Call Center Employees’ Intent to Quit: Examination of Job Engagement and Role Clarity

Call centers have become a valuable resource for hotels in managing customer experiences and relationships, yet they have also developed a reputation for being a stressful job which has made it a significant challenge to retain employees. Given high turnover rates among call center employees, it is important for hospitality firms to understand the factors influencing their intentions to quit. This study focuses on job engagement and role clarity to examine hotel call center employees’ intent to quit. The survey results of call center employees at a large resort hotel suggest that job engagement significantly influences the hotel call center employees’ intent to quit after accounting for job satisfaction and organizational support. Role clarity, however, is not related to intent to quit. Managerial implications and recommendations for increasing employee job engagement are discussed.     

Does customer incivility undermine employees’ service performance?

This study extends the growing body of research on customer incivility by examining its impact on employees’ in-role and extra-role service performance in the hospitality industry. Using a sample of 307 employee–supervisor dyads in nine hotels in Zhuhai City, China, this research examined the impact of customer incivility along with negative affectivity and hostile attribution bias on in-role performance and extra-role performance, particularly proactive customer service performance (PCSP). The results demonstrate that, while customer incivility negatively influenced PCSP, it did not impact in-role performance. Furthermore, the effect of customer incivility on PCSP was mediated by negative affectivity. Additionally, hostile attribution bias significantly moderated the relationship between customer incivility and negative affectivity, as well as the indirect relationship between customer incivility and PCSP through negative affectivity.     

Effects of customer incivility on frontline employees and the moderating role of supervisor leadership style

Customer incivility toward frontline employees (FLEs) is a widespread phenomenon within tourism and hospitality industries, severely depleting the psychological resources of FLEs and delivered customer service. Drawing on the job demands-resources and conservation of resources frameworks, the current research compares the effects of the two most common forms of customer incivility on FLEs' psychological responses and behavioral intentions (study 1). Moreover, this work explores the degree to which supervisor leadership style can mitigate the depleting effects of these two forms of customer incivility on FLEs (study 2). Findings demonstrate that FLEs' responses to customer incivility episodes remain contingent upon supervisor's leadership style and acknowledge that an empowering (vs. laissez-faire) leadership style can better mitigate the depleting effects of both customer incivility forms on FLEs' role stress, rumination, retaliation and withdrawal intentions. The implications of these findings for tourism and hospitality theory and practicing managers are discussed.     

酒店分散型激励机制:内涵结构与作用机制研究

酒店分散型激励机制是一种不同于传统模式的新型激励机制。该文章基于定性和定量相结合的混合研究方法对分散型激励机制的内涵体系和作用机制进行了理论总结和实证检验。文章对H酒店的激励机制进行了多阶段调研,并对酒店40位各层级人员进行了非结构式访谈,总结出了分散型激励机制的内涵结构及其成效。文章提出,酒店分散型激励机制是以员工综合工作价值为目标导向,酒店运用多种分散型激励手段激发员工工作动机的一种长期激励机制,具有激励主体分散、激励目标分散、激励方式分散和激励因素分散等基本特征。以此为基础,研究建构了分散型激励机制、激励态度、工作满意度以及工作专注等变量间的融合影响框架,并对H酒店全体270名员工进行了问卷调查。研究发现,酒店的分散型激励机制对员工的工作满意度和工作专注具有显著的正向影响,员工工作满意度在分散型激励机制和员工工作专注间具有部分中介作用,激励态度对酒店分散型激励机制的作用机制具有显著的正向调节作用。     

The Effect of Educational Level on Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment: A Case Study in Hospitality

ABSTRACT

The hospitality industry is characterized by the close personal interaction between employees and customers. Consequently, the study of certain constructs that influence this relationship, such as organizational commitment and job satisfaction, is a key factor in ensuring business success. Furthermore, there are a number of variables that can, in theory, help to explain the levels reached by these constructs, one of the most important being educational level. Using this as our starting point, this article aims to determine the effect of educational level on the job satisfaction and organizational commitment of hotel employees in the province of Cordoba, Spain. As such, the study found that educational level does not influence job satisfaction. However, it does have an inverse effect on organizational commitment where the lower the educational level of employees, the higher their commitment. This result is consistent with the temporal component of both constructs, since job satisfaction is related to more ephemeral influences while organizational commitment is related to job security. In this respect, the study determined that employees with a lower educational level are more affected by the lack of job opportunities and more likely to express higher levels of gratitude for the job they have been able to secure and maintain. Knowledge of this relationship can be useful in designing more successful ??human resource strategies, such as employee recruitment, job profiles, and training schemes.     

Employee satisfaction,customer satisfaction,and financial performance: An empirical examination

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction, and to examine the impact of both on a hospitality company’s financial performance utilizing service-profit-chain framework as the theoretical base. Specifically, this study explores four major relationships: (1) the direct relationship between customer satisfaction and financial performance; (2) the direct relationship between employee satisfaction and financial performance; (3) the direct relationship between customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction; and (4) the indirect relationship between employee satisfaction and financial performance. Furthermore, this study examines the mediating role of customer satisfaction on the indirect relationship between employee satisfaction and financial performance. Data for this study was collected from employees, customers and managers of three- and four-star hotels. Structural equation modeling (SEM) with a two-step approach was utilized to empirically test the proposed hypotheses and the relationships between the constructs. Findings suggest that while customer satisfaction has positive significant impact on financial performance, employee satisfaction has no direct significant impact on financial performance. Instead, there is an indirect relationship between employee satisfaction and financial performance, which is mediated by customer satisfaction.     

Examining the spillover effect of frontline employees’ work–family conflict on their affective work attitudes and customer satisfaction

This study examines the negative spillover effects of hospitality frontline employees’ work–family conflict on their affective reactions, commitment, and customer satisfaction. A field survey was conducted to obtain a dyadic data set (148 paired employee–customer responses). Our results indicate that frontline employees’ role conflict between work and family results in less positive affective reactions to the job, decreased emotional attachment to the organization, and lower levels of customer satisfaction. These findings suggest that hospitality firms need to understand that factors outside the workplace influence service excellence, thus calling for a family-friendly organizational culture.     

When and why organizational dehumanization leads to deviant work behaviors in hospitality industry

This study investigates when and why organizational dehumanization leads to deviant work behavior. Accordingly, aims to investigate the impacts of organizational dehumanization on perceived incivility and deviant work behavior. In addition to this, also investigates the psychological capital as moderator between organizational dehumanization and perceived incivility, while perceived incivility as a mediator between organizational dehumanization and deviant work behaviors (employee time theft and knowledge hiding). A time lag approach: with three-time intervals T1, T2 and T3 respectively was used to collect the data from hotel employees. Results indicate that organizational dehumanization leads to perceived incivility and thereof, perceived incivility propels deviant work behaviors amongst employees. Moreover, employee’s psychological capital played a protective role of reducing the detrimental effects of organizational dehumanization on perceived incivility. This research contributes to literature by considering behavioral outcomes of organizational dehumanization. For managers this study provides insights to minimize organizational stressors to buffer employee deviant behaviors. This study also provides new research avenues in hospitality industry.     

如何提高饭店业一线员工的服务补救绩效:模型与实证

文章应用巴顾兹(Bagozzi)的态度模型,采用结构方程建模方法,构建并验证了基于饭店业一线员工感知视角的服务补救绩效预测模型。实证结果表明:(1)一线员工对授权、培训、奖励以及对饭店进行顾客抱怨管理的感知正向影响其工作满意度;(2)顾客抱怨管理和授权不仅通过一线员工情感变量(工作满意和情感承诺)的中介作用间接正向影响服务补救绩效,还能够直接预测服务补救绩效;(3)一线员工的情感变量是解释员工培训和奖励正向影响其服务补救绩效的完全中介变量;(4)工作满意直接正向影响一线员工的情感承诺,而在工作满意和服务补救绩效之间的间接正向影响关系中,情感承诺变量起到了全部中介效应。文章最后总结了对服务补救理论和饭店业管理实践的贡献。     

Customers’ Perceptions of Employee Engagement: Fortifying the Service–Profit Chain

This study investigated the three dimensions of employee engagement: dedication, energy, and absorption from the customer’s perspective. The service–profit chain (SPC) and employee behavior that promotes customer satisfaction and loyalty were examined. The results revealed that certain aspects of employee engagement are more readily perceived by consumers and more likely to promote customer satisfaction and loyalty. Findings showed that energy and dedication combined were most likely to foster feelings of satisfaction and loyalty among hospitality patrons. From a theoretical perspective, the study contributes to the literature by enhancing the SPC, revealing new insight into employee engagement, and linking employee engagement to positive consumer outcomes. Hospitality industry professionals may find that employee engagement benefits the customers’ perceptions of the establishment, ultimately increasing profitability. This study utilizes the SPC in the hospitality context and proposes a new link in the chain: employee engagement.     

That's Not Fair!

ABSTRACT

Organizational commitment has been shown to be significantly negatively related to employee turnover. Given the high incidence of employee turnover in the hospitality industry, practitioners and academics alike should be focused on a more complete understanding of this phenomenon. The present study is an exploration into the identification of the relationships among organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and organizational justice. The study was conducted with employees of a major casino-hotel. Results indicated that organizational justice has an indirect positive impact on organizational commitment by working through job satisfaction. Practical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

The Impact of Employee Training on Job Satisfaction and Intention to Stay in the Hotel Industry

ABSTRACT

Training has been found to link with improving job satisfaction and employee intention to stay. The purposes of this research were to investigate the expectations and perceptions of training quality between hotel managers and employees, and to suggest implications for improving training quality and increasing training satisfaction, job satisfaction, and intention to stay among employees in the hotel industry. The conceptual model of this study was developed based on SERVQUAL and the ServiceProfit Chain model. T-test showed that employees perceived low training quality, which suggested employees were not satisfied with training quality and that training quality needed improvement. Results of regression analysis showed that training was positively related to training satisfaction and job satisfaction. Job satisfaction led positively to intention to stay. The indirect effect of training quality on intention to stay was mediated by job satisfaction. This study suggests more understanding of the importance of training quality and its consequences, and to pay more attention to employee training.     

Improving employee service levels through identifying sources of customer satisfaction

A major source of satisfaction for customers of hospitality operations is the service employees provide. In order for employees to be trained to perform activities which provide customer satisfaction, it is necessary for the hospitality manager to determine what service actions bring about satisfaction. The major thrust of this article is to describe an objective approach for designing an instrument that may be used to identify components of customer satisfaction. The identification of these specific measurable behaviours will be a great asset to hospitality managers in training and evaluating their employees, ultimately leading to a higher level of customer satisfaction.     

The Development of an Instrument to Address the Negative Perception of Hospitality Jobs

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to introduce a new construct that would assist in understanding employee attitudes and behaviors in hospitality sector jobs. The research introduces job-esteem and justifies it as a unique construct worthy of further study. Job-esteem is defined as the level of respect and dignity an individual believes is associated with his/her job. An instrument was developed to assist in measuring the level of job-esteem found in hospitality employees. The instrument was then administered to 75 employees of a large hotel chain in Hawaii. Tests show the instrument meets reliability standards.     

Leisure Involvement,Job Satisfaction,and Service Performance among Frontline Restaurant Employees

The importance of employee leisure involvement to employee service performance has been suggested but not tested in the literature. This study closes this research gap by inspecting the direct consequence of leisure involvement on service performance and leisure involvement’s indirect effect on service performance via job satisfaction for frontline service employees. This study uses a sample of 313 restaurant employees collected from Bandung, Indonesia. The proposed model is tested using variance-based SEM-PLS. The results show the importance of leisure involvement as a determinant of frontline service performance. Moreover, this study reveals that the effect of leisure involvement on service performance is partially mediated by job satisfaction. The conceptual and practical significance of these results are reviewed.     

Job involvement,commitment, satisfaction and turnover: Evidence from hotel employees in Cyprus

The study of attitudes at work seeks to enhance organizational knowledge and capabilities in developing an ‘ideal’ working environment that delivers exceptional customer service. The current study investigates the causal relationships of job involvement, organizational commitment (normative and affective), and job satisfaction (intrinsic and extrinsic), with the intention of hospitality employees in Cyprus to either remain at or leave their job. Utilizing structural equation modeling, positive associations were found between job involvement, affective and normative commitment, and intrinsic job satisfaction. Positive associations between affective and normative organizational commitment, and intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction were also found. In addition, negative associations between affective organizational commitment, extrinsic job satisfaction and turnover intention were revealed. However, a negative association between intrinsic job satisfaction and turnover intention was not supported. The implications of these results for future research are also discussed.     

A triple whammy effect of employees' gender,job type,and service outcomes on consumer behavior

The extant literature reports inconsistent results regarding the effect of employee gender on customers' attitudes and behaviors. Furthermore, the previous research on congruency bias has mainly focused on female-dominant jobs. To address these issues, this study examined how customers' gender stereotypes affect their service evaluations and revisit intentions. Grounded in role congruity theory, congruency bias, and justification-suppression models, the results showed that employee gender and gender congruency with the norm for the job have differential impacts on customer evaluations. Furthermore, this study found asymmetric impacts of congruency bias on customer experiences. For example, customers showed lower satisfaction and revisit intention when female employees failed in a male-dominant job than when their male counterparts did. However, they showed equal levels of satisfaction and revisit intention when male and female employees failed in a female-dominant job. The results provide important insights into how to reduce customers' gender bias toward different gender-dominated jobs.     

Job Characteristics and Job Design in Table-Service Restaurants

ABSTRACT

This study assessed the relationships of job characteristics, job satisfaction, and job performance in a sample of 315 table service restaurant employees. Results demonstrate the job characteristics to be reliable constructs, and that the sample perceived them to exist at varying levels in their jobs. Multiple measures of job satisfaction are reported and compared. Perceived job characteristics do appear to influence job satisfaction, but demonstrate only a very limited relationship with job performance. Recommendations are suggested for job design or job redesign that may enhance satisfaction and performance.     

The Impact of Internal Branding on Employee Engagement and Outcome Variables in the Hotel Industry

The concept of internal branding is well accepted in the service industry. This study examines how internal branding helps service organizations achieve desirable outcomes such as job satisfaction and employee loyalty. The model is developed based on social exchange theory and considers the relationship among internal branding, employee engagement, job satisfaction, and employee loyalty. The model is tested on service employees of hotels in South Korea using a survey method. The study finds internal branding is critical for employees to be engaged with the job and the organization and employee engagement fully mediates the relationship between internal branding and job satisfaction. Several implications are discussed.     

Predictors of Service Effort

ABSTRACT

Improving service quality will continue to be a vital goal for hospitality and tourism organizations in the new millennium. As service worker performance directly impacts customer's evaluation of quality, further investigation of methods of improving performance are necessary. Service effort is a construct that has received little attention in the literature, but may be a significant factor in linking employee attitudes and customer perceptions of service quality. This exploratory study tested three popular managerial constructs to determine the extent to which they predict service effort. Using data from 331 service workers from two cruise line operations organizations, motivation, organizational commitment and job satisfaction were regressed against service effort. Results indicate that organizational commitment was the greatest predictor of service effort, followed by motivation. One dimension of job satisfaction (satisfaction with company), failed to yield a significant relationship with service effort, while satisfaction with supervisor yielded a slightly negative coefficient. Implications for hospitality and tourism managers and organizations are discussed.