Relationship matters: How relational factors moderate the effects of emotional labor on long-term customer outcomes

摘要

Previous studies have examined the immediate effects of emotional labor (EL) on short-term customer outcomes in service encounters. We replicated and extended prior findings by examining whether EL can have lagged effects on long-term customer outcomes (i.e., purchase amount, willingness to maintain a long-term relationship/to recommend) and how relationship strength and service sweethearting moderate these effects in service relationships. Using two-wave time-lagged designs, Study 1 collected data from 122 insurance agent-customer dyads, and Study 2 included 177 employee-customer dyads from various service occupations. The results show that deep (surface) acting increases (reduces) long-term customer outcomes via increased (decreased) satisfaction. Contrary to previous findings, we find that relationship strength enhances the positive (negative) indirect effects of deep (surface) acting. Finally, service sweethearting enhances (weakens) the positive (negative) indirect effects of deep (surface) acting. These findings indicate that service sweethearting is an important yet neglected moderator of the EL customer outcomes relationship.