The effect of humour usage on customer’s service experiences

Cross-disciplinary research recognises humour as an effective communication tool for fostering engagement and positive interpersonal relationships, although inappropriate use can create negative outcomes. Drawing on positive psychology, this study aims to empirically examine the extent to which fron...

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Main Authors: Chiew, Tung Moi, Christine Mathies, Paul Patterson
Format: Article
Language:English
English
Published: 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/23761/1/The%20effect%20of%20humour%20usage%20on%20customer.pdf
https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/23761/7/The%20effect%20of%20humour%20usage%20on%20customers.pdf
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author Chiew, Tung Moi
Christine Mathies
Paul Patterson
author_facet Chiew, Tung Moi
Christine Mathies
Paul Patterson
author_sort Chiew, Tung Moi
collection UMS
description Cross-disciplinary research recognises humour as an effective communication tool for fostering engagement and positive interpersonal relationships, although inappropriate use can create negative outcomes. Drawing on positive psychology, this study aims to empirically examine the extent to which frontline employee’s (FLE’s) humour usage can influence customers’ service encounter evaluations. Findings from 252 retail service customers indicate that their sense of humour drives humour perceptions and facilitates positive encounter evaluations. In particular, FLEs’ other-directed humour, rather than self-directed humour, leads to more enjoyable interactions for customers. This effect is moderated by pre-encounter mood, in that customers react more positively to other-directed humour when they are in a bad mood. This study contributes empirical support for the importance of appropriate humour usage to the service encounter literature. From a managerial perspective, the outcomes highlight that service encounters benefit from other-directed humour.
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spelling ums.eprints-237612021-08-25T12:53:00Z https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/23761/ The effect of humour usage on customer’s service experiences Chiew, Tung Moi Christine Mathies Paul Patterson HB Economic theory. Demography HF Commerce Cross-disciplinary research recognises humour as an effective communication tool for fostering engagement and positive interpersonal relationships, although inappropriate use can create negative outcomes. Drawing on positive psychology, this study aims to empirically examine the extent to which frontline employee’s (FLE’s) humour usage can influence customers’ service encounter evaluations. Findings from 252 retail service customers indicate that their sense of humour drives humour perceptions and facilitates positive encounter evaluations. In particular, FLEs’ other-directed humour, rather than self-directed humour, leads to more enjoyable interactions for customers. This effect is moderated by pre-encounter mood, in that customers react more positively to other-directed humour when they are in a bad mood. This study contributes empirical support for the importance of appropriate humour usage to the service encounter literature. From a managerial perspective, the outcomes highlight that service encounters benefit from other-directed humour. 2018-09-05 Article PeerReviewed text en https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/23761/1/The%20effect%20of%20humour%20usage%20on%20customer.pdf text en https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/23761/7/The%20effect%20of%20humour%20usage%20on%20customers.pdf Chiew, Tung Moi and Christine Mathies and Paul Patterson (2018) The effect of humour usage on customer’s service experiences. Australian Journal of Management. https://doi.org/10.1177/0312896218775799
spellingShingle HB Economic theory. Demography
HF Commerce
Chiew, Tung Moi
Christine Mathies
Paul Patterson
The effect of humour usage on customer’s service experiences
title The effect of humour usage on customer’s service experiences
title_full The effect of humour usage on customer’s service experiences
title_fullStr The effect of humour usage on customer’s service experiences
title_full_unstemmed The effect of humour usage on customer’s service experiences
title_short The effect of humour usage on customer’s service experiences
title_sort effect of humour usage on customer s service experiences
topic HB Economic theory. Demography
HF Commerce
url https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/23761/1/The%20effect%20of%20humour%20usage%20on%20customer.pdf
https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/23761/7/The%20effect%20of%20humour%20usage%20on%20customers.pdf
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