Testing the influence of real-time performance feedback on employees in digital services
ISSN: 1757-5818
Article publication date: 4 June 2020
Issue publication date: 6 October 2020
Abstract
Purpose
While digital media changed the nature of communication in service contexts, often allowing customers to interact instantly with service providers, the implications and opportunities for managing service employees are widely unknown. This is surprising, given that service employees are an important determinant of service firms’ success. This article examines the effects of real-time performance feedback on employees’ service performance and investigates both how and under what conditions timely feedback encourages employees’ engagement.
Design/methodology/approach
Two experiments test the conceptual model and the proposed hypotheses. A field experiment uses real customer feedback gathered after interaction with the app-chat of a large telecommunications provider. It tests the effect of feedback timing on service employees’ performance and also examines the effect of feedback timing on their engagement. A subsequent scenario-based experiment then investigates the influence of selected moderators on the feedback timing–engagement relationship.
Findings
This article finds that real-time feedback leads to greater service performance than subsequent feedback. Furthermore, real-time feedback positively affects service employee engagement through the perceived controllability of the feedback and the service situation. Finally, feedback valence, task goals, individuals’ need for closure (NCL), and gender interact with feedback timing to influence employee engagement.
Originality/value
This research investigates the potential of real-time performance feedback for service firms, combines and extends a variety of literature streams, and provides recommendations for the future management of service employees.
Keywords
Citation
Lechermeier, J., Fassnacht, M. and Wagner, T. (2020), "Testing the influence of real-time performance feedback on employees in digital services", Journal of Service Management, Vol. 31 No. 3, pp. 345-371. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-10-2018-0341
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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