Lois A. Mohr

Critical service encounters: The employee's viewpoint

In service settings, customer satisfaction is often influenced by the quality of the interpersonal interaction between the customer and the contact employee. Previous research has identified the so...

Building Corporate Associations: Consumer Attributions for Corporate Socially Responsible Programs

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is often used as a key criterion in gauging corporate reputation. This research examined the influence of consumers’ attributions on corporate outcomes in response to CSR. Researchers and managers have considered consumers’ beliefs about CSR initiatives to be simplistic, serving either economic ends or reflecting sincere social concerns. The results of two studies established that consumers’ attributions were more complex than traditionally viewed, mirroring many of the motives ascribed to companies by managers and researchers. Rather than viewing corporate efforts along a self- or other-centered continuum, consumers differentiated four types of motives: self-centered motives that are strategic and egoistic and other-centered motives that are values driven and stakeholder driven. Consumers responded most positively to CSR efforts they judged as values driven and strategic while responding negatively to efforts perceived as stakeholder driven or egoistic. Attributions were shown to affect purchase intent as well as mediate the structure of an offer.

The role of employee effort in satisfaction with service transactions

Abstract We examine how one aspect of the service encounter, perceived employee effort, affects customer satisfaction with service transactions. Results from two empirical studies indicate that perceived effort has a strong positive impact on transaction satisfaction, and this effect is not eliminated when the perceived success of the service outcome is statistically controlled. This shows that employee effort is appreciated by customers in its own right, regardless of its impact on the outcome. Additional analyses show that outcome can bias effort judgments. That is, when customers do not get the service outcome they want, they are less likely to recognize employee effort and hard work. The study results suggest implications for motivation, attribution, and customer satisfaction theories, as well as for managing the service encounter.

Symbols in service advertisements

Studies the presence of symbols in the service advertisements. Examines the denotative visual content of service advertisements from 1982‐1992 in order to better understand the role relationships between provider and consumer. The study begins with the premise that power and commitment are two dimensions of role relationships which distinguish types of services. The research then explores the various ways in which power and commitment are conveyed through manifest nonverbal symbols.