We found a match
Your institution may have rights to this item. Sign in to continue.
- Title
Toward holistic frontline employee management: An investigation of the interplay of positive emotion displays and dress color.
- Authors
Bruder, Maximilian; Lechner, Andreas T.; Paul, Michael
- Abstract
Frontline employees' visual appearance is important in many service industries. Positive emotion displays are especially crucial, as are esthetic displays such as dress color. However, emotion and esthetic displays have commonly been examined independently of each other in marketing research. We contribute to research and practice by drawing attention to customers' holistic perception of frontline employees, indicating that emotion displays and esthetic displays, such as dress color, are jointly processed. Across four experiments, we demonstrate that the effects of positive emotion displays on customer tipping and employee warmth can be amplified by using warm (vs. cold) dress colors. Drawing on emotions as social information theory, we show that this interaction is explained by a cognitive inferential (i.e., the perception of fit) and not by an affective pathway through positive affect. Our findings guide managers on how to choose dress colors to increase the beneficial effects of positive emotion displays.
- Subjects
EMOTIONS; BUSINESS attire; MANAGEMENT; EMPLOYEES; TIPS &; tipping (Gratuities); SERVICE industries
- Publication
Psychology & Marketing, 2021, Vol 38, Issue 11, p2089
- ISSN
0742-6046
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1002/mar.21553