دانلود رایگان مقاله انگلیسی چگونگی کیفیت خدمات و اطمینان از نتایج در نتیجه شفاهی - الزویر 2018

ABSTRACT

Existing research on word-of-mouth (WOM) referrals has rarely considered what drives consumers to engage in pre-outcome WOM (i.e., referrals before they have experienced the final service outcome). This study argues that WOM behavior that predates the service outcome is driven by the interplay between present experience (perceived quality of the service process) and anticipations of the future outcome (outcome confidence). Drawing upon perceived risk theory, the study explores how outcome confidence and service process quality independently predict WOM behavior and how outcome confidence moderates the impact of process quality on WOM behavior. We investigate these issues with customers of a driving school and use a multilevel modelling approach to test the hypotheses. The results show that consumers with higher levels of outcome confidence are more willing than low-confidence consumers to transmit pre-outcome WOM. However, the study also finds that outcome confidence compensates for process quality such that the effect of process quality diminishes when outcome confidence is high. The key managerial implication of the study's finding is that managers can tactically use outcome confidence to compensate for low levels of process or employee service quality.

6. Discussion

6.1. Theoretical issues

The point of departure for this study was the need to investigate antecedents of WOM referral behavior by customers who are still engaged in a service and who have not experienced the service outcome. While there has been a significant focus on the role of relational constructs in stimulating positive WOM communication, there has been less attention given to factors that motivate current customers in long-term service interactions. Second, while customer expectations have been explored as drivers of constructs such as customer satisfaction, the direct effect of outcome confidence on outcomes such as WOM referral has not received much attention in the literature. Furthermore, the interaction between outcome and process elements of service quality in driving WOM behavior has largely been ignored.

At the theoretical level, this study contributes to the literature by outlining how outcome confidence directly predicts pre-outcome WOM referral behavior. The findings of the study provide support for the assertion that outcome confidence contributes to customers’ engagement in positive WOM behavior. Secondly, the study contributes to the literature by modelling pre-outcome WOM referral behavior as an interplay between present experience (employee service quality) and anticipations of the future (outcome confidence). To the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first studies to do so.