Affective Complementarity in Service Encounters

Abstract

Face-to-face interactions are a crucial part of services. However, research that investigates the dynamics of service encounters is still rare. In this study we used a theoretical framework that aligned the concept of interpersonal com- plementarity with Mehrabian and Russell’s (1974) three-dimensional model of affect. We hypothesized that there are positive relationships between employ- ees’ and customers’ affective experience of pleasantness and arousal (corre- spondence rule) and a negative relationship between the interactants’ experi- ence of power (reciprocity rule). Furthermore, we explored the role of gender combination in service encounters. We tested our hypotheses with a sample of 29 service employees and 345 service encounters. Using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), our hypotheses were confirmed. Furthermore, we found that the relationship between employee and customer arousal was affected by the gender combination. Key