Service robots, customers and service employees: what can we learn from the academic literature and where are the gaps?

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 361-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vinh Nhat Lu ◽  
Jochen Wirtz ◽  
Werner H. Kunz ◽  
Stefanie Paluch ◽  
Thorsten Gruber ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Service Sector ◽  
Job Insecurity ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Service Robots ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Employees ◽  
Multiple Observations ◽  
The Impact

PurposeRobots are predicted to have a profound impact on the service sector. The emergence of robots has attracted increasing interest from business scholars and practitioners alike. In this article, we undertake a systematic review of the business literature about the impact of service robots on customers and employees with the objective of guiding future research.Design/methodology/approachWe analyzed the literature on service robots as they relate to customers and employees in business journals listed in the Financial Times top 50 journals plus all journals covered in the cross-disciplinary SERVSIG literature alerts.FindingsThe analysis of the identified studies yielded multiple observations about the impact of service robots on customers (e.g. overarching frameworks on acceptance and usage of service robots; characteristics of service robots and anthropomorphism; and potential for enhanced and deteriorated service experiences) and service employees (e.g. employee benefits such as reduced routine work, enhanced productivity and job satisfaction; potential negative consequences such as loss of autonomy and a range of negative psychological outcomes; opportunities for human–robot collaboration; job insecurity; and robot-related up-skilling and development requirements). We also conclude that current research on service robots is fragmented, is largely conceptual in nature and focused on the initial adoption stage. We feel that more research is needed to build an overarching theory. In addition, more empirical research is needed, especially on the long(er)-term usage service robots on actual behaviors, the well-being and potential downsides and (ethical) risks for customers and service employees.Research limitations/implicationsOur review focused on the business and service literature. Future work may want to include additional literature streams, including those in computer science, engineering and information systems.Originality/valueThis article is the first to synthesize the business and service literature on the impact of service robots on customers and employees.

Working in a prison: Challenges, rewards, and the impact on mental health and well-being

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Dennard ◽  
Derek K. Tracy ◽  
Aaron Beeney ◽  
Laura Craster ◽  
Fiona Bailey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Service Development ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Staff Support ◽  
Prison Staff ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Data Driven Approach ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Prisons are uniquely challenging working environments. Staff are often exposed to direct and indirect trauma, impacting negatively on their mental well-being. Due to the limited research into prison staff experience, this paper aims to explore what staff find most challenging, how they cope, what support they would like and rewarding aspects of their work. Design/methodology/approach This service development project was facilitated through a staff well-being event. A qualitative approach was used and 74 staff members provided anonymised responses. An inductive and data-driven approach was used to analyse the data, and the trustworthiness of the analysis was considered using criteria established by Lincoln and Guba (1985). Findings Thematic analysis identified six themes, namely, the challenging nature of the work, interactions with prisoners, staff interactions, inadequate resources, staff support and development and coping strategies. Key findings include managing distress, self-harm and violence and limited resources presenting challenges. Role variety and opportunities to support prisoners were reported as positive. A variety of coping strategies were identified. Wider availability of supervision and reflective practice was suggested by staff. Practical implications Recommendations for increased staff support are made. Suggestions for future research investigating methods to increase rewarding aspects of work within prisons are given. Originality/value This analysis adds to the limited body of qualitative research investigating prison staff experiences; in particular, aspects of the work that they find rewarding such as the role variety and opportunities to make positive changes to prisoners’ lives. Novel coping strategies were identified, including cognitive reframing and behavioural strategies for managing stress, which could be encouraged to increase resilience.

A review of research into knowledge sharing

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-22
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Review Protocol ◽  
Process Perspective ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Positive Effect

Purpose The purpose of this study is to summarize findings from research into knowledge sharing and to provide suggestions for further research. Design/methodology/approach A systematic literature review was carried out through three phases – review protocol, conducting the review and reporting the review. A thematic analysis was carried out on 61 peer reviewed studies. Findings The review looks at the impact of knowledge sharing in three categories – individual, team and organizational. The main factors studied were creativity, performance and learning. Knowledge sharing goes beyond work-related impacts and has a positive effect on team climate, job satisfaction and life satisfaction. Directions for future research were identified as adopting an interaction and process perspective, investigating negative, differential and psychological impacts and improving methodology through use of qualitative and longitudinal studies. Practical implications As knowledge sharing does have positive psychological effects including enhanced job and life satisfaction it would be beneficial to build it into the organization’s well-being program. Originality/value This paper has an original approach as it is the first systematic review to be carried out on research into knowledge sharing and suggests areas for further investigation.

Instilling affective commitment: insights on what makes knowledge workers want to stay

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 266-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharmila Jayasingam ◽  
Muhiniswari Govindasamy ◽  
Sharan Kaur Garib Singh
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Affective Commitment ◽  
Knowledge Workers ◽  
Knowledge Worker ◽  
Knowledge Retention ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – This study aims to examine factors that may influence affective organizational commitment among knowledge workers. The five final factors considered in this study include knowledge-sharing culture, autonomy, workplace value identity, promotion practices and, finally, management support. Gender was included as the moderator for the aforementioned relationships. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 522 knowledge workers from manufacturing, retail and service sector anonymously completed a structured questionnaire that included measures of the variables of this study. Hierarchical regression was used to test the hypotheses. Findings – The findings provide evidence on the possible factors that organizations need to focus on and improvise to ensure the “want to remain in the organization” sentiment is enhanced among knowledge workers. Workplace value identity and knowledge-sharing culture were identified as the pertinent factors in influencing affective commitment. Gender was found to moderate the relationship between unfair promotion practice, knowledge-sharing culture and affective commitment. Research limitations/implications – One obvious limitation is that the sample of this study is sourced from a pool of knowledge workers. This limits our ability to conduct a comparative analysis with non-knowledge workers. Hence, future research could expand the model of this study to compare these relationships among knowledge and non-knowledge worker. Practical implications – Understanding the impact of these factors in a knowledge-based context helps firms prioritize and focus on important factors that can improve the level of affective commitment among knowledge workers. Doing so facilitates knowledge retention and prevents loss of knowledge. Originality/value – From a knowledge-based view, this paper identified factors that play an important role in retaining knowledge workers through enhanced affective commitment. With the changing workforce, the findings of this study show how knowledge-sharing culture and achievement orientation dominate affective commitment in a knowledge-based context.

Spiritual quotient towards organizational sustainability: the Islamic perspective

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sohail Akhtar ◽  
Mohd Anuar Arshad ◽  
Arshad Mahmood ◽  
Adeel Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Organizational Sustainability ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Spiritual Awareness ◽  
Islamic Perspective ◽  
Conceptual Paper ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of spiritual quotient (SQ) on the organisational sustainability from the Islamic perspective. Till date, many organisations around the world are facing environmental, social and economic issues affecting their organisational sustainability. Design/methodology/approach The present paper is conceptual paper based on literature review on employee’s behavioural issues and role of SQ for organisational sustainability. Findings This present paper argues that SQ must be considered as the important factor for employee development in the organisation. It develops spiritual awareness among employees which enhances their productivity within the organisation. Furthermore, SQ is necessary means of identifying and harnessing deeper inner resources with the capacity to care for the well-being of the organisation and advance its development. Research limitations/implications The paper suggests SQ and its multi-dimensions with the implication for future research in organisational sustainability. Originality/value The paper discusses the development of the concept of SQ from the Islamic perspective.

Job insecurity fluctuations and support towards Italian precarious schoolteachers

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 631-647
Author(s):  
Marianna Giunchi ◽  
Pedro Marques-Quinteiro ◽  
Chiara Ghislieri ◽  
Anne-Marie Vonthron
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Job Insecurity ◽  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Well Being ◽  
School Principal ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Over Time

PurposeThe negative consequences of job insecurity on the well-being of individuals are well known. However, the perceptions of job insecurity over time and how some factors such as social support may affect them have received limited attention. This study follows precarious schoolteachers for three weeks before the end of their contract to explore how their perceptions of job insecurity evolve over time.Design/methodology/approachThe participants were 47 precarious schoolteachers who first completed a general questionnaire, then a diary survey on nine occasions over the course of the three weeks. Data was analysed with MPLUS 7.3.FindingsThe results suggest intra-individual differences regarding the way job insecurity was perceived over time. An additional discovery was that support provided by the school principal was negatively related to changes in job insecurity over time.Research limitations/implicationsThe relatively small sample size, which includes only precarious schoolteachers, and the methodology complexity of the diary are limitations of this study.Practical implicationsThis study highlights the subjective nature of the perceptions of job insecurity. It also shows the importance of the school principal's social support towards precarious schoolteachers; therefore, practitioners should propose interventions to enhance the quality of principal–teachers relationships.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature by investigating how perceptions of job insecurity evolve over time and the role of social support.

Transitional leadership to resolve conflict, facilitate change and restore wellbeing

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 1053-1072
Author(s):  
Tim J. Pratt ◽  
Roy K. Smollan ◽  
Edwina Pio
Keyword(s):  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Transitional Leadership ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Christian Denomination

Purpose This paper aims to explore the experiences of church ministers who played the role of transitional leaders in congregational situations involving conflict. Design/methodology/approach Grounded theory was chosen as a suitable approach to investigate phenomena that occasionally penetrate religious publications and even less frequently scholarly management journals. Accordingly, in-depth interviews were conducted with six church ministers who had been transitional leaders in one Christian denomination in New Zealand. Findings Participants indicated that the drivers of transitional ministry were conflict, dysfunction and loss of direction; the goals were to heal the damage caused by conflict and restore functionality and well-being; the process, underpinned by a leadership philosophy of affirmation, trust-building, engagement and communication, involved working with church members to instil hope, establish operational structures, identify and resolve dysfunction, envision a future and ultimately recruit a permanent minister. Research limitations/implications The limitations of a small sample size in one Christian denomination could be addressed by using wider samples in other contexts. It is suggested that insights into transitional leadership after conflict will be of interest to researchers as well as practitioners in other religious organizations, the wider non-profit sector and the private sector. Future research into the impact of transitional leadership, against a background of conflict and organizational change, will add to this empirical foundation. Originality/value The model of transitional ministry is a unique contribution to religious literature and practice. It also offers insight into how other types of organization could deal with the exit of its permanent leader, in circumstances of conflict, and manage the transition phase of a temporary replacement, so that the organization returns to a state of well-being with a renewed sense of purpose.

Blended human-technology service realities in healthcare

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Dodds ◽  
Rebekah Russell–Bennett ◽  
Tom Chen ◽  
Anna-Sophie Oertzen ◽  
Luis Salvador-Carulla ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Influencing Factors ◽  
Cognitive Complexity ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Healthcare Sector ◽  
Service Robots ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Research Agenda ◽  
Technology Service

PurposeThe healthcare sector is experiencing a major paradigm shift toward a people-centered approach. The key issue with transitioning to a people-centered approach is a lack of understanding of the ever-increasing role of technology in blended human-technology healthcare interactions and the impacts on healthcare actors' well-being. The purpose of the paper is to identify the key mechanisms and influencing factors through which blended service realities affect engaged actors' well-being in a healthcare context.Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual paper takes a human-centric perspective and a value co-creation lens and uses theory synthesis and adaptation to investigate blended human-technology service realities in healthcare services.FindingsThe authors conceptualize three blended human-technology service realities – human-dominant, balanced and technology-dominant – and identify two key mechanisms – shared control and emotional-social and cognitive complexity – and three influencing factors – meaningful human-technology experiences, agency and DART (dialogue, access, risk, transparency) – that affect the well-being outcome of engaged actors in these blended human-technology service realities.Practical implicationsManagerially, the framework provides a useful tool for the design and management of blended human-technology realities. The paper explains how healthcare services should pay attention to management and interventions of different services realities and their impact on engaged actors. Blended human-technology reality examples – telehealth, virtual reality (VR) and service robots in healthcare – are used to support and contextualize the study’s conceptual work. A future research agenda is provided.Originality/valueThis study contributes to service literature by developing a new conceptual framework that underpins the mechanisms and factors that influence the relationships between blended human-technology service realities and engaged actors' well-being.

Labors of love: service employees on customer participation

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 585-607
Author(s):  
Laee Choi ◽  
Charles A. Lawry
Keyword(s):  
Job Stress ◽  
Emotional Labor ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Customer Participation ◽  
Surface Acting ◽  
Deep Acting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Employees ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Impact

PurposeVery few studies have considered how customer participation (CP) influences service employees' well-being. CP may lead employees to engage in emotional labor strategies (surface/deep acting), which can elevate their job stress. Whereas surface acting involves falsifying emotions, deep acting involves empathizing with others. Therefore, the current article examines how these emotional labor strategies arise from CP and create job stress.Design/methodology/approachStudy 1 is an online survey of service employees' wellbeing during CP (n = 509). Study 2 compares service employees' responses within hedonic and utilitarian service settings through a scenario-based experiment (n = 440). PROCESS was used to analyze the data in both studies.FindingsFirst, study 1 supports that perceived CP increases job stress. Secondly, surface acting mediates the link between CP and job stress, but deep acting does not. Thereafter, Study 2 shows that the link between CP and job stress decreases as employee-customer identification (ECI) increases only during surface acting. Additionally, the impact of surface acting on job stress during CP is greater for hedonic services than utilitarian services, but there is no significant difference for deep acting.Originality/valueThis article contributes an original perspective by comparing models of service employees' responses to CP and job stress in hedonic versus utilitarian settings. Moreover, the intervening effects of ECI and emotional labor strategies on job stress, as demonstrated through these employee-facing models, offer added value to the CRM and co-creation literature.

Motives and competitive assets of Pakistani international construction contracting firms

2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 138-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahsen Maqsoom ◽  
Chotchai Charoenngam
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Home Country ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
International Experiences ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Country Specific ◽  
Construction Contracting

Purpose – This paper aims to study the impact of a firm’s size and international experience on its internationalization because it remains an under-researched area. Using an integrated theoretical approach, this study examines the motives and (firm-specific and home country-specific) competitive assets, that enable the internationalization of Pakistan-based construction contracting firms (CCFs) having varied sizes and international experiences. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected through a postal questionnaire survey. A comparative analysis of these data was undertaken for firms of varied sizes and international experiences. Findings – Findings show that firms of varied sizes did not concur over several firm-specific and home country-specific competitive assets, whereas firms of varied international experiences were in disagreement over fewer motives and home country-specific competitive assets. Small CCFs need to overcome weakness in their firm-specific competitive assets, especially international reputation and internationally experienced management. Government and home country support are needed to promote internationalization of emerging economies’ CCFs, especially younger and smaller ones that are more vulnerable due to an unstable business environment and lack of opportunities in domestic markets. Research limitations/implications – The firms included in this study represent only one service sector, i.e. the emerging economy scenario of Pakistan’s construction industry. Future research may be conducted with a deeper analysis of the differences between emerging and developed economies’ CCFs as well as other service sectors. Originality/value – The study will be helpful to those CCFs from emerging economies which are considering whether or not to internationalize and, to the regulatory bodies helping create a level playing field to nurture the internationalization process for their CCFs.

scholarly journals The Negative Effect of Job Insecurity in the Virtuous Cycle Between Trust in the Organization, Subjective Well-Being, and Task Performance in the Current Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity Context

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Živilė Stankevičiūtė ◽  
M. Isabel Sanchez-Hernandez ◽  
Eglė Staniškienė
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Job Insecurity ◽  
Employee Performance ◽  
Well Being ◽  
General Assumption ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
The Impact ◽  
And Task

Over the past decade, job insecurity referring to the employees’ perceived threat to the continuity and stability of employment as it is currently experienced has become a hot topic. A general assumption, supported by the findings, is that job insecurity causes far-reaching negative consequences for the employee health and well-being, attitudes toward organization and the job, and behaviors at work. However, the focus on behavioral outcomes, especially on employee performance at work, is still scant. Moreover, the literature remains fragmented concerning the impact of job insecurity on employee trust in the organization and how the trust influences employee subjective well-being (SWB), which in turn affects employee performance. Consequently, the link between job insecurity and SWB needs more investigation. Trying to narrow the gap, the paper aims at revealing the linkage between job insecurity, trust in the organization, SWB, and task performance. Quantitative data were collected in Lithuania. As predicted, the results revealed that job insecurity had a negative impact on trust in the organization and employee SWB. In case of linkage between job insecurity and task performance, the hypothesis was rejected. In general, these findings affirmed that job insecurity was a hindrance stressor, which needed to be considered when managing human resources in the current volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity context.

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