Service gifts, collective social connection and reciprocity

Yihui (Elina) Tang, Christian Hinsch, Donald J Lund, Husni Kharouf

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    4 Citations (Scopus)
    213 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    Purpose
    This study aims to investigate the process of service gifting (i.e. unexpected upgrades or benefits) and examine why service gifts do not always result in firm-beneficial reciprocal behaviors from consumers.

    Design/methodology/approach
    Through a series of three studies including both scenario-based and game-theory-based experiments, this research proposes and empirically validates a conceptual model that examines the effect of service gifts on firm-beneficial reciprocal behaviors, and the role of collective social connection and norm of positive reciprocity (NPR) in this process.

    Findings
    The findings of this research show that the consumer’s feelings of collective social connection mediate the link between the provision of service gifts and firm-beneficial outcomes. Furthermore, an individual’s adherence to NPR moderates this process. Specifically, individuals with a strong adherence to NPR do not display increases in collective social connection following the receipt of a service gift. Those who are low in NPR follow the expected pattern of increased collective social connection leading to reciprocation.

    Research limitations/implications
    Future research may further generalize the model to other situations such as high vs low context cultures. Longitudinal field experiments can be used to further investigate collective versus relational social connection, which can be either a by-product or a primary benefit derived from service delivery.

    Practical implications
    The results of this research reveal the critical role of collective social connection which has been largely ignored in service gifting research. It encourages managers to use service gifting to directly boost consumers collective social connection. Furthermore, it offers managers insight into why service gifts do not always result in firm-beneficial outcomes because of the moderating role of NPR.

    Originality/value
    The roles of social connection and the norm of reciprocity have been under-studied in both theoretical and empirical work on service gifting. This paper demonstrates that, contrary to traditional thought, those typically expected to reciprocate the most (i.e. high in NPR) may not realize increased collective social connection leading to reciprocation following receipt of a service gift.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)2477-2500
    Number of pages24
    JournalEuropean Journal of Marketing
    Volume54
    Issue number10
    Early online date13 Oct 2020
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 4 Nov 2020

    Bibliographical note

    Copyright © and Moral Rights are retained by the author(s) and/ or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This item cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder(s). The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.

    Keywords

    • Social connection
    • Service maketing
    • Business- to- consumer gift
    • Norm of positive reciprocity
    • Relationship marketing
    • Value creation
    • Consumer interaction

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