Lydia Hanks

Existential Guilt and Preferential Treatment: The Case of an Airline Upgrade

Using the context of an unexpected airline upgrade, we examined factors that influence an individual’s reaction when they are overrewarded compared to others: guilt-proneness and relationship to the other, underrewarded, individuals. Results demonstrated that for individuals high in guilt-proneness, satisfaction with the upgrade and behavioral intent may be qualified by a feeling of existential guilt when they receive benefits that others do not, particularly if they have a close relationship with those others. Our results extend the research in advantageous inequality by showing that people high in guilt-proneness tend to have a heightened sensitivity to such injustices. Our findings also have important implications for the hospitality, airline, and travel industries: for customers high in guilt-proneness, receiving an expected upgrade may, in fact, have unintended negative results. Managers can use this information to make employees aware of the potential detrimental effects of rewarding or upgrading only one member of a party.

The Impact of Power on Service Customers’ Willingness to Post Online Reviews

An increasing number of consumers rely on online reviews to make purchase decisions in today’s global service industry. In this article, we investigate the impact of power on a consumer’s willingness to spread word-of-mouth (WOM) by posting an online review. Drawing on self-enhancement theory, which suggests that an individual is motivated to spread WOM in order to boost his or her self-image, and the agentic versus communal theory of power, we argue that the impact of power is moderated by the valence of the customer’s service experience, and its congruity with that of other forum users. Results from three studies in hotel and restaurant contexts indicate that powerless consumers are more likely to post positive reviews when the forum consensus is also positive. Conversely, powerful consumers are more likely to post positive reviews when the overriding consensus is negative. Further, such results hold only for positive (vs. negative) service experiences. Managerially, our findings suggest that introducing power mechanisms such as influence rankings or helpful votes into online consumer forums may shape review posting behaviors. Service marketers and social media managers need to be aware that some customer segments are not inclined to post positive online reviews. As indicated by our findings, powerful consumers, such as those with high helpful ratings or elite reviewer status, are more likely to post positive reviews when the forum consensus is negative. Conversely, powerless consumers, such as those with low helpful ratings or junior reviewer status, might be more inclined to post positive reviews when the forum consensus is also positive. Based on our findings, we also discussed the theoretical contributions, limitations, and ideas for future research.

An Expanded Servicescape Framework as the Driver of Place Attachment and Word of Mouth

The purpose of this study is to identify the effects of other customers on consumption behavior in shared consumption environments. The proposition is put forth that, like other factors that make up the consumption atmosphere, the mere presence of other customers has a significant impact on customers’ attachment to service organizations. Accordingly, this research proposes a framework that specifies the nature of the relationships among customer homogeneity in the social servicescape, company identification, place attachment, and word-of-mouth referral. To test the hypotheses, data were collected from a sample of 1,094 restaurant patrons in the United States. Results of structural equation analyses supported the overall contention that, in addition to the traditionally identified aspects of the servicescape (e.g., facility attractiveness, ambient conditions, seating comfort, and layout), the mere presence of others can affect the extent to which individuals perceive feelings of attachment to the restaurant. This relationship is demonstrated to take place via the mediating effect of company identification.

The impact of cyberostracism on online complaint handling

Purpose – This research aims to examine how consumers react to being ignored by a company once they have complained about an online service failure. The authors seek to propose that automatic reply e‐mails to customer complaints are considered a form of cyberostracism, thus having equally harmful effects on customer perceptions as a mere no reply.Design/methodology/approach – The authors first conducted a qualitative study to ensure that consumers feel ignored when companies fail to respond to their e‐mails. This was followed by an experimental study that tested the research propositions. The experimental design was a 3 (ostracism) × 2 (severity of failure) factorial between‐subjects design.Findings – The results indicated that consumers did not perceive any significant difference between an automatic reply e‐mail and no reply at all and perceived both to be a form of cyberostracism. It was also found that cyberostracism led to higher levels of negative emotions, lower levels of satisfaction, and higher l...

Unearned Preferential Treatment: The Moderating Role of Power

Although upgrading an airline seat or a hotel room may seem like a simple way to delight a customer, it can sometimes have unintended consequences. Satisfaction with an unexpected upgrade could be lessened if others did not also receive it, particularly if those others were friends of the upgraded customer. Using a between-subjects design with a scenario and survey, we found that power moderated the effect of relationship status on individuals’ satisfaction and behavioral intentions, such as repurchase and recommendation, when receiving unearned preferential treatment. Participants in the powerless condition exhibited lower satisfaction and behavioral intention when they were with friends who did not receive an upgrade, as compared with when they were with strangers. However, such a difference was not observed among participants in the powerful conditions. Managerial implications and ideas for future research are discussed.

The Impact of Gender and Prepurchase Mood on Consumer Guilt after a Travel Purchase

The purpose of this study is to add to the literature on consumer financial guilt in hospitality and tourism by exploring the circumstances in which it occurs and investigating antecedents that influence the experience of consumer financial guilt. Using an impulsive travel purchase as the context, this mixed-methods study examined the effects of gender and prepurchase mood on feelings of postpurchase guilt and satisfaction. Qualitative and quantitative results indicated that women were more likely than men to experience consumer guilt following an impulse travel purchase, and that this effect was moderated by prepurchase mood. Hierarchical regression analysis also indicated that consumer financial guilt affected levels of anticipated satisfaction with the purchase, over and above the effect attributed to prepurchase mood and gender.

The Impact of Self-Service Technology and the Presence of Others on Cause-Related Marketing Programs in Restaurants

Self-service technology (SST) is rapidly gaining traction in the restaurant industry, yet the impact on consumer behavior remains to be seen. This study lends a theoretical perspective to the growing issue of SST and its effect on consumer donation behavior. From the lens of costly signaling theory, we examine how the use of SST impacts guest responses to cause-related marketing (CRM) initiatives. Employing an experimental design, we found that customers who were solicited in the presence of others were more likely to donate than those solicited via SST. These results suggest that when the participation decision is conspicuous, donating is a way to raise social status in front of others. To the best of the authors[#x02019] knowledge, no extant research has examined the joint impact of SST and matching donations on the customer[#x02019]s participation in CRM programs. Our findings suggest that SST adoption may have unintended consequences for corporations.

Consumer response to organic food in restaurants: A serial mediation analysis

ABSTRACT The last decade has seen heightened consumer interest in restaurants serving organic food. Offering organic menu items can translate into benefits for food purveyors, but the mechanism through which this occurs remains unclear. Results from our serial mediation analyses show that organic menu items resulted in higher corporate social responsibility perceptions, which were associated with higher levels of trust in the restaurant, which translated into positive behavioral intentions. These results establish a previously unexplored link between organic messaging and corporate social responsibility perception and illuminate the mechanism through which organic messaging can impact customer outcomes. Implications for restaurant management and marketing are discussed.

Corporate volunteering programs and consumer perceptions: an information processing perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to understand how consumers perceive corporate volunteering programs. In particular, the author examines the moderating role of information processing and customer relationship status on consumer attitudes towards two types of volunteering programs: employee vs customer. Design/methodology/approach – Using a scenario method, the author manipulated customer relationship status and program type while information processing was measured. Findings – The authors results demonstrate that elaborate processing has a positive impact on credibility of the program and altruistic motivation of the firm. Less involved processing led to lower favorable trait attributions with employee rather than customer-based volunteering programs. Finally, relationship type moderated the impact of program type on attitudes towards the company. Originality/value – These findings contribute to the understanding of customer reactions to corporate volunteering programs by examining the ways in whi...

The other customer: The impact of self-image in restaurant patronage

ABSTRACT The purpose of this research is to extend the understanding of self-congruity theory to the domain of restaurant patronage. In combination with sociometer theory, we propose a set of relationships among self-image, place commitment, and post-consumption behavior including loyalty and word-of-mouth. The hypotheses are tested on a sample of restaurant consumers in the United States. Analysis of the data demonstrates that while the consumer’s ideal self-image is a significant driver of place commitment and post-consumption behavior, his/her actual self-image is not a significant predictor of these constructs. These findings are considered, and implications for theory and practice are discussed.