INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT

Why can customer incivility be contagious in the service context? A resource scarcity perspective

Zhan, Xiaojun; Guo, Yirong; Yang, Yang; Li, Zhicheng; Li, Xue

Abstract

Customer incivility is common in the hospitality industry. Assuming a resource scarcity perspective, this study investigates the interpersonal transmission of such incivility in the service context. We proposed that: (i) fellow customers’ incivility (i.e., as a reminder of resource competition) can trigger focal customers’ incivility; (ii) focal customers’ self-interest concerns (i.e., resource competition-induced selfishness) mediate the positive relation-ship between focal customers’ and fellow customers’ incivility (i.e., selfishness promotes special access to re-sources); and (iii) when attributing fellow customers’ incivility to an employee’s mistake, focal customers display greater self-interest concerns and express stronger incivility. Data from 302 customer-employee dyads generally supported our hypotheses. This study expands the understanding of bystander effects on customer incivility. Findings will also help service providers treat customer incivility more rationally and implement measures to help mitigate it.

Keywords

Customer incivility; Resource scarcity; Self-interest concerns; Fault attribution; Interpersonal transmission

Research topic

Tourist Experience

Research method

Survey and Experiment

Geographic area

China

Additional links for this paper

ResearchGate

Publisher Website

Web of Science

HOW TO CITE

Zhan, X., Guo, Y., Yang, Y., Li, Z., & Li, X. (2023). Why can customer incivility be contagious in the service context? A resource scarcity perspective. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 109, 103418.

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT