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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Chloe HuangORCiD
This is the authors' accepted manuscript of an article that has been published in its final definitive form by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2022.
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This research investigated the effect of numerical customer identification (i.e., assigning numbers to identify customers) in the service context on the numbered customers’ reaction to service failures. We manipulated numerical identification in different ways (room number, customer number, table number, and order number) and measured customers’ tolerance of services across various settings (in a restaurant, a spa, and a café) in four studies. The results demonstrated that after being identified by a number, customers tend to exhibit a higher tolerance of service failures (Studies 1 and 2), and this effect is mediated by a sense of self-dehumanization among the numerically identified customers (Study 3). Moreover, the investigated effect diminished when customers had heightened individuation (e.g., by disclosing personal information) to buffer against dehumanization (Study 4). Our findings contribute to the underexplored research area on customer identification, broaden the numerical research and dehumanization literature in marketing, and bring practical implications for firms to mitigate the negative effects of service failures and decrease customer dissatisfaction.
Author(s): Song J, Huang J, Jiang Y
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Psychology & Marketing
Year: 2022
Volume: 39
Issue: 4
Pages: 715-725
Print publication date: 01/04/2022
Online publication date: 25/11/2021
Acceptance date: 27/10/2021
Date deposited: 11/03/2022
ISSN (print): 0742-6046
ISSN (electronic): 1520-6793
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21615
DOI: 10.1002/mar.21615
Notes: Jiaqi (Flora) Song and Jiexian (Chloe) Huang contributed equally to this study.
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