Department of Marketing
Date of this Version
4-2020
Citation
Published in Journal of Business Research 114 (2020) 111–123
Abstract
In this manuscript, we investigate the central role of perceived frontline service employee (FSE) authenticity and the process by which it impacts purchase intentions, taking into account the represented brand's authenticity. While brand authenticity has previously been shown to enhance consumer outcomes, we find that FSE authenticity is a separate significant predictor of purchase intentions. Further, we find that FSE authenticity enhances purchase intentions by increasing perceived trust and perceived quality. However, this finding only holds for brands that do not emphasize their authenticity, indicating that brand managers should differentially emphasize FSE authenticity based on their brand's positioning. Furthermore, we investigate the robustness of these effects across both experience and credence services, and find that FSE authenticity is especially important in credence service contexts.
Included in
Advertising and Promotion Management Commons, Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, Business and Corporate Communications Commons, Marketing Commons, Organizational Behavior and Theory Commons, Sales and Merchandising Commons
Comments
Copyright ©2020 Elsevier Inc. Used by permission.