two experiments, a flexible and dynamic lighting system is used in quasi-experimental field studies using data from 89 pupils from two schools (Study 1) and 37 pupils from two classrooms (Study 2). The third experiment evaluated two lighting settings within a school-simulating, windowless laboratory setting (nu2009=u200955). The results indicate a positive influence of the lighting system on pupils’ concentration. The findings underline the importance of lighting for learning. Several suggestions are made for further research.

On the enhancement of efficiency in care for cancer patients in outpatient clinics: An instrument to accelerate psychosocial screening and referral

Many cancer patients experience psychosocial problems that go unnoticed by caregivers. To improve this situation, an instrument has been developed and tested to identify such problems. This instrument, the integral checklist, was put to the test in two outpatient departments of different hospitals with an intervention and a control group (105 and 124 patients, respectively). To evaluate the efficiency of the checklist, both groups had to complete a questionnaire after consultation. Results showed that the checklist assisted specialists to be more often pro-active in discussing psychosocial problems with their patients, and more patients with psychosocial problems were referred. Most of the patients appreciated going through the checklist with their specialist. The checklist proves to fit in well with hospital routines and using it costs the specialist no extra time. It appears to be an instrument which improves efficiency of consultation. Moreover, the checklist is turned out to be useful as a management tool to divert patients attention away from the waiting time.

Interpersonal Communication and Compliance The Disrupt-Then-Reframe Technique in Dyadic Influence Settings

Two field experiments examined the impact of the Disrupt-Then-Reframe (DTR) technique on compliance. This recently identified technique consists of a subtle, odd element in a typical scripted request (the disruption) followed by a persuasive phrase (the reframing). The authors argued that its impact is generalizable across interpersonal influence situations. In addition, based on the thought-disruption hypothesis, the authors expected that disrupting the sales script not only increases the impact of the new reframing but also increases the effectiveness of other persuasive elements embedded in the influence setting. Study 1 showed that the DTR technique fostered compliance with both commercial and nonprofit sales scripts. The results of Study 2 replicated this finding and were in line with the thought-disruption hypothesis: A familiar brand embedded in a DTR context resulted in more compliance (higher purchase rates) than when paired with a regular sales script.