Empirical investigation of challenge and hindrance appraisals of customer demands

Abstract

My dissertation investigates how frontline employees (FLEs) assess and respond to demanding customers. The results provide normative recommendations for managers for the effective management of FLEs so as to reduce the detrimental effects (e.g., high turnover) and increase the beneficial effects (e.g., superior performance) of customer demands in order to enhance the long term success of organizations. Interestingly, the manner in which FLEs assess and respond to demands from their customers has received relatively limited attention in the marketing literature. Further, some of the existing studies suggest that customer demands lead to negative consequences for FLEs, while other studies find positive effects. To date, researchers have largely ignored (1) what factors influence appraisals of customer demands as either challenges or hindrances, and (2) how the two different forms of appraisal may trigger different psychological processes on job-related outcomes. Uncovering the differential effects of customer demand appraisal (i.e., challenge appraisal and hindrance appraisal) on job stress and engagement may help explain the influence of customer demands on important FLE job outcomes. Further, if customer demand appraisal can be tied to these FLE outcomes, it becomes important to understand the personal factors that influence how FLEs perceive customer demands. Using a multi-source dataset (insurance agents and their supervisors), this study found that (1) prosocial and intrinsic motivations synergistically influence challenge and hindrance appraisals of customer demands, and (2) the challenge and hindrance appraisals influence job satisfaction and job performance through motivational and energy depletion processes.