Service providers and customers: social exchange theory and service loyalty

Purpose This paper extends Lawler's argument (in “An affect theory of social exchange”) that social exchanges can create a sense of shared responsibility to service settings, and predict that inseparability produces customer perceptions of shared responsibility for service outcomes, resulting in greater emotions. When emotions are positive, there should be increased loyalty to the service provider. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire was used to obtain cross‐sectional data pertaining to our model's constructs: inseparability, shared responsibility, emotional response, and service loyalty. A structural equation model evaluated the strength of relationships between these constructs. Findings Support was found for the predicted relationships between inseparability and shared responsibility, shared responsibility and emotions, and emotions and service loyalty. Research limitations/implications Inseparability and shared responsibility have not been measured before, and more research is needed to validate and test the scales we develop. Goods are seldom sold without some service attached, and anything that contributes to perceptions of inseparability and shared responsibility may affect emotional responses and brand loyalty for both services and goods. Practical implications Service employee training programs should emphasize the customer's role in the service experience to increase perceptions of shared responsibility and to create a positive emotional experience for customers. Originality/value This study contributes to the services marketing literature by viewing inseparability as a potential source of service brand loyalty, developing original scales for measuring inseparability and shared responsibility in a services setting, and applying a previously untested theory to a marketing context.