The effects of three customer-to-customer interaction quality types on customer experience quality and citizenship behavior in mass service settings

• Published in: The Journal of services marketing 2016-07, Vol.30 (4), p.384-397
• Main Authors: Kim, Hyun Sik, Choi, Beomjoon
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Audiences; Brand loyalty; Communication; Customer services; Employees; Hypotheses; Influence; Perceptions; Quality; Research methodology; Researchers; Retail stores; Structural equation modeling
• ISSN: 0887-6045; 2054-1651
• DOI: 10.1108/JSM-06-2014-0194

Purpose Creating superior customer experience quality is important to firm success, but the link between customer experience quality and customer-to-customer interaction quality – a critical component of customer experience quality in mass service settings – has seldom been spotlighted. This paper aims to propose and test a theoretical model of the relationship among three types of customer-to-customer interaction quality (friend-interaction, neighboring customer-interaction and audience-interaction) and customer experience quality. They also examine these variables’ effects on customer citizenship behavior in mass service settings. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected data through a self-administered survey. The proposed relationships were tested using structural equation modeling. Findings Friend-interaction and audience-interaction quality perceptions significantly influence customer experience quality, with neighboring customer-interaction quality perception significant only for low communication quality. We find that enhancing customer experience quality is crucial to promoting citizenship behavior in mass service settings. Practical implications Neighboring customer-interaction quality perception has a significant effect on customer experience quality, particularly in a low communication quality situation. Therefore, service marketers should provide effective neighboring customer-interaction management schemes to enhance experience quality together with friend-interaction and audience-interaction management schemes when customers experience low communication quality. Additionally, service marketers should focus on enhancing communication quality only when anticipating low neighboring customer-interaction quality. Originality/value The findings highlight the effects of three types of customer-to-customer interaction quality on customer citizenship behavior through experience quality perception in mass service settings, and the effect of neighboring customer-interaction quality perception on customer experience quality, moderated by communication quality.