Masked smiles matter – employee verbal expertise and emotion display during COVID-19

Verena Hofmann, Nicola E. Stokburger-Sauer, Anna Wanisch and Heike Hebborn

The Service Industries Journal, 2021, vol. 41, issue 1-2, 107-137

Abstract: Throughout the customer journey, the employee-customer interaction drives customer responses. The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically influenced shopping behavior with face masks playing a major role. This research investigates how consumer behavior has changed and how frontline employee (FLE) non-verbal (emotional facial expressions) and verbal cues (verbal expertise) influence customer responses dependent on whether FLEs wear a face mask or not. Semi-structured interviews among consumers, an open association study among students and an experimental study using Panel data were conducted. Findings of these online studies with German-speaking consumers show that face masks do not exclusively cause negative feelings and problems; they also reduce the perceived risk of a COVID-19 infection. Importantly, customers can correctly decode FLE smiling even when wearing face masks; however, the relevance of verbal expertise increases compared to FLE emotion displays. This state-of-the-art research during COVID-19 provides novel insights into dyadic service interactions for research and management.

Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:servic:v:41:y:2021:i:1-2:p:107-137

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DOI: 10.1080/02642069.2021.1873296

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The Service Industries Journal is currently edited by Eileen Bridges, Professor Domingo Ribeiro, Ronald Goldsmith, Barry Howcroft and Youjae Yi

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