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It takes two to interact – Service orientation, negative emotions and customer phubbing in retail service work

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  • Fellesson, Markus
  • Salomonson, Nicklas

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to empirically explore the relationship between frontline employees' service orientation, negative emotions and handling strategies during situations of customer incivility involving phubbing. In such situations, the logic and the practical implications of service orientation are challenged. Drawing on a survey of 2,940 employees in the Swedish retail sector, the paper shows that service orientation impacts upon how situations involving difficult customers are handled, and that this impact is mediated by employees’ negative emotional reactions. The paper contributes to retail management by pointing to the limitations of solely relying on service orientation and similar ideals in situations of customer incivility.

Suggested Citation

  • Fellesson, Markus & Salomonson, Nicklas, 2020. "It takes two to interact – Service orientation, negative emotions and customer phubbing in retail service work," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:54:y:2020:i:c:s0969698919303777
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2020.102050
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    4. Gaan, Niharika & Shin, Yuhyung, 2023. "Supervisor incivility and frontline employees’ performance amid the COVID-19 pandemic: A multilevel moderated mediation analysis," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    5. Mortimer, Gary & Wang, Shasha & Osorio Andrade, María Lucila, 2023. "Measuring customer aggression: Scale development and validation," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).

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