Stereotypes in Services - A Systematic Literature Review to Move from Scattered Insights to Generalizable Knowledge

Abstract

Over the last 40 years, the impact of stereotypes in a service context has been investigated repeatedly, as stereotypes can have a strong influence on interactions during the service encounter. The many academic studies analysed various stereotypes, took a customer or employee perspective, investigated attitudinal or behavioural outcomes before and after an interaction and found both positive and negative effects of stereotypes. Thus, a synthesis of research is needed that integrates existing knowledge to clarify what researchers have learnt about stereotypes in services. The main contribution of our research is to aggregate and categorise the highly specialized findings that exist on specific stereotypes and thus make the current knowledge more generalisable. The results of our study reveal that a strong focus on customer stereotypes regarding employees exists, but other stereotype constellations are less often investigated. Similarly, the investigation of more subtle stereotype triggers and the consideration of contextual factors should receive more attention. Finally, even as we identified meaningful managerial implications to address the consequences of stereotypes, academic papers need to include a practitioner’s perspective more consequently.