Addressing customer misbehavior contagion in access-based services
Purpose: Access-based services (ABSs) provide short-term access to goods, physical facilities, space or labor in exchange for access fees without transferring legal ownership (e.g. bike-sharing). This study aims to investigate what service providers can do to minimize financial losses when customers misbehave with the service providers’ assets in ABSs. The study also examines the effects of product misuse on subsequent customers and what factors may mitigate it. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses a scenario-based experiment to test the conceptual model. Findings: Injunctive norms reduce the mediating effect of descriptive norms on misbehavior contagion. As generally accepted and approved (injunctive) norms become salient, they override the impact of prevailing (descriptive) norms, thereby breaking the vicious cycle of misbehavior contagion. Customer-company identification (CCI) and reduced interpersonal anonymity mitigate the effects of previous misbehavior on misbehavior contagion. Practical implications: ABS firms should strive to mitigate the financial and reputational losses they suffer from customer misbehavior. Such mitigation would be a win-win for the ABS firm (reduced misbehavior) and the customers (improved user experience). Originality/value: The research complements prior research highlighting the role of social norms in misbehavior contagion. The study demonstrates the role of boundary conditions by investigating the interactive effects of descriptive and injunctive norms. In addition, it shows the positive impact of CCI and reduced interpersonal anonymity on containing misbehavior contagion.
Year of publication: |
2021
|
---|---|
Authors: | Srivastava, Himanshu Shekhar ; Jayasimha, K.R. ; Sivakumar, K. |
Published in: |
Journal of Services Marketing. - Emerald, ISSN 0887-6045, ZDB-ID 2020791-8. - Vol. 36.2021, 6 (21.12.), p. 849-861
|
Publisher: |
Emerald |
Saved in:
Online Resource
Saved in favorites
Similar items by person
-
Contamination fear and ABS during COVID-19
Jayasimha, K.R., (2021)
-
Service failures after online flash sales : role of deal proneness, attribution, and emotion
Vakeel, Khadija Ali, (2018)
-
Addressing customer misbehavior contagion in access-based services
Srivastava, Himanshu Shekhar, (2022)
- More ...