Demographics in Service Encounters: Effects of Racial and Gender Congruence on Perceived Fairness

Authors: Kulik C.T.¹; Holbrook Jr. R.L.²

Source: Social Justice Research, Volume 13, Number 4, December 2000 , pp. 375-402(28)

Publisher: Springer

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Abstract:

We investigated the effects of outcome favorability, opportunity for voice, and demographic congruence on customer reactions to bank loan decisions. Applicants for loans engaged in a transaction with loan officers who were either congruent or incongruent with respect to race and gender. Results suggest that perceptions of outcome favorability and opportunity for voice explain significant variance in customer reactions. Customers responded more positively to unfavorable outcomes when they resulted from a race-congruent loan officer, and female customers responded more positively to low opportunity for voice from male loan officers than from female officers. Implications of the results for organizations serving customers who are diverse in race and gender are discussed.

Keywords: justice; demographics; services

Language: English

Document Type: Regular paper

Affiliations: 1: Department of Management, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287-4006; carol.kulik@asu.edu 2: Management Systems Department, Ohio University, 308 Copeland Hall, Athens, Ohio 45701-2979

Publication date: 2000-12-01