The Power of Self-Efficacy Change During Service Provision: Making Your Customers Feel Better About Themselves Pays Off

The study focuses on a new service benefit derived from service usage, that is, self-efficacy increase, rather than self-efficacy evaluations as such. The authors propose that this benefit, which refers to feeling better about oneself while consuming a service, will reflect positively on service outcomes. The authors argue that self-efficacy can develop differently over time and this should be investigated to explain service evaluations more fully. Therefore, the authors separate effects related to self-efficacy level and change on value. Results show that the increase of customers’ self-beliefs in their capabilities during information search positively affects perceived value irrespective of self-efficacy levels or other costs and benefits. Self-efficacy increase is predicted by a firm’s strategic choice to help customers learn, the firm’s tactic to provide high-quality information, and the customers’ level of cognitive effort. In sum, the authors show that by fostering customers’ self-efficacy build up, firms can provide a more valuable and satisfying service experience.