Managing Consumers in Hospitality Service Situations

The book has 2 studies examining core service value beliefs of mainland Chinese. A means-end value chain method was used in Study 1 and an experimental design in Study 2. Study 1 revealed 5 value themes: face concerns, equity, valued patron, ‘junzi’ aspiration and social harmony. Study 2 tested 3 independent variables: social exposure (public/ private), interaction styles (favourable/unfavourable) and outcome (favourable/unfavourable) on dependent variables: social identity, satisfaction, word-of-mouth and repurchase intention. Evidence showed salient core service values did influence Chinese consumers’ post-purchase behaviours. When consumers received a favourable service outcome and witnessed by others, an elevated social identity and lower negative word-of-mouth was reported, underscoring the importance Chinese placed on ‘the context’ of where face-impact occurs. High levels of satisfaction and lower negative word-of-mouth behaviours were also reported when consumers were treated with a favourable interaction style and given a favourable outcome. Their face was also raised when treated well, and witnessed by others. These findings are argued to have salient service implications.