Process and Outcome Interdependency in Frontline Service Encounters

Abstract

Although marketing researchers have emphasized the interactive nature of service encounters, there has been scant research regarding how dyadic behaviors in a service encounter are interrelated. The authors recognize two distinct forms of dyadic interdependency: process interdependency, in which each party's enactment of behavior influences the other's enactment of behavior, and outcome interdependency, in which the impact of each party's behavior on service outcome depends on the other party's behavior. Using the interpersonal circumplex model and its related concept of complementarity, the authors examine both forms of dyadic interdependency by directly observing provider–client interpersonal behaviors in a natural frontline service setting over an extended period. The findings on process interdependency indicate that dyadic behaviors elicit or inhibit each other largely in a complementary manner. The findings on outcome interdependency show that, in general, complementary interactions between the provider and client enhance the client's satisfaction, whereas anticomplementary interactions dampen the client's satisfaction.