Employee customer orientation in manufacturing organizations: Joint influences of customer proximity and the senior leadership team.

Pursuing a customer-focused strategy in manufacturing organizations requires employees across functions to embrace the importance of understanding customer needs and to align their everyday efforts with the goal of satisfying and retaining customers. Little prior research has examined what factors influence employee customer orientation in manufacturing settings. Drawing on the attraction-selection-attrition model, upper-echelons theory, and contingency theories of leadership, this study investigated the joint influences of functional roles' proximity to external customers and the senior leadership team's customer orientation on employee customer orientation. Hierarchical linear modeling results based on data obtained from 4,299 employees and 403 senior leaders from 42 facilities of a global manufacturer operating in 16 countries revealed that employees occupying customer-contact roles had the highest level of customer orientation, followed by employees occupying production roles, and then by those in support roles. In addition, there was a positive relationship between the senior leadership team's customer orientation and employee customer orientation for all 3 functional roles. The positive relationship between the senior leadership team and employee customer orientation was the strongest for employees in support roles, suggesting that lower levels of proximity to external customers may create a greater need for leadership in developing employees' customer-oriented attitudes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mechanisms linking employee affective delivery and customer behavioral intentions.

Past empirical evidence has indicated that employee affective delivery can influence customer reactions (e.g., customer satisfaction, service quality evaluation). This study extends previous research by empirically examining mediating processes underlying the relationship between employee affective delivery and customer behavioral intentions. Data were collected from 352 employee-customer pairs in 169 retail shoe stores in Taiwan. Results showed that the influence of employee affective delivery on customers' willingness to return to the store and pass positive comments to friends was indirect through the mediating processes of customer in-store positive moods and perceived friendliness. The study also indicated that employee affective delivery influences customers' time spent in store, which, in turn, influences customer behavioral intentions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Store manager performance and satisfaction: Effects on store employee performance and satisfaction, store customer satisfaction, and store customer spending growth.

Based on emotional contagion theory and the value–profit chain literatures, the present study posits a number of hypotheses that show how managers in the small store, small number of employees retail context may affect store employees, customers, and potentially store performance. With data from 306 store managers, 1,615 store customer-contact employees, and 57,656 customers of a single retail chain, the authors examined relationships among store manager job satisfaction and job performance, store customer-contact employee job satisfaction and job performance, customer satisfaction with the retailer, and a customer-spending-based store performance metric (customer spending growth over a 2-year period). Via path analysis, several hypothesized direct and interaction relations among these constructs are supported. The results suggest implications for academic researchers and retail managers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transforming service employees and climate: A multilevel, multisource examination of transformational leadership in building long-term service relationships.

This longitudinal field study integrates the theories of transformational leadership (TFL) and relationship marketing to examine how TFL influences employee service performance and customer relationship outcomes by transforming both (at the micro level) the service employees' attitudes and (at the macro level) the work unit's service climate. Results revealed that, at the individual level, managers' TFL was positively related to employee service performance, which, in turn, positively predicted customers' expressed intention to maintain a long-term service relationship with the service employee and manager-reported number of the employee's long-term customers measured 9 months later. In addition, the relationship between TFL and employee service performance was partially mediated by employee self-efficacy. Furthermore, store-level TFL was positively associated with store-level service climate, and service climate further enhanced the relationship between individual-level TFL and employee service performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Getting even for customer mistreatment: The role of moral identity in the relationship between customer interpersonal injustice and employee sabotage.

Research on the "dark side" of organizational behavior has determined that employee sabotage is most often a reaction by disgruntled employees to perceived mistreatment. To date, however, most studies on employee retaliation have focused on intra-organizational sources of (in)justice. Results from this field study of customer service representatives (N = 358) showed that interpersonal injustice from customers relates positively to customer-directed sabotage over and above intra-organizational sources of fairness. Moreover, the association between unjust treatment and sabotage was moderated by 2 dimensions of moral identity (symbolization and internalization) in the form of a 3-way interaction. The relationship between injustice and sabotage was more pronounced for employees high (vs. low) in symbolization, but this moderation effect was weaker among employees who were high (vs. low) in internalization. Last, employee sabotage was negatively related to job performance ratings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Organizational climate configurations: Relationships to collective attitudes, customer satisfaction, and financial performance.

Research on organizational climate has tended to focus on independent dimensions of climate rather than studying the total social context as configurations of multiple climate dimensions. The authors examined relationships between configurations of unit-level climate dimensions and organizational outcomes. Three profile characteristics represented climate configurations: (1) elevation, or the mean score across climate dimensions; (2) variability, or the extent to which scores across dimensions vary; and (3) shape, or the pattern of the dimensions. Across 2 studies (1,120 employees in 120 bank branches and 4,317 employees in 86 food distribution stores), results indicated that elevation was related to collective employee attitudes and service perceptions, while shape was related to customer satisfaction and financial performance. With respect to profile variability, results were mixed. The discussion focuses on future directions for taking a configural approach to organizational climate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Linking Organizational Resources and Work Engagement to Employee Performance and Customer Loyalty: The Mediation of Service Climate.

This study examined the mediating role of service climate in the prediction of employee performance and customer loyalty. Contact employees (N=342) from 114 service units (58 hotel front desks and 56 restaurants) provided information about organizational resources, engagement, and service climate. Furthermore, customers (N=1,140) from these units provided information on employee performance and customer loyalty. Structural equation modeling analyses were consistent with a full mediation model in which organizational resources and work engagement predict service climate, which in turn predicts employee performance and then customer loyalty. Further analyses revealed a potential reciprocal effect between service climate and customer loyalty. Implications of the study are discussed, together with limitations and suggestions for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Managerial modes of influence and counterproductivity in organizations: A longitudinal business-unit-level investigation.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 93(2) of Journal of Applied Psychology (see record 2008-02855-018). Table 2 on p. 1000 contains errors that were not the fault of the authors. The correct version of the table is provided in the erratum.] The authors studied the effect of 3 modes of managerial influence (managerial oversight, ethical leadership, and abusive supervision) on counterproductivity, which was conceptualized as a unit-level outcome that reflects the existence of a variety of intentional and unintentional harmful employee behaviors in the unit. Counterproductivity was represented by an objective measure of food loss in a longitudinal study of 265 restaurants. After prior food loss and alternative explanations (e.g., turnover, training, neighborhood income) were controlled for, results indicated that managerial oversight and abusive supervision significantly influenced counterproductivity in the following periods, whereas ethical leadership did not. Counterproductivity was also found to be negatively related to both restaurant profitability and customer satisfaction in the same period and to mediate indirect relationships between managerial influences and distal unit outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

How rude! Emotional labor as a mediator between customer incivility and employee outcomes.

Because of the large number of people employed in service occupations, customer incivility has become an increasingly prevalent and important workplace stressor. Unfortunately, relatively little research has examined the effects of customer incivility; of the research that does exist, virtually all of it has focused solely on employee mental health outcomes. The present study was designed to replicate previous research linking customer incivility to the emotional exhaustion dimension of burnout and to expand on previous research by examining the effects of customer incivility on customer service quality. In addition, two models were proposed and tested in which emotional labor mediated the relationship between customer incivility and outcomes. Data from 120 bank tellers revealed that customer incivility was positively related to emotional exhaustion and negatively related to customer service performance. In addition, both proposed models were supported. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings and future directions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Managerial modes of influence and counterproductivity in organizations: A longitudinal business-unit-level investigation": Correction.

Reports an error in "Managerial modes of influence and counterproductivity in organizations: A longitudinal business-unit-level investigation" by James R. Detert, Linda K. Trevi?o, Ethan R. Burris and Meena Andiappan (Journal of Applied Psychology, 2007[Jul], Vol 92[4], 993-1005). Table 2 on p. 1000 contains errors that were not the fault of the authors. The correct version of the table is provided in this correction. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2007-09571-008.) The authors studied the effect of 3 modes of managerial influence (managerial oversight, ethical leadership, and abusive supervision) on counterproductivity, which was conceptualized as a unit-level outcome that reflects the existence of a variety of intentional and unintentional harmful employee behaviors in the unit. Counterproductivity was represented by an objective measure of food loss in a longitudinal study of 265 restaurants. After prior food loss and alternative explanations (e.g., turnover, training, neighborhood income) were controlled for, results indicated that managerial oversight and abusive supervision significantly influenced counterproductivity in the following periods, whereas ethical leadership did not. Counterproductivity was also found to be negatively related to both restaurant profitability and customer satisfaction in the same period and to mediate indirect relationships between managerial influences and distal unit outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Disposition toward military service: A psychological inquiry.

Explored demographic, personality, and attitudinal factors that might relate to one's disposition toward military service. 300 male (psychology) university students were administered a 22-variable questionnaire that included 7 personality scales. Ss who claimed to be conscientious objectors (COBs) differed from nonconscientious objectors (NCOBs) on all attitude scales. COBs also scored significantly higher than NCOBs on Rotter's Internal-External Locus of Control Scale and significantly lower on the California F Scale. No significant findings were obtained for measures on the Machiavellianism scale (R. Christie, 1964), Risk-Taking scale (N. Kogan and M. A. Wallach, 1964), Manifest Anxiety scale (J. A. Taylor, 1953), and Social Desirability scale (D. P. Crowne and D. Marlowe, 1964). Findings provide positive evidence for the validity of the COB concept. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Unit-level voluntary turnover rates and customer service quality: Implications of group cohesiveness, newcomer concentration, and size.

Despite substantial growth in the service industry and emerging work on turnover consequences, little research examines how unit-level turnover rates affect essential customer-related outcomes. The authors propose an operational disruption framework to explain why voluntary turnover impairs customers’ service quality perceptions. On the basis of a sample of 75 work units and data from 5,631 employee surveys, 59,602 customer surveys, and organizational records, results indicate that unit-level voluntary turnover rates are negatively related to service quality perceptions. The authors also examine potential boundary conditions related to the disruption framework. Of 3 moderators studied (group cohesiveness, group size, and newcomer concentration), results show that turnover’s negative effects on service quality are more pronounced in larger units and in those with a greater concentration of newcomers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Linking service climate and customer perceptions of service quality: Tests of a causal model.

A set of foundation issues that support employee work and service quality is conceptualized as a necessary but not sufficient cause of a climate for service, which in turn is proposed to be reflected in customer experiences. Climate for service rests on the foundation issues, but in addition it requires policies and practices that focus attention directly on service quality. Data were collected at multiple points in time from employees and customers of 134 branches of a bank and analyzed via structural equation modeling. Results indicated that the model in which the foundation issues yielded a climate for service, and climate for service in turn led to customer perceptions of service quality, fit the data well. However, subsequent cross-lagged analyses revealed the presence of a reciprocal effect for climate and customer perceptions. Implications of these results for theory and research are offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Climate strength: a new direction for climate research.

Climate strength was conceptualized within D. Chan's (1998) discussion of compositional models and the concept of culture strength from the organizational culture literature. Climate strength was operationalized in terms of within-group variability in climate perceptions--the less within-group variability, the stronger the climate. The authors studied climate strength in the context of research linking employee service climate perceptions to customer satisfaction. The hypothesis was tested that climate strength moderates the relationship between employee perceptions of service climate and customer satisfaction experiences. Partial support for the hypothesis was reported in both a concurrent and predictive (3-year) test across 118 branches of a bank. In the predictive study only the interaction of climate and climate strength predicted customer satisfaction. Implications for future research on climate and climate strength are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Service employees give as they get: Internal service as a moderator of the service climate–service outcomes link.

We lend theoretical insight to the service climate literature by exploring the joint effects of branch service climate and the internal service provided to the branch (the service received from corporate units to support external service delivery) on customer-rated service quality. We hypothesized that service climate is related to service quality most strongly when the internal service quality received is high, providing front-line employees with the capability to deliver what the service climate motivates them to do. We studied 619 employees and 1,973 customers in 36 retail branches of a bank. We aggregated employee perceptions of the internal service quality received from corporate units and the local service climate and external customer perceptions of service quality to the branch level of analysis. Findings were consistent with the hypothesis that high-quality internal service is necessary for branch service climate to yield superior external customer service quality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

A multilevel model of the effects of equal opportunity climate on job satisfaction in the military.

To date, minimal work has explored associations between equal opportunity (EO) climate and employee work attitudes, and no known research has investigated the effects of EO climate beyond the individual level. We address these gaps in the literature by testing a multilevel structural equation model in which effects of EO climate are considered at both the individual and unit levels. At the individual level, we predicted that psychological EO climate would be directly associated with job stress and job satisfaction, as well as indirectly related to job satisfaction via stress. In addition, cross-level associations between unit EO climate and job stress and job satisfaction were hypothesized to be mediated by cohesion. Findings supported the proposed model; hypothesized relations were supported at both levels of analysis. We conclude with a discussion of the findings, study limitations, and directions for future EO climate research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Management team learning orientation and business unit performance.

Although research has suggested that teams can differ in the extent to which they encourage proactive learning and competence development among their members (a team learning orientation), the performance consequences of these differences are not well understood. Drawing from research on goal orientation and team learning, this article suggests that, although a team learning orientation can encourage adaptive behaviors that lead to improved performance, it is also possible for teams to compromise performance in the near term by overemphasizing learning, particularly when they have been performing well. A test of this proposition in a sample of business unit management teams provides strong support. The results confirm that an appropriate emphasis on learning can have positive consequences for team effectiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The crossover of daily work engagement: Test of an actor–partner interdependence model.

This study of 62 dyads of employees (N = 124) examined the crossover of work engagement—a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind that is characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption. We hypothesized that work engagement crosses over from an employee (the actor) to his or her colleague (the partner) on a daily basis. The frequency of daily communication was expected to moderate the crossover of daily work engagement, which in turn would relate to colleagues’ daily performance. Participants first filled in a general questionnaire and then completed a diary study over 5 consecutive workdays. The hypotheses were tested with multilevel analyses, using an actor–partner interdependence model. Results confirmed the crossover of daily work engagement, but only on days when employees within a dyad interacted more frequently than usual. Moreover, we found that actor’s work engagement (particularly vigor), when frequently communicated, had a positive indirect relationship with partner’s performance through partner’s work engagement. Finally, results showed that actor’s vigor was negatively related to partner’s performance when communication was low. However, this negative effect was counteracted when mediated by the vigor of the partner. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When goal orientations collide: Effects of learning and performance orientation on team adaptability in response to workload imbalance.

The authors draw on resource allocation theory (Kanfer & Ackerman, 1989) to develop hypotheses regarding the conditions under which collective learning and performance orientation have interactive effects and the nature of those effects on teams' ability to adapt to a sudden and dramatic change in workload. Consistent with the theory, results of a laboratory study in which teams worked on a computerized, decision-making task over 3 performance trials revealed that learning and performance orientation had independent effects on team adaptability when teams had slack resources available for managing their changed task. Time helped explain the independent effects of performance orientation. Results also revealed that learning and performance orientation had interactive effects when teams did not have slack resources. Finally, the results of this study indicate that teams lacking slack resources were better able to balance high levels of learning and performance orientation over time with practice on the changed task. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Active learning: When is more better? The case of resident physicians’ medical errors.

An active learning climate facilitates new knowledge acquisition by encouraging employees to ask questions, seek feedback, reflect on potential results, explore, and experiment. These activities, however, also increase a learner’s chances of erring. In high-reliability organizations, any error is unacceptable and may well be life threatening. The authors use the example of resident physicians to suggest that by adjusting the conditions of priority of safety and managerial safety practices, organizations can balance these potentially conflicting activities. Participants in the study were 123 residents from 25 medical wards. Results demonstrated that the positive linear relationship between priority of safety and safety performance, demonstrated in earlier studies, existed only when the active learning climate was low. When the active learning climate was high, results demonstrated a U-shaped curvilinear relationship between priority of safety and number of errors. In addition, high managerial safety practices mitigated the number of errors as a result of the active learning climate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)