Title: The facilitating dynamic of customer-employee satisfaction: contributions from the person-centred approach to service encounters

Authors: Andrés Chinchilla; César J. Sepúlveda; Sergio Madero

Addresses: Tecnologico de Monterrey, EGADE Business School, Eugenio Garza Lagüera y Rufino Tamayo, Valle Oriente, San Pedro, Garza García N.L., 64100, México ' Tecnologico de Monterrey, Campus Monterrey, Eugenio Garza Sada 2501, Monterrey, N.L., 64849, México ' Tecnologico de Monterrey, Campus Monterrey, Eugenio Garza Sada 2501, Monterrey, N.L., 64849, México

Abstract: Given that the quality of the service experience is constructed in the interaction between the customer and the employee, gaining insights on customer-employee satisfaction in service encounters is relevant to advance the knowledge of the service experience area of research. Building on this perspective, the present study aimed to identify a model of the facilitating dynamic of customer-employee satisfaction in service encounters. A qualitative instrumental case study was developed from 15 cases of different contexts in order to identify common patterns and propose a theoretical model. The findings indicate that the attitudes from the person-centred approach of the humanistic branch of psychology - empathy, acceptance, and authenticity - facilitate the satisfaction of both the customer and the employee in service encounters; foregoing conditions of these facilitative dynamic and specific impacts on customer-employee satisfaction were also identified.

Keywords: service encounters; person-centred approach; service experience; service attitudes; instrumental case study.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSOM.2019.098354

International Journal of Services and Operations Management, 2019 Vol.32 No.3, pp.339 - 361

Received: 27 Aug 2016
Accepted: 08 Mar 2017
Published online: 18 Mar 2019 *

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