Assessing the human element in service personality formation: personality congruency and the Five Factor Model

Purpose – This purpose of this paper is to explore the role of service personality in services marketing and service marketing communications. Central to the study is the influence of perceived customer‐service personality congruency on service outcomes. The causal ordering of perceived customer‐service personality congruency, service perceptions, and service outcomes, is considered. The study also explores the ability of the Five Factor Model traits to explain additional variance in perceived personality congruency beyond the Brand Personality Scale. Design/methodology/approach – Empirical data were gathered via survey administration from 200 customers and 132 employees of a major banking institution. Hierarchical regression analysis and t ‐tests were performed to analyze the data. Research limitations/implications – The findings suggest that service personality assessments should include measures of the human personality and that perspectives from both employees and customers should be included in service personality assessment. Practical implications – Managers gain much by considering the service personality construct and its influence on service perceptions. Employees directly influence customer perceptions of the firm, and managers should therefore be aware of the types of messages that employees send regarding the service. Human resource departments therefore play central roles in the management of service personality, and employee selection devices are especially important when considering which employees may best fit within the desired service personality. Originality/value – The value of this paper lies in its ability to delineate more clearly the effects of perceived customer‐service personality congruency and the role that the Five Factor Model traits play in perceived service performance.