Jagdip Singh

Consumer Trust, Value, and Loyalty in Relational Exchanges

The authors develop a framework for understanding the behaviors and practices of service providers that build or deplete consumer trust and the mechanisms that convert consumer trust into value and loyalty in relational exchanges. The proposed framework (1) uses a multidimensional conceptualization for the trustworthiness construct; (2) incorporates two distinct facets of consumer trust, namely, frontline employees and management policies and practices; and (3) specifies value as a key mediator of the trust–loyalty relationship. The authors test the proposed model using data from two service contexts—retail clothing (N = 264) and nonbusiness airline travel (N = 113). The results support a tripartite view of trustworthiness evaluations along operational competence, operational benevolence, and problem-solving orientation dimensions. Moreover, the authors find evidence of contingent asymmetric relationships between trustworthiness dimensions and consumer trust. For frontline employees, benevolent behaviors demonstrate a dominant “negativity” effect (i.e., a unit negative performance has a stronger effect than a unit positive performance), whereas problem-solving orientation has a dominant “positivity” effect (i.e., a unit positive performance has a stronger effect than a unit negative performance). Value completely mediates the effect of frontline employee trust on loyalty in the retailing context and partially mediates the effect of management policies and practices trust on loyalty in the airlines context. The role of frontline employees is more critical in the retailing context, whereas management practices and policies play the dominant role in the airlines context. Overall, the proposed framework successfully models trust and loyalty mechanisms across the two industries examined in the study, while remaining sensitive to essential contextual differences.

Agency and Trust Mechanisms in Consumer Satisfaction and Loyalty Judgments

The authors propose a framework for understanding key mechanisms that shape satisfaction in individual encounters, and loyalty across ongoing exchanges. In particular, the framework draws together two distinct approaches: (1) agency theory, rooted in the economic approach, that views relational exchanges as encounters between principals (consumers) and agents (service providers) and (2) trust research that adopts a psychological approach toward consumer-provider relationships. In so doing, the authors specify how trust mechanisms cooperate and compete with agency mechanisms to affect satisfaction in individual encounters and influence loyalty in the long run. Because a multidimensional conceptualization of trust is used, the hypothesized framework offers a fine-grained understanding of the interrelated mechanisms. The high level of specificity allows extraction of multiple propositions, facilitates empirical testing, and encourages theoretical development of the proposed model. Several directions to guide future research are provided.

Performance Productivity and Quality of Frontline Employees in Service Organizations

To understand mechanisms that govern the productivity and quality of frontline employees (FLEs), this study (1) provides a conceptual distinction between frontline productivity and quality, (2) proposes an extended role theory–based model for mapping the influence of key antecedents and consequences of FLE productivity and quality, and (3) examines the effects of coping resources—boss support and task control—in helping employees cope with the inherent productivity–quality tension in frontline jobs. Using data from 159 customer service and 147 bill collection representatives, the author examines proposed hypotheses through multiple-group path analysis. The results indicate support for the distinction between productivity and quality. Moreover, with increasing burnout levels, FLEs are found to maintain their productivity levels while their quality deteriorates directly. Relative to boss support, task control emerges as a more powerful resource in aiding FLEs in coping with role tension. Key implications for theory and practice regarding FLE management and effectiveness are discussed.

THE NATURE AND EXPERIENCE OF ENTREPRENEURIAL PASSION

Entrepreneurial passion plays an important role in entrepreneurship, but theoretical understanding of what it is and what it does is lacking. We build on fragmented and disparate extant work to conceptualize the nature of entrepreneurial passion associated with salient entrepreneurial role identities. We also theorize the mechanisms of the experience of entrepreneurial passion that provide coherence to goal-directed cognitions and behaviors during the pursuit of entrepreneurial effectiveness.

Behavioral and Psychological Consequences of Boundary Spanning Burnout for Customer Service Representatives

Marketing boundary spanners—especially customer service representatives—are notably susceptible to burnout. The authors define the burnout construct and develop hypotheses to examine if burnout act...

Curvilinear Effects of Consumer Loyalty Determinants in Relational Exchanges

Drawing from need, motivation, and social exchange theories, this study conceptualizes and empirically examines the differential curvilinear effects of multiple determinants of loyalty intentions, including transactional satisfaction, trust, and value for relational exchanges. The authors conceptualize trust as a “motivator,” satisfaction as a “hygiene,” and value as a “bivalent” factor in consumer loyalty mechanisms. Using consumer data on relational exchanges in two different service contexts—retail clothing and nonbusiness airline travel—and accounting for different sources of error—namely, measurement, common method, and response style—the authors empirically investigate the hypothesized mechanisms. The data support the motivator, or the enhancing role of trust, and the hygiene, or the maintaining role of satisfaction, on loyalty intentions in both contexts. Although the authors also obtain consistent results for the influence of value, its role is aligned with a hygiene mechanism, not a bivalent mechanism. The authors contribute to the study of loyalty antecedents by (1) theoretically proposing the nature and shape of the influence of different loyalty determinants, (2) considering the simultaneous and differential effects of multiple determinants, and (3) drawing implications from the results for theory and managerial practice.

Do organizational practices matter in role stress processes? A study of direct and moderating effects for marketing-oriented boundary spanners

textabstractPrevious research and meta-analyses suggest that the influence of organizational variables on boundary role stress processes is weak and marginal. Using the emerging work in organizational practices and configurations, the authors reexamine this relationship by addressing three critical gaps: (1) conceptualizing organizational environment as a multidimensonal practices construct, (2) operationatizing the organizational environment as configurations or combinations of practices dimensions, and (3) testing for direct and moderating hypotheses. The results reveal that organizational practices matter significantly in boundary role stress processes. The findings show that procedural environments are dysfunctional because they engender higher levels of role stressors, reduce performance, and negatively affect the psychological well-being of boundary spanners. In contrast, the achievement and affective-oriented environments involve distinct trade-offs, because none is clearly superior. The authors discuss the theoretical implications for further research and provide recommendations for managerial practice.

Voice, Exit, and Negative Word-of-Mouth Behaviors: An Investigation Across Three Service Categories:

Drawing upon Hirschman’s (1970) framework for Exit, Voice and Loyalty, a model is proposed which predicts and explains variation in voice, exit, and negative work-of-mouth behaviors. The findings from extant consumer complaining behavior (CCB) literature are also incorporated into the hypothesized model. Using data from customer dissatisfaction with three different service categories, the proposed model is subjected to empirical investigation. Despite the parsimony of Hirschman’s framework, results show that the hypothesized model provides good model-fit indices in each of the three data sets. In addition, the explanatory power of the model is encouraging, ranging from 36 percent to 50 percent variance explained. However, the support for the hypothesized pattern of CCB rates across the service categories is mixed. Specifically, while voice responses conform to the hypothesized pattern, exit responses do not. Implications stemming from a comparative analysis of the results are discussed, and directions for future research outlined.

When Consumers Complain: A Path Analysis of the Key Antecedents of Consumer Complaint Response Estimates

When do consumers complain? This study probes this question by developing a conceptual framework that includes multiple theoretical perspectives, empirically testing a portion of the proposed model, and using dissatisfaction/complaint data from three different service industries. The hypothesized model uses multidimensional consumer complaint response estimates including voice, private, and third-party responses as dependent variables. Results support several proposed relationships, provide a high level of explained variance, and indicate a moderating role for dissatisfaction intensity. The complaint response estimates are characterized by disparate influence pathways, and expectancy value judgments emerge as critical determinants with positive and negative crossover effects. Attitude toward complaining is more dominant under low dissatisfaction intensity than it is under the high dissatisfaction condition. Important differences emerge across service categories. Implications of this work for managers and researchers in understanding when consumers complain are enumerated.

Boundary role ambiguity: Facets, determinants, and impacts.

The study of the organizational determinants of role ambiguity among sales and marketing professionals and its dysfunctional impact on job outcomes is an important area of research in marketing. Re...