The motivation and emotion of service frontliners and customers in the value co-creation process A dyadic approach

Abstract

This thesis with two studies is a response to recent calls for research on the psychology of service frontliners and customers in value co-creation context. Specifically, Study 1 investigates the extent to which a frontliner’s psychological virtues foster customer coservice and his or her innovative behavior, given that these dual outcomes are important for service firm’s success. Furthermore, Study 2 explores the impact of buying motivation and positive anticipated emotion on service co-creation and value-in-use. Based on the same sample of 202 salesperson-customer dyads, both studies are tested in the empirical setting of car retail which represents a highly interactive service. Study 1 finds that frontliners’ autonomous motivation and deep acting tend to facilitate customer co-service and frontliner innovative behavior. Empirical evidence further indicates that frontliner autonomous motivation fosters deep acting, while customer coservice stimulates frontliner innovative behavior. Moreover, Study 2 finds that customers’ co creation behavior is directly influenced by utilitarian motivation and positive anticipated emotion, but not by hedonic motivation. Both utilitarian and hedonic motivations have a significant impact on positive anticipated emotion. Then, the effect of service co-creation is also found on value-in-use. Therefore, by elucidating the psychology of frontliners and customers in service encounters, these findings expand the knowledge of co-creation for the benefits of parties involved. Finally, theoretical contribution and managerial implication are discussed.