Cognitive and Emotional Load Influence Response Time of Service Agents: A Large Scale Analysis of Chat Service Conversations

We highlight two psychological aspects of the load in service work -- cognitive load (amount of information customers present) and emotional load (emotions customers present), and examine their effects on response time of service agents, in service conversations conducted using text-based chats. Using operational data of 145,995 chat service conversations, we show that cognitive load and emotional load increase agent response time both between and within service conversations. Our analyses unpack common assumptions that number of customers is identical to amount of work load, and shed light on customer-agent dynamics both between and within service conversations. In using operational data for studying text-based service communication, which is rapidly expanding and insufficiently studied, we open up exciting opportunities for further research

Proximity to Or Progress Toward Receiving a Telephone Service? an Experimental Investigation of Customer Reactions to Features of Telephone Auditory Messages

Using an experimental simulation we examined caller reactions to features of telephone auditory messages. Callers waiting on hold received information about their location in the queue (number of people ahead of them). Caller reactions measured were level of satisfaction and abandonment rate. The experimental design held the duration of the wait constant, and created two queue lengths (long and short) and two update frequencies (high and low). Results show that longer queues lead to more satisfaction but also to higher abandonment than shorter queues. The effects of queue length on satisfaction and persistence were explained through sense of progress and sense of proximity, respectively, of the people waiting. [to cite]

Invited Commentaries on the Future of Frontline Research

This article contains a set of six invited commentaries written by leading scholars, expressing varied perspectives on the future of frontline research and on the frontline domain itself. The article accompanies the Journal of Service Research special issue on organizational frontlines. In their commentaries, the authors share insightful views on areas of personal interest ranging from employee emotion and customer relationship building to the effect of technology and its implementation at the organizational frontline. Included within each commentary are managerial insights and suggestions for needed research in the highlighted area

Navigating by attire: individuals' use of dress in organizations

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/36013/2/b1698357.0001.001.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/36013/1/b1698357.0001.001.tx