Professional Documents
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ABSTRACT (2 SLIDES)
Examines the impact of frontline employees’ problem solving on customer satisfaction
(CSAT) during ongoing interactions prompted by service failures and complaints.
Negative moderating effects of frontline relational work and displayed affect on the
dynamic influence of frontline solving work on CSAT.
Frontline employee’s verbal cues provide the basis for identifying solving and relational
work.
Nonverbal cues for identifying their displayed affect.
Hypotheses tested with data from video-recordings of real-life problem-solving
interactions involving airline customers, as well as a controlled experimental study.
Find that frontline solving work has a positive effect on CSAT, and it increases in
magnitude as the interaction unfolds.
However, overdoing relational work and over-displaying positive affect diminish the
efficacy of problem-solving interactions, which provides implications for theory and
practice.
DEFINATIONS (2 SLIDES)
Solving Work: The competence and actions displayed by FLEs during problem-solving
interactions that are indicative of FLEs’ efforts to resolve customers’ problems.
Relational Work: The compassion and agreeableness displayed by FLEs during problem
solving interactions that are indicative of FLEs’ efforts to foster relational bonds with
customers.
Displayed affect: The facial, bodily, and gestural cues displayed by FLEs during problem
solving interactions that are indicative of their feeling states (positive/negative/neutral).
CSAT: The facial, bodily and gestural cues displayed by customers during problem-
solving interactions that are indicative of their feeling state (positive/negative/neutral).
Verbal cues: Audible words used in the communications between the FLE and customer.
Nonverbal cues: Facial expressions, bodily posture, and gestural displays used in the
communications between the customer and FLE.
HYPOTHESIS (1 SLIDE)
H1: FLEs’ solving work has a positive effect on customer satisfaction, and this effect
increases in magnitude during the course of the problem-solving interaction.
H2: FLE relational work negatively moderates the impact of their solving work on CSAT
over time, such that the positive association between FLE solving work and CSAT
weakens (strengthens) at higher (lower) levels of FLE relational work.
H3: FLE displayed affect negatively moderates the impact of solving work on CSAT over
time, such that the positive association between FLE solving work and CSAT weakens
(strengthens) for higher (lower) levels of displayed affect.
METHODOLOGY (1 SLIDE)
Video-recordings of real-life problem-solving interactions involving airline customers
A controlled experimental study.
CONCLUSION (1 SLIDE)
Frontline solving work has a positive effect on CSAT, and it increases in magnitude as the
interaction unfolds.
Positive effect becomes weaker for relatively higher levels of frontline relational work or
displayed affect and, conversely, stronger for relatively lower levels over time.
Overdoing relational work and over-displaying positive affect diminish the efficacy of
problem-solving interactions.