A dual-path model of observers' responses to customer incivility: An attribution lens

Abstract

To date, empirical studies of customer incivility have primarily focused on exploring the negative reactions of victims. We shift the predominant focus from victims to observers (coworkers of the victims) and establish a link between customer incivility and observers' service performance. According to attribution theory, we propose that customer incivility could exert differential effects on observers' service performance, which depend on observers' blame attribution. Specifically, when observers make employee-directed blame attribution, customer incivility is more likely to trigger observers' self-reflection, which in turn increases their service performance. Conversely, when observers make customer-directed blame attribution, customer incivility is more likely to evoke observers' moral anger, which in turn decreases their service performance. The scenario experimental design (Study 1) and time-lagged survey design (Study 2) provide support for our hypotheses. By developing a dialectical framework that integrates opposing attributional pathways, this study advances the customer incivility literature and provides insightful implications to service managers.