Social connectedness and well-being of elderly customers: do employee-to-customer interactions matter?

Feng, K. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5165-159X, Altinay, L. and Alrawadieh, Z. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8355-9958 (2023) Social connectedness and well-being of elderly customers: do employee-to-customer interactions matter? Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 32 (2). pp. 174-195. ISSN 1936-8631 doi: 10.1080/19368623.2023.2139036

Abstract/Summary

While a plethora of research examines the antecedents and outcomes of favorable employee-to-customer interaction in the hospitality industry, little empirical investigation has been conducted so far to understand the effect of employee-to-customer interaction on customers’ social well-being. This omission is particularly intriguing in the context of elderly care homes whereby employee-to-customer interaction is both intense and crucial. Building on a transformative service research perspective, the present study draws on a mixed-methods approach using a sequential quantitative-qualitative design to understand the interface between favorable employee-to-customer interaction, social connectedness, and social well-being. Using data from 267 elderly individuals in care homes combined with data from three focus groups in China, the study confirms the role of favorable employee-to-customer interaction in enhancing the social connectedness of elderly customers. Both employee-to-customer interaction and social connectedness are also found to positively influence elderly customers’ social well-being. Findings from the qualitative study lend support to the proposed theoretical model and further demonstrate how elderly consumers’ social well-being is impacted in a transformative way by favorable interactions with employees. Qualitative findings show how both employees and elderly customers deploy different resources to pursue transformative outcomes of value exchange and value co-creation. The study advances transformative service research and suggests implications for policy and managers in elderly care homes and the wider hospitality industry.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/116925
Identification Number/DOI	10.1080/19368623.2023.2139036
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	No Reading authors. Back catalogue items Henley Business School > Digitalisation, Marketing and Entrepreneurship
Publisher	Informa UK Limited
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