Exploring commercial friendships from employees' perspectives
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate which types of service employees provide their customers with social support and to understand why they do so.
Design/methodology/approach
The article employs a network‐based inventory method to evaluate a customer's commercial‐based social support network and grounded theory to develop a framework illustrating the interdependence between service providers and their customers regarding the exchange of intrinsic support and extrinsic financial incentives and gifts.
Findings
Indirect service employees who do not directly receive tips from customers emerge as key providers of social support. Also, commercial friendships are not marketplace niceties. Service providers and customers engage in a mutually beneficial exchange of social support, gifts, and tips under the guise of commercial friendships.
Research limitations/implications
The article is based upon service provider and customer relationships in an American diner. Researchers may want to apply the offered model to other contexts and locals. Also, researchers may want to reconsider the idea that service providers willingly provide social support to their customers.
Practical implications
The hiring and training of service employees, such as cashiers, hostesses, and “bus boys,” should be taken into consideration as they may be key providers of social support. Service providers should realize the extrinsic and intrinsic benefits or providing support.
Originality/value
The paper empirically investigates the role of indirect service employees in providing customers with social support. Also, it demonstrates that commercial friendships are mutually beneficial relationships where service providers and customers realize extrinsic and/or intrinsic benefits from these relationships.
Keywords
Citation
Rosenbaum, M.S. (2009), "Exploring commercial friendships from employees' perspectives", Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 23 No. 1, pp. 57-66. https://doi.org/10.1108/08876040910933101
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2009, Emerald Group Publishing Limited