Journal of Services Marketing

Uncovering the silent language of waiting

Maria del Mar Pmies Gerard Ryan Mireia Valverde
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Maria del Mar Pmies Gerard Ryan Mireia Valverde , (2016),"Uncovering the silent language of waiting", Journal of Services
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 Uncovering the silent language of waiting

Introduction

Waiting in services is a problem because it reduces customer satisfaction (Davis and

Heineke, 1994; Li, 2010). It induces consumer boredom and irritation (Larson 1987;
Pruyn and Smidts, 1998) and it may lead consumers to abandon services or to avoid that
service on future occasions (Bielen and Demoulin, 2007; Davis and Vollmann, 1990).
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Indeed, the fundamental premise of waiting research is that the longer consumers wait,
the less favourable they will evaluate services (Taylor, 1995). Therefore, service
management researchers and practitioners endeavour to design services that reduce or
eliminate waiting times (Hui and Tse, 1996; Yan and Lotz, 2006).

Although the existence of Levitts so-called global consumer (Levitt, 1983) is a matter
of debate, waiting for service is presented as an undoubtedly universal, everyday aspect
of life for consumers throughout the world (Koo and Fishbach, 2010; Lin and Chang,
2011; Moran, 2007). Yet, research on cultural interpretations of time in anthropology,
sociology and psychology suggests that the implicit rules that determine how people
wait are often divergent across cultures (Levine, 1997; Mann, 1969; Rose et al., 2003).
Nevertheless, the role of culture in waiting in the context of services marketing has not
been adequately considered. The authors suggest that this gap in our understanding
inhibits our ability to fully appreciate the dynamics of waiting situations in services
across cultures. Consequently, it undermines our ability to develop appropriate services
marketing solutions for waiting in different cultural contexts.

According to Hall (1983) to function effectively abroad it is just as necessary to learn

the language of time as it is to learn the spoken language (Hall, 1983: p3). This line of
argument fits within the on-going standardise or adapt debate in marketing (Levitt,
1983, Vrontis, et al., 2009). Arguing for adaptation, Brodowsky and Anderson (2000)
refer to the vital importance of cultural interpretations of time as a backdrop for all
human behaviour. Indeed Gillam et al. (2014) suggest that local queuing preferences
should be taken into account because perceptions of waiting and queuing systems vary

1
 across cultures. However, the suggestion by Rose et al. (2003) (in operations research)
that companies that operate internationally should consider modifying their approach to
waiting to fit the time orientation of each specific cultural context, is an issue that has
not generally entered the services marketing literature. Thus, the main objective of this
paper is to draw attention to cultural influences in the study of waiting in services
marketing. The study contributes to current knowledge and practice on three main
aspects. Firstly, it employs theories about time and culture drawn from anthropology,
sociology and psychology to consider waiting in services and considers how this may
advance the study of waiting in international service settings. Secondly, it illustrates
empirically how, given specific waiting situations, consumers from different cultures
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may interpret and react in very different ways. Thirdly, it considers the practical
services marketing implications of cultural reactions to waiting.

Literature Review

Waiting for Service

An extensive body of knowledge and literature on waiting in services has been amassed
over the last 30 years (Antonides et al., 2002; Chebat et al., 2010; Durrande-Moreau,
1999; Hornik, 1984; Maister, 1985; Pmies et al., 2015; Ryan et al., 2015; Watkins et
al., 2011). Waiting is associated with negative consumer emotions as it reduces
customer satisfaction (Anderson and Brodowsky, 2001; Tom and Lucey, 1995). Waiting
negatively affects service evaluation (Haynes, 1990) and it sometimes leads to the
abandonment of the service (Bielen and Demoulin, 2007).

Most companies manage the wait by organizing consumers in various types of lines or
queues (Rafaeli et al., 2002) or they attempt to reduce the waiting time by designing
techniques to adapt the service provision to demand (Bekker et al., 2011; Sarel and
Marmorstein, 1998). However, sometimes service providers cannot reduce the real
waiting time, such as when there are service capacity limitations. Therefore, much
research examines how the perceived or subjective waiting time can be reduced
(Antonides et al., 2002; Dabholkar and Sheng, 2008). Many companies fill the waiting
time in order to distract consumers attention from the passage of time, thereby reducing
the perceived wait (Maister, 1985). Others begin the service provision in the queue
(Taylor, 1994) so that consumers do not realize that they are waiting.

2
 A number of authors suggest that research on waiting should examine how culture
influences waiting behaviour (Anderson and Brodowsky, 2001; Dellaert and Kahn,
1999; Gillam et al., 2014; Rose et al., 2003). However, this call has not been widely
taken up, probably because of the not insignificant difficulties involved in accessing the
ingrained cultural beliefs about time (Levine, 1997). In general, research on waiting in
services is mostly undertaken in a very narrow set of cultural contexts. Indeed, almost
70 of the 98 empirical studies on waiting reviewed by the authors for this study were
undertaken in just 3 countries: the UK, the US and Canada. Hence, most of what we
know about how consumers behave in waiting situations is based on just three national
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contexts that share many cultural tenets. Additionally, most of the research on waiting is
framed according to the cultural interpretations of time of these cultures. This
determines the formulation of research questions and the type of waiting research
undertaken. It is not surprising then that much of the research on waiting focuses on
waiting issues considered important in monochromic cultures, thus considering waiting
mainly or even solely as a problem to resolve. In effect, our knowledge of waiting in
services is to a large extent based on how North American and British consumers wait.
Yet cultural interpretations of time, and by extension of delays and waiting, vary
significantly and this may affect how consumers behave when faced with waiting in
services (Anderson and Brodowsky, 2001; Berry, 1979; Brodowsky and Anderson,
2000; Graham, 1981).

Hence, we cannot be sure of the effectiveness and appropriateness of implementing

standardised solutions to waiting in services across cultural contexts. By bringing
culture to the forefront of research on waiting, through an empirical study, this paper
intends to highlight the largely ethnocentric character of our knowledge on this topic
and to encourage future researchers to closely consider the cultural implications of their
research questions and their results.

Culture, Time and Waiting Behaviour

Culture permeates orientations and interpretations of time and waiting (Adams and van
Eerde, 2010; Agarwal and Das, 2006; Brodowsky and Anderson, 2000; Harvey et al.,
2008). According to Hall (1983), it is effectively impossible to separate time from
culture. In order to understand the temporal logic of other cultures, Levine (1997)

3
 suggests that new arrivals learn the rules of waiting in that culture, including the cultural
protocol for waiting in line.

Monochronic cultures (Northern Europe, North America) (Hall, 1976) interpret time in
a linear, unidimensional fashion, with an emphasis on undertaking one task at a time,
and the fragmentation of time into sequential intervals. Monochronic cultures
emphasize the use of clock time and speak of spending, saving or wasting time
(Brodowsky et al., 2008). In contrast, in polychronic cultures (Africa, Latin America,
Arab countries) (Hall, 1976), events occur in parallel as time is seen as concurrent and
simultaneous (Brodowsky et al., 2008). Polychronic cultures place more importance on
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the ability to undertake various tasks simultaneously and on social relations, as opposed
to deadlines and punctuality (Adams and van Eerde, 2010).

In the services marketing literature, Dacko (2012) highlights the existence of different
notions or interpretations of time, while acknowledging that the interpretation of time in
the marketing literature is implicitly and predominantly linear, thus reflecting a
monochronic view of time. As mentioned earlier, this monochronic view characterises
most existing research on waiting in services.

Sociology provides a second theoretical framework for considering time and culture,
based on the work of Sorokin and Merton (1937) and Lewis and Weigert (1981) on
social time. Anderson and Brodowsky (2001) introduce this theory to marketing by
proposing the Social Time System (STS). The STS determines how people in a
specific culture use, feel and think about time, how they interpret the present, past and
future, the uniformity and inflexibility of schedules, and cultural interpretations of what
it means to be late (Brodowsy and Anderson, 2000; Paolucci, 1996). Thus, the STS
suggests that tolerance for waiting varies across cultures. Accordingly, the impact of
waiting as a contributor to consumer service evaluations, satisfaction and loyalty may
also reasonably vary across cultures.

A third conceptual framework that aids the comprehension of cultural differences

related to time comes from the field of psychology. Levine (1997: XVII) suggests that
each cultures unique temporal fingerprint is determined by the tempo or Pace of
Life (PoL) that defines the rules and principles determining how people wait. He

4
 suggests that learning to understand how people wait in another culture is a delicate and
problematic process. As the cultural tenets of waiting are not made explicit, foreigner
visitors often misinterpret waiting situations. As mentioned earlier, there are very few
studies that deal specifically with this topic: Seawright et al. (2008) examine Maisters
(1985) fifth principle (unexplained waits seem longer than explained waits). They found
that Maisters principle was supported in the U.S but not in Russia. In a study of the US,
Mexico and Thailand, Anderson and Brodowsy (2001) found that the extent to which
waiting influences consumers tendency to change service provider varies across
cultures. Finally, two studies (Agarwal and Das, 2006; Rose et al., 2003) conclude that
polychronic consumers are less concerned with delays than their monochronic
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counterparts and that waiting tolerance is a result of cultural conditioning.

In summary, despite three decades of academic research on waiting in services, we

know little about how consumers wait across cultures or the potential services
marketing implications of such differences. The overriding research question that
emerges from the literature review and which guides our analysis is: How do cultural
interpretations of time shape waiting in services? While acknowledging the theoretical
frameworks that have been identified as useful backdrops for pursuing the topic, we
separate this broad question into two more focused research questions:
1. How relevant are the theories of cultural interpretations of time (pace of life,
social time system, and time orientation -mono/polychronic-) for the study of
waiting in services in diverse cultural contexts?
2. What are the main situations in waiting for services where culture plays a
relevant role in shaping consumer perceptions of the wait and their subsequent
behaviours?

Methodology

Waiting is one of many everyday phenomena that are deemed ordinary, routine or
insignificant and that take place almost invisibly (Ehn and Lfgren, 2010; Koo and
Fishbach, 2010; Moran, 2007). Cultural beliefs about waiting are so ingrained and
hidden that they are generally neither discussed nor articulated (Levine, 1997).
Nevertheless, cultural interpretations of waiting represent an unspoken language with
ironbound rules that are specific to each culture (Hall, 1959). This makes waiting a

5
 difficult subject to access and to research. Thus, some strategy should be put in place in
order to let issues in this topic to be brought to the fore.

Sampling strategy and sample obtained

In this study, in order to uncover the hidden language of waiting, we decided, as a
strategy, to ask expatriates to reflect on their experiences of waiting while abroad. We
choose expatriates because they have a cultural point of comparison that gives them a
unique capacity to identify the silent language of waiting as their new cultural setting
differs from their own (Oberg, 1960). Because of the complexities involved in studying
and uncovering the cultural canons that govern the hidden, everyday mundane
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behaviour of waiting (Ehn and Lfgren, 2010; Hall, 1959; Levine, 1997) and because of
the exploratory nature of the research, a qualitative approach was adopted (Patton, 2002;
Saunders et al., 2003).

The study is conducted in Catalonia, in the north east of Spain. However, it is important
to emphasise that this study is not about waiting for service in Spain. This study focuses
on the much broader issue of the role of culture in waiting. Spain is simply a suitable
common context to undertake the research, a common setting upon which respondents
from different countries could reflect on their (possibly different) experiences when
faced with similar situations.

The study is based on an international and culturally diverse sample of nineteen self-
initiated expatriates from nineteen countries, men and women, aged between 24 and 48
years, all of whom had (at the time of the study) been living in Spain for between 6
months and 2 years. In this sense we were guided by the concept of acculturation, which
suggests that newcomers to a culture will assimilate the behaviours of their new cultures
over time (Oberg, 1960; Bhaskar-Shrinivas et al., 2005). The two-year timeframe has
been repeatedly found as a significant cut-off point as expatriates move beyond the
culture shock stage and adapt to the new culture and make it theirs (Black et al.,
1991). Table 1 provides information on the country of origin and profile of the
respondents. The sample size was defined by the principle of theoretical saturation,
consisting of collecting data until no new categories or evidences emerged (Corbin and
Strauss, 2008; Goulding, 2002). Therefore, data collection finishes when theoretical
saturation occurs (Morse, 2007; Strauss and Corbin, 2002).

6
 Insert Table 1 about here

Data collection
Nineteen semi-structured interviews were carried out over 9 months. Then, during
months 8 and 9, data was also collected through personal diaries with seven of the same
participants who agreed to take part in this second stage. Table 1 indicates which
participants also took part in the diary stage. The principal objective of the diaries was
to achieve further depth by recording actual consumer waiting situations (Symon, 1998)
in situ (DeLongis et al., 1992) in their personal diaries, thus greatly reducing potential
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recall error (Alaszewski, 2006).

The diary research lasted 6 weeks. Although this is not a longitudinal study, this study
contrasts with almost all previous waiting studies (with the exception of Ryan and
Valverde, 2006) that are almost entirely cross sectional in nature. In total 41 waiting
situations were recorded during the diary phase. Each diarist returned between four and
seven waiting situations. Although this is not a very large number of situations,
participants were encouraged to provide in-depth descriptions of a smaller number of
varied waiting situations, rather than a large number of loosely described and similar
situations. By undertaking interviews and collecting diaries in different languages we
were not constrained by the limits of one language to adequately describe the time
orientations of another culture.

Analysis and rigour

All the interviews were recorded, fully transcribed and analysed by two researchers in
order to gain new perspectives on the data (Morse, 1994). In this sense, researcher 1 and
researcher 2 open coded the data separately before meeting and comparing their
codings. An inter-coder reliability of 87% was obtained. In a review of inter-coder
correlations, Klenke (2008) found that 80% agreement indicates a high level of
reliability. Subsequently they returned to the data and found that although the themes
dealt with by these codes were the same, the coders packaged them differently, as is
common in qualitative analysis (Armstrong et al., 1997). Hence, before proceeding
further, both researchers agreed on a common coding scheme.

7
 Firstly, the data was analysed line-by-line in the open coding process (Strauss, 1987) in
order to identify the concepts and categories that emerged from the data, and to develop
the concepts properties through comparisons (Gibbs, 2002). A large number of open
and unrelated codes were created (107 codes). In the axial coding phase, the categories
were refined (8 categories) and the relationships between them were explored and
developed (Gibbs, 2002). Finally, the selective coding process was carried out defining
the core category that represents the central phenomenon of the study (Corbin and
Strauss, 1990). Throughout the codification process, all categories were compared
constantly with the data (Glaser, 2001). On completion of the data analysis, eight
participants came to a presentation of the main findings, followed by a group discussion
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to gather the participants feedback on the interpretations that had been inferred from
the data. This additional procedure was carried out in order to ensure rigour and
establish credibility in the form of member checks (Lincoln and Guba, 1985).

Results
We firstly consider the results regarding differences in the cultural interpretations of
time and waiting. Secondly, we consider how culture shapes the rules of waiting, and
consequently how waiting in services varies across cultures. Thirdly, we examine the
cultural interpretations of what it means to wait in services and when waiting occurs.

We accompany the results with quotations taken in vivo from the interview data
(Anderson, 2010; Corden and Sainsbury, 2006) based on how well they illuminate the
point being argued (Grbich, 2007), thus facilitating the assessment of face and content
validity (Guest and MacQueen, 2008) and credibility (Bianchi, 2011; Hilton et al.,
2013; Holloway and Brown, 2012; Patwardhan et al., 2009).

Cultural interpretations of time and waiting

This first sub-section examines the concepts and theories employed in the literature on
the cultural interpretations of time and waiting as they enfold in the qualitative data of
this study.

Pace of Life

8
 For some participants life in Spain is characterized by its quick, high tempo pace
compared to their home country. Other participants perceive a much slower pace of life
compared with their home countries, even equating it with like being on holidays.
The pace of life in Spain is slow:
Russia: I have this image that this country is more tranquil [..] Time goes by
more slowly.
The pace of life in Spain is fast:
Equatorial Guinea: Its as if time is always running here. The whole day is full.

Firstly, this suggests that the perception of the pace of life is a relative concept,
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compared to what one is accustomed to. Secondly, participants see a relationship

between the pace of life and the pace of time itself. Thirdly, the participants speak of
having more time, or indeed, less time, in line with their perception of the pace of
time.
Senegal: Life is bit hectic here [] when I go home [to Senegal] I get the
feeling that the day is longer there. [Thinks] Yes, the day seems longer.

Social Time System

Participants who report that punctuality is highly valued in their home countries speak
of the difficulties they experience when they try to be less punctual in their lives in
order to adapt to living in Spain. Others, who feel that punctuality is not so important in
their home countries, describe how they struggle to become more punctual in Spain.
South Korea: I have Korean blood so Im always 5 or 10 minutes ahead of
everyone else.
Equatorial Guinea: Have you ever seen a punctual African? No. Never. I try. I
really try but Im not capable.

Firstly, this suggests that punctuality is a relative and subjective concept that is culture
bound. Secondly, perceived punctuality and tolerance for delays is part of cultural
conditioning or training as proposed by Rose et al. (2003). Thirdly, as perceived
punctuality is innate or culturally ingrained, it is difficult for individuals to adapt when
they move to another culture.

Time orientation: Monochronic vs. Polychronic

9
 There is much evidence in the data of Halls (1976) classification in the form of
references to the presence (or absence) of clock-time and time management tools
(personal organizers, diaries and alarms) in participants lives, as illustrated by the next
two examples.
South Korea: I use the organiser on my mobile phone. If I have an appointment I
normally set an alarm for an hour or two before [..] That gives me plenty of time
to get ready and go.
Equatorial Guinea: In my country your watch is a nice bracelet [laughs].
Morocco: No I never had an organizer before. Im learning how to use it [in
Spain], making lists... but its difficult.
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Although there is much evidence in the data of Halls (1976) monochronic and
polychronic profiles, it would be unwise for a qualitative study such as this one to claim
a statistical relationship between specific countries and specific profiles. Nevertheless,
in general, the participants interpretations of time fit into the monochronic/polychronic
classification along national lines, as is evident in the examples we have chosen above.

Uncovering the hidden rules of waiting behaviour

This sub-section considers how the rules of waiting, and consequently the ways in
which people wait, vary across cultures. The most common differences to emerge from
the data dealt with how consumers queue (or stand in line) and how they interpret
whether or not a waiting situation is actually taking place.

How consumers queue

Although waiting in line is one of the most habitually researched waiting contexts in the
marketing and economics literature (Adan et al., 2001; Bennett, 1998; Davis and
Heineke, 1994; Minton, 2008; Rafaeli et al., 2002), the authors have not found any
previous study in the services marketing literature that examines the cultural aspects of
waiting in line. Yet, the qualitative data of this study is replete with examples of how
the participants find that the rules of queuing for services vary across cultures.

The examples below illustrate how a specific waiting behaviour, while considered
normal in some cultures, would be unthinkable in others, as it would clearly break the
implicit rules of waiting for service.

10
 Ireland: [At the train station] They make it look like theyre not [jumping the
queue] but they really are. They say I just want to ask a quick question and
they go right up to the counter. No one takes a blind bit of notice. Im ready to
explode.
Germany: [At the supermarket check-out]. All of sudden a woman walked right
in front of me and put her things on the counter. She says No its okay, were
together pointing to the other woman who had just finished paying [..] It seems
that in Spain thats allowed. Incredible.

There are also many references to the apparent absence of orderly queues in Spain.
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Greece: No one queues here [in Spain], or in Greece. In England everyone

queues up for the bus, at the post-office, at the bank.

We note how queuing is almost second nature in some cultures while in others it is
perceived as less relevant.
England: I know its a clich but people queue up for everything in the UK [..]

However, the participants discover that in Spain there may be a very clear invisible
social order even in the absence of orderly queues.
Argentina: [In Spain] people dont wait in a queue. As a new customer arrives
they ask who is last in line. Then, the reference isnt the queue. Its the last person to
arrive just before you.

Hence, order and social justice exists even where from the viewpoint of an outsider
there is no order or structure.

In addition to the examples provided above, the participants uncover a broad range of
waiting behaviours seemingly peculiar to waiting in Spain. This suggests that the same
would be true of other cultural contexts. In Spain, these include sending one member of
a family to start queuing while the others go about the shopping; having different
members of the family join different queues; and joining a friend in the queue (at the
cinema, the supermarket, the cash machine, etc.) without being accused of jumping the
line. These behaviours stood out as unusual to the expatriates as they had never seen

11
 these behaviour before or because it was something that would be unacceptable in their
home countries.

In summary, typically the participants describe how they feel alone in their frustration
when they detect these behaviours and how the other consumers seem unaware of any
unusual behaviour. In this way, the participants uncover the silent language of waiting
in Spain. This confirms the appropriateness of the methodological choice of this study
to utilize expatriate consumers. It also confirms the proposal of Levine (1997) that the
rules of waiting are hidden, even though they are second nature to natives, and that
these rules vary across cultures. Finally, if the unwritten rules of waiting are different
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in Spain, it is reasonable to assume that these rules will also be different in other
cultural contexts. We feel that the failure of most research on waiting to account for
variations in cultural time orientations and differences in the culture-bound rules of
waiting significantly limits our understanding of waiting in services.

When does the wait begin?

Much of the research on waiting is based on a view of the wait that entails an objective
time span, from one specific, objective moment in time (when the consumer is ready)
until a specific time when the service provider begins the service and the wait ends
Taylor (1994). It uses adjectives that routinely refer to waiting as wasted or
unproductive time (Unzicker, 1999). Research assumes that consumers constantly strive
to avoid waiting, or to fill waiting time and thereby avoid boredom (Davis and Heineke
1994; Pearce, 1989). In this sense, the literature and research on waiting in services is
largely characterised by a monochronic time logic. As mentioned earlier, this is not
surprising in light of the narrow cultural context of much of the published research on
this topic. However, the analysis of the data of this study suggests this approach may
represent just one of many potential interpretations of when waiting begins and when it
ends.

The following example illustrates how consumers from different cultures may have
different interpretations on whether waiting is actually even taking place or not.
Iran: I said If you think this is waiting, you have no idea. In my country waiting
is a way of life. This isnt even waiting!

12
 The participant from South Korea suggests that waiting begins before the scheduled
appointment time.
South Korea: I knock on their door 5 minutes before [early]. Hi, Im here. Just to
let them know Ive arrived, Im ready and Im waiting.

However, the following example illustrates how, in Spain, the wait may not actually
begin until some time after the appointed clock time. Indeed, there is considerable
evidence in the present study that clock-time is loosely interpreted in Spain.
Greece: Here if a meeting is scheduled for 12, then it starts at 12:10. Thats just
the way it is. 12 means 12:10. Everything is 10 minutes late. Its like a kind of
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rule.

There are also meaningful differences in some of the words and vocabulary associated
directly with waiting. The participants speak about the concept of Spanish time (hora
espaola) as opposed to clock-time, as illustrated in the following examples.
United States: When I arrange a time to meet Spanish friends I ask if they mean
Spanish time or US time(laughs).

People speak of a long half hour or a long hour.

England: The receptionist said I would have to wait for a long half hour [media
hora larga].

Additionally, the participants report that the word now in Spain causes much
confusion among newcomers. In Spain now (ahora) can mean in a few minutes, in a
short time, or soon.
Russia: In Spain now doesnt really mean now. It means in ten minutes, or
maybe even 20 minutes. You never know. Soon, but not right now.

This suggests that waiting in services is not necessarily linked to a monochronic view of
time in all cultures.

Discussion and implications

13
 In our first research question, we pondered whether theories of cultural interpretations
of time, developed in other fields such as anthropology, sociology and psychology,
might be relevant for services marketing in order to gain insights into waiting for
service in diverse cultural contexts. The analysis of the data uncovered evidence of the
three theories evaluated, both in general terms and in their specific application to
waiting for commercial service situations. This shows that time in general and, more
specifically, waiting, are indeed culturally bound phenomena, and thus culture should
be taken into account when studying waiting in services. Of the three theories under
scrutiny, Halls (1976) classification of monochronic and polychronic cultures provides
the most intuitive approach. However, its simplicity could result in researchers
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overlooking the more complex nuances of waiting-related behaviours and perceptions.

Levines (1997) idea of pace of life provides a good signpost to illustrate how narrow
the comfort zones of consumers may be when faced with services that depart from their
idea of what would constitute an optimum pace. Indeed, these departures from the norm
provoke strong reactions from the consumers in the study, for being too fast or too slow.
With regards to the elements proposed by social time systems (Anderson and
Brodowsky, 2001), our analysis highlights the importance of considering cultural
interpretations of punctuality for service providers and customers alike. Moreover, in
this highly saturated category, there were many examples that illustrate the perception
that the norms of punctuality are part of peoples most deeply ingrained habits.

The second research question of the study attempted to identify the main instances
where cultural differences play an important role in perceptions and behaviours when
faced with waiting in service situations. Two main issues emerged from the analysis:
On the one hand, there are wide ranging differences between queuing systems in
different cultures. Even though some practices while queuing were always perceived
negatively by members of a different cultural background, being knowledgeable about
them (i.e., having uncovered the language of that specific waiting situation) tended to
decrease their negative evaluation. It is interesting to note that even the very (North
American) expression waiting in line as a synonym for queuing is culturally based,
as queuing may not even happen in a line in certain cultural settings, as it has been
shown to be the case in Spain, where customers may be orderly organised in a queue
without the physical presence of a line. On the other hand, a significant finding of the
study is the recognition that, given the same situation, consumers from different cultures

14
 may or may not feel that they are waiting. The acknowledgement of this fact is very
much in line with the importance given to the focus of study on perceived rather than
actual waiting time (Davis and Heineke, 1998; Jones and Peppiatt, 1996), and it extends
it to the point whereby the waiting experience may not be considered shorter or longer,
but indeed, absent or present.

The findings of this study are relevant in the academic realm for the debate on
standardisation and adaptation or SA (Chung et al., 2012; Vrontis, et al, 2009). While
this stream of research has covered numerous aspects of marketing strategy and the
marketing mix (Birnik and Bowman, 2007), it has not, to date, included the adaptation
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of waiting to local behaviours.

Practical Implications
Cultural differences in waiting behaviour are important for multinational companies and
those operating in international markets, as well as for local companies offering their
services to customers from different countries, such as tourism services. Companies
should consider adapting their wait management strategies to their customer base.
Indeed, many service companies will have a basis for customer segmentation according
to customer time orientations.

The results suggest we should reconsider the overall generalizability across cultures of
much of the research on waiting in services. Existing research on waiting has been
carried out in a very limited range of cultural contexts and largely ignores the cultural
dimensions of waiting. Research is dominated by a monochronic focus on seeking
solutions to reduce or eliminate real and perceived waiting times. However, this
research suggests that some cultures are consistently more tolerant of delays. In these
cultures, waiting may not be such a serious inconvenience or problem, especially if the
waiting time can be filled with other activities as previously suggested by Rose et al.
(2003). Indeed, this raises the related issue of characteristically monochronic time-
rationing practises of services such as restaurants that put a time limit of 60 or 90
minutes on tables. This clock-based approach to services assumes that consumers value
more highly shorter waiting time over service duration. Our study suggests that this
approach would unlikely be successful in polychronic cultures. Indeed, in a study
carried out in Singapore, Yeung and Soman (2007) found that although shortening

15
 service duration increases service efficiency, overall it also leads to lower service
evaluations. Service design strategies geared toward reducing the time customers spend
with services may overlook cultural perceptions of pace of time that consider the service
to be rushed and therefore evaluate it negatively. This has important implications for
furthering research on waiting in services as well as for the design of services.

Our research suggests that as polychronic consumers exhibit a more flexible perception
of clock time, they may not perceive that a delay is taking place until some time after a
monochronic consumer. In this sense, a monochronic consumer may require an almost
immediate explanation and apology for a delay. However, in a polychronic culture, this
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strategy might simply and unnecessarily draw attention to a delay before the consumer
even perceives that they are waiting. Furthermore, in this sense, it is important to note
that time-based guarantees such as maximum home-delivery times by restaurants are
more characteristic of monochronic cultures and less likely to attract new consumers in
polychronic contexts. Indeed, the fact that different cultures have different tolerances
for delay suggests that marketing communications should be adapted accordingly.
Companies who operate in monochronic cultures should emphasise time-related
attributes (such as time-saving services, quick and punctual delivery and the absence of
queue) in their positioning strategy. However, in polychronic cultures emphasis should
be placed on enabling the consumer to fill waiting times with other activities.

Limitations and further research

The examples recounted in this study are necessarily about waiting in Spain and many
of the idiosyncrasies that are identified are about Spain. This may be considered a
weakness or limiting factor of the study. Nevertheless, this paper is not about waiting in
Spain. As mentioned earlier, it simply uses Spain as a suitable context to consider the
role of culture in waiting.

Future studies should broaden the focus of attention of waiting research, from its
narrowly defined focus on micro elements of waiting, to more substantial and macro
issues that will affect the future direction of research on this topic. Indeed, research on
waiting seems to have become entrenched in examining the details of how long
consumers are willing to wait and what can be done to shave seconds of the perceived
waiting time. In this sense, after 30 years of research on waiting, it is time to take stock

16
 of the state of research and to identify the substantive issues that will guide and shape
the overall character and direction of research on waiting in the coming years. We
propose that the cultural aspects of waiting play a significant role in future research in
order to fine-tune our knowledge of waiting to specific cultural contexts.

Further research should also examine a range of more specific wait solutions in a
broader range of cultural settings with the aim of adapting these strategies to specific
cultural contexts. This includes examining traditionally monochronic solutions (time
guarantees, time rationing, providing wait information, virtual queuing, etc.) in
polychronic contexts and vice-versa. For example, many theme parks already offer the
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opportunity to avoid queuing for attractions by paying for express pass tickets. Research
should examine if culture plays a role in determining the attractiveness of this type of
wait-avoiding services. Furthermore, as the tourism setting may involve a range of
different languages of waiting, each with its own set of rules and norms, the potential
for critical incidents in the context of customer-to-customer interaction (CCI) (Martin
and Pranter, 1989; Nicholls, 2011) is very high. Further research should also examine
cross-cultural CCI in waiting for services.

Additionally, the finding that part of the negative evaluations of waiting stem from not-
knowing about a specific cultures waiting systems or from expecting a system similar
to the customers norms, suggests that expectation-confirmation theory (Oliver, 1977,
1980) should be considered when pursuing further research on waiting in services and
cultural differences. Expectation-confirmation has been used in waiting for service
studies (e.g. Yan and Lotz, 2006), but not yet in multicultural contexts.

Further research on waiting by polychronic researchers is required in order to identify

and develop research questions that exam issues that are not relevant to researchers with
a monochronic mind-set. In this way, issues that have previously largely gone
uncontested such as When the wait begins and the necessarily negative connotations
of waiting may be examined within an alternative time orientation.

In conclusion, our findings show that there is a significant gap in our knowledge and
understanding of waiting in services because existing research is dominated by a
monochronic time orientation that is characteristic of the countries where the research

17
 has been previously undertaken. If we are to advance our understanding of waiting in
services in a diversity of cultural contexts, we should overcome the assumption that
there is only one way to interpret time and that there is only one way to wait.
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18
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Author Biographies:

Maria del Mar Pmies is Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Business Management at the Universitat
Rovira i Virgili (URV), where she teaches consumer behaviour, marketing research and qualitative
methods.

Gerard Ryan is Associate Professor of Marketing at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Spain) and visiting
research fellow at Cornell University (USA). He has studied at the University of Limerick (Ireland),
Cranfield University (UK) and the Open University of Catalonia. He has previously worked at ESADE
(Barcelona) and Middlesex University Business School (London). His main research interests lie in
consumer waiting behaviour and the ethical consumer.

Mireia Valverde is Associate Professor of HRM at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Spain) and visiting
research fellow at Cornell University (USA). She is the principal researcher in the research group FHOM
(Human Factor: Organisations & Markets) (www.fhom.net) which has official recognition by the Catalan
Government Research Agency (AGAUR).

26
 Country of Origin M/F Age Profession/Sector Time living Diarist
in Spain

Argentina F 32 Education 24 months Yes

Bolivia F 24 Post-graduate student 6 months -

Brazil M 24 Deejay 18 months -

China F 31 Education 24 months Yes

Dominican Republic F 35 Retail 18 months -

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England F 25 Post-graduate student 6 months -

Equatorial Guinea F 26 Tourism 24 months Yes

France F 34 Call Center 12 months -

Germany M 41 Marketing 14 months -

Greece F 30 Education 24 months Yes

Ireland M 45 HR Manager 12 months Yes

Iran M 36 Unemployed 24 months -

Moldova F 33 Sales & Marketing 24 months Yes

Morocco F 27 Education 24 months Yes

Portugal M 41 IT 6 months -

Russia M 29 Education 24 months -

Senegal M 25 Retail 22 months -

South Korea F 48 Author 24 months -

United States F 39 Wine industry 12 months -

Table 1: Description of Interview and Diary Participants