Service Provider Hostility and Service Quality

Abstract

Previous research on interpersonal interactions has found inconsistent effects of hostile interpersonal behaviors on organizational outcomes. This study found that technical performance by service providers and customer utility for service moderated the relations between hostile behaviors of service providers and service quality. Hostile behavior is most detrimental to service quality when customers have a high utility for service interactions and experience poor technical performance. These relations were found to be mediated by customer experiences of hostility.