The social impact : effects of social fillers and service provider control on service evaluations

• Main Authors: Tan, Aik Hong, Lim, Pei Ying, Yap, Kah Ming
• Other Authors: Elison Lim Ai Ching
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: DRNTU::Business::Marketing::Consumer behavior
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/48331
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The use of waiting-time fillers to manage consumers’ waiting time becomes increasingly prevalent as service providers worry about the negative repercussions of long waits. Another issue concerning wait management includes understanding how consumers may perceive a high degree of control by the service provider over the cause of the wait, and in turn lead to negative service evaluations. Extant literature has focused on related and unrelated fillers, with the social aspects largely ignored. Further, few empirical studies have examined the combined effects of filled time and service provider control on customers’ evaluation of service encounters. In addressing these gaps, this study is a pioneering effort in proposing the incorporation of social interactions into waiting-time fillers. The hypotheses are tested experimentally, employing a combination of written scenarios and video simulations to assess the main and interactive effects of social fillers and control attributions on service evaluations. Social fillers under conditions of high service provider control resulted in higher evaluation ratings, hence providing empirical support that social fillers may play a role in mitigating the effects of high service provider controllability. In light of these results, the study discusses managerial implications that can be applied to the service setting, such as the potential of social fillers as a tool in critical wait situations where consumers are likely to blame the service provider for the cause of the wait. These results also suggest promising avenues for further research, such as exploring the effectiveness of social fillers in other retail contexts such as those involving longer temporal duration. Extensive work in further refining social fillers will provide key managerial insights to better manage critical wait situations.