Service Encounters with Immigrant Customers: Managerial Insights on Challenges and Opportunities

Author(s)

Christina Sichtmann, Peter Patak

Abstract

This study seeks to provide managerial perspectives on intercultural service encounters involving immigrant customers, including the key issues, challenges and characteristics that service providers face. Interviews with 13 frontline and marketing employees of a large Austrian financial service provider revealed that service encounters involving immigrant customers differ from those with domestic customers. Several challenges (e.g., coping with different cultures, lack of role clarity in co-production) and even more opportunities (e.g., more trust in the service provider, higher word of mouth, provision of information) arise. Interviewees expect that in the future, intercultural service encounters with immigrant customers will develop into daily routines and not be viewed as exceptional.

Organisation(s)

Department of Accounting, Innovation and Strategy

Publication date

2016

Peer reviewed

Yes

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

502052 Business administration

Keywords

Portal url

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/service-encounters-with-immigrant-customers-managerial-insights-on-challenges-and-opportunities(348b4784-3496-4556-b2cd-e93f973e56cb).html