TY - JOUR
T1 - Emotional intelligence as a moderator of coping strategies and service outcomes in circumstances of service failure
AU - Gabbott, Thomas
AU - Tsarenko, Yelena
AU - Mok, Wai
PY - 2011
Y1 - 2011
N2 - Superior customer service has always been recognized as a source of competitive advantage. But as the economic environment becomes more challenging, as switching costs become lower, and many service brands are experiencing difficulties, there is a compelling need to focus upon the quality of the customer experience in order to maintain competitive positioning. This is particularly important in those circumstances where services fail. Drawing upon the notion of the customer as a cocreator of his/her own service experience, this article examines the role of a specific set of customer resources referred to as emotional intelligence (EI) in shaping customer response to a specific set of circumstances: service failure. The results show that the level of EI does predict consumer responses to service failure in terms of customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions. Customer EI is identified as an important consideration for service managers in understanding how customers respond to service failure and service recovery efforts. These results highlight the need for managers to consider EI as a discriminating customer variable in circumstances where emotions and emotional management are prevalent. This innate individual resource needs to be recognized in more generalized service research involving interpersonal interaction, negotiation, and conflict resolution.
AB - Superior customer service has always been recognized as a source of competitive advantage. But as the economic environment becomes more challenging, as switching costs become lower, and many service brands are experiencing difficulties, there is a compelling need to focus upon the quality of the customer experience in order to maintain competitive positioning. This is particularly important in those circumstances where services fail. Drawing upon the notion of the customer as a cocreator of his/her own service experience, this article examines the role of a specific set of customer resources referred to as emotional intelligence (EI) in shaping customer response to a specific set of circumstances: service failure. The results show that the level of EI does predict consumer responses to service failure in terms of customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions. Customer EI is identified as an important consideration for service managers in understanding how customers respond to service failure and service recovery efforts. These results highlight the need for managers to consider EI as a discriminating customer variable in circumstances where emotions and emotional management are prevalent. This innate individual resource needs to be recognized in more generalized service research involving interpersonal interaction, negotiation, and conflict resolution.
U2 - 10.1177/1094670510391078
DO - 10.1177/1094670510391078
M3 - Article
VL - 14
SP - 234
EP - 248
JO - Journal of Service Research
JF - Journal of Service Research
SN - 1094-6705
IS - 2
ER -