Stephen Chi-Tsun Huang

Restaurant Service Failure Recoveries: Role Expectations in a Chinese Cultural Setting

ABSTRACT This research explores service failure-recovery strategies within the Chinese context in order to create a consumer-centered typology of failure types and expected roles of restaurant service providers in recovery attempts. Findings indicate that consumers classify recovery strategies into three categories of human intervention, monetary incentives, and no response. Any recovery attempt is far more beneficial than none. Human intervention is expected from the service provider when the failure is part of the core service product while monetary incentives are expected when the failure is peripheral to the core product. Although this finding confirms previous research from the West, culture is found to influence what the definitions of peripheral and core products are, with the Chinese cultural emphasis on collectivism influencing both failure seriousness ratings and expectations for recovery strategies. The importance of culture within the restaurant context is discussed. Implications for restaurant service providers are included.

Customer citizenship behavior on social networking sites: The role of relationship quality, identification, and service attributes

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the customer- and firm-focused driving factors, relationship quality (RQ), and identification on customer citizenship behaviors (CCB) on corporate social networking sites (SNS), as well as the impact of service attribute in such relationship. Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted among the Facebook members of 7-Eleven (318) and Starbucks (316) in Taiwan to test the proposed framework. A structural equation modeling was used to test the validity of the research model and hypotheses. Findings The results reveal that SNS RQ and SNS identification are key factors affecting CCB, whereas financial bond (firm-focused) and consumer-company identification (customer-focused) are critical initiators. The findings reveal contingencies across service attributes for such effects. Experienced service firms can better encourage CCB by intimating SNS relationships with followers. Search firms should secure online identification to enable customers to perform CCB. The results also confirm the mediating effects of SNS RQ and SNS identification. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by simultaneously examining the firm (external)- and individual (internal)-level of incentives, and to further reveal the main drivers encouraging CCB on corporate SNS. This study also belongs to the limited studies that discuss consumer voluntary behaviors on the corporate SNS. The results shed light on the existence of a contingency role for service attribute on SNS, and further suggest how firms with distinct attributes can effectively allocate their limited resources when encouraging CCB on SNS.

Exploring the drivers of new product success for businesses in Asia: a meta-analysis

Even though a large amount of research has investigated how different factors impact new product performance in different contexts, little attention has been paid to exploring the drivers of new product success for businesses in Asia. This study therefore focuses on this issue by using a meta-analytic approach to aggregate the empirical findings of studies published before 2011. By controlling several contextual factors (product type, unit of analysis and time), the results from generalized least-squared analyses show that the predictor–performance relationships are stronger for Asian firms when the predictors are market orientation, marketing synergy, technological synergy, product advantage, product innovativeness, cross-functional integration, top management support, pre-development proficiency, technological proficiency, market potential and technological turbulence. In addition, the results also reveal that most of the performance effects of the predictors are different between low-technology and high-technology products.

Relationship quality in a coproduction context and the moderating effects of relationship orientation

Despite the much discussed link between relationship quality (RQ) and loyalty, the complexity of the connection and the distinct roles various RQ-constructs play circumstantially merit further investigation. This study examines the RQ effect on attitudinal and behavioural loyalty in a coproduction context, as well as the antecedents of RQ. The results demonstrate that trust is the key factor for increasing the behavioural loyalty of customers, while satisfaction primarily impacts on attitudinal loyalty. Service quality and relationship investment are two major drivers of customer trust and satisfaction. For the moderating effect of relationship orientation, we tested the proposed model on both the relational and transactional segments. We found that trust is the key determinant of loyalty outcomes for the relational segments, while satisfaction is more influential for the transactional segment. Moreover, communication quality pleases the relational segment more than it does the transactional segment. Service firms can use these findings as guidelines to locate resources while implementing customer relationship management programs.

The Tacit Knowledge Flow of R&D Personnel and Its Impact on R&D Performance

For R&D personnel, the archetypal knowledge worker, tacit knowledge flow and knowledge creation capability is crucial in the context of new product development. Based on the perspectives of knowledge creation and knowledge network, this study intends to explore relationships among knowledge creation capability, knowledge network, and perceived R&D performance of individual R&D personnel. With a sample of 206 R&D personnel from 12 manufacturing firms in Taiwan and structural equation modeling (SEM) technique, findings fall into five categories. Firstly, beyond the four traditional knowledge creation abilities, i.e. socialization, combination, externalization, and internalization, there exists a fifth capability called CMC (Computer-Mediated Communications) ability. CMC represents an important communication and knowledge creation tool implemented through the Internet and intranet for the R&D personnel within emerging information-based economies like that in Taiwan. Secondly, with the exception of combination ability, all knowledge creation capabilities have positive relationships with perceived R&D performance, echoing the extant literatures. Additionally, increased centrality of the R&D team member within the knowledge network increases perceived personal R&D performance. Furthermore, those who are able to externalize their tacit knowledge tend to be located at the center of the knowledge network, while those located in more central positions of the knowledge network have better externalization capability. These two results verify externalization as the most critical capability for R&D teams to transfer their tacit knowledge and to obtain better performance. Lastly, knowledge ossification of tenure also exists, implying that while longer tenure is good for knowledge creation and performance, too long tenure of the R&D team members leads to decay of their R&D performance. Implications and suggestions for research and management practices are also provided.

From mandatory to voluntary: consumer cooperation and citizenship behaviour

ABSTRACT Customer participation of mandatory (ensuring the completion of a service delivery) and voluntary behaviours (achieving the optimal results of the service) influence the outcomes of service organizations. This study examines how service firms transform from coproduction to cocreation in sharing economy by enhancing customer voluntary behaviour through encouraging customer mandatory behaviour. This study explores the mediating effect of perceived value on the mandatory–voluntary relationship, and the driving effect of customer readiness on mandatory behaviour. A total of 181 valid questionnaires were collected from the Taiwanese bed and breakfast sector and analysed by structural equation analysis. The results reveal: (1) the strong impact of customer mandatory behaviour on voluntary behaviour, (2) the partial mediating effect of perceived value on the mandatory-voluntary relationship, and (3) the distinct effects that cooperation has on helping others and word-of-mouth. The findings support the influential roles of customer readiness factors, especially ability, on triggering mandatory behaviour.