Service climate as a mediator of organizational empowerment in customer-service employees

  1. Mendoza Sierra, María Isabel 1
  2. Orgambídez Ramos, Alejandro 1
  3. Carrasco González, Ana María 1
  4. León Jariego, José Carlos 1
  1. 1 Universidad de Huelva
    info

    Universidad de Huelva

    Huelva, España

    ROR https://ror.org/03a1kt624

Revista:
The Spanish Journal of Psychology

ISSN: 1138-7416

Año de publicación: 2014

Volumen: 17

Páginas: 1-10

Tipo: Artículo

DOI: 10.1017/SJP.2014.4 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openAcceso abierto editor

Otras publicaciones en: The Spanish Journal of Psychology

Objetivos de desarrollo sostenible

Resumen

The aim of this study is to examine the mediating role of the service climate between organizational empowerment (i.e., dynamic structural framework, control of workplace decisions, fluidity in information sharing) and service quality (functional and relational). 428 contact employees from 46 hotels participated in the survey. Correlations demonstrated that dynamic structural framework, control decisions, and fluidity in information sharing are related to both functional and relational service quality. Regression analyses and Sobel tests revealed that service climate totally mediated the relationship between all three dimensions of organizational empowerment and relational service quality. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Referencias bibliográficas

  • Baron R. M., & Kenny D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173-1182. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173
  • Bowen D., & Lawler E. (1992). The empowerment of service workers: What, why, how, and when? Sloan Management Review, 33, 31-39.
  • Bowen D., & Schneider B. (1988). Services marketing and management: Implications for organizational behavior. Research in Organizational Behavior, 10, 43-80.
  • Burke M. J., Borucki C. C., & Hurley A. E. (1992). Reconceptualizing psychological climate in a retail service environment: A multiple-stakeholder perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 77, 717-729. http://dx.doi.org/10. 1037/0021-9010.77.5.717
  • Burke M., Rapinski M., Dunlap E., & Davison H. (1996). Do situational variables act as substantive causes of relationships between individual difference variables? Two large scale tests of common cause models. Personnel Psychology, 49, 573-598. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.1996.tb01585.x
  • Coelho F. J., Augusto M. G., Coelho A. F., & Sá P. M. (2010). Climate perceptions and the customer orientation of frontline service employees. The Service Industries Journal, 30, 1343-1357. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/ 02642060802613525
  • Cohen J., Cohen P., West S. G., & Aiken L. S. (2003). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis (3rd Ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
  • Conger J. A., & Kanungo R. N. (1988). The empowerment process: Integrating theory and practice. Academy of Management Review, 13, 471-482. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/258093
  • Dimitriades Z. S., & Maroudas T. (2007). Internal service climate and psychological empowerment among public employees: An exploratory study in Greece. Transforming Government: People, Process, and Policy, 1, 377-400. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/17506160710839196
  • Gracia F., Cifre E., & Grau R. (2010). Service quality: The key role of service climate and service behavior of boundary employee suits. Group & Organization Management, 35, 276-298. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1059601110370783
  • Hartline M. D., & Ferrell O. C. (1996). The management of customer-contact service employees: An empirical investigation. Journal of Marketing, 60, 52-70. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1251901
  • Hoyle R. H., & Kenny D. A. (1999). Sample size, reliability, and test of statistical mediation. In R. H. Hoyle (Ed.), Statistical strategies for small sample research (pp. 195-222). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
  • Lawler E. (1992). The ultimate advantage: Creating the highinvolvement organization. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
  • Martínez-Tur V., Tordera N., Peiró J. M., & Potocnik K. (2011). Linking service climate and disconfirmation of expectations as predictors of customer satisfaction: A cross-level study. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 41, 1189-1213. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2011. 00753.x
  • Matthews R. A., Diaz W. M., & Cole S. G. (2003). The organizational empowerment scale. Personnel Review, 32, 297-318. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ 00483480310467624
  • Mendoza M. I., León J. C., Orgambídez A., & Borrego Y. (2009). Evidencias de validez de la Adaptación Española de la Organizational Empowerment Scale [Validity evidence of the Spanish adaptation of the Organizational Empowerment Scale]. Revista de Psicología del Trabajo y de las Organizaciones, 25, 17-28. http://dx.doi.org/10.4321/S1576- 59622009000100003
  • Menon S. (2001). Employee empowerment: An integrative psychological approach. Applied psychology, 50, 153-180. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1464-0597. 00052
  • Moliner C., Carrasco H., Martínez-Tur V., & Marzo J. C. (2004). Diferencias en clima de servicio y conductas extra-rol hacia el cliente: Una aproximación contextual en hoteles [Climate for service and extra-role customer service differences: A contextual approach in hotels]. Revista de Psicología Social Aplicada, 14, 73-85.
  • Parasuraman A., Zeithaml V. A., & Berry L. L. (1988). Servqual: A multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality consumer perceptions of service quality. Journal of Retailing, 64, 12-40.
  • Peiró J. M., Martínez-Tur V., & Ramos J. (1999). El triángulo de la calidad de servicio: Una aproximación psicosocial [The service quality triangle: A psychological approach]. Papeles del Psicólogo, 74, 1-12.
  • Peiró J. M., Martínez-Tur V., & Ramos J. (2005). Employees' overestimation of functional and relational service quality: A gap analysis. Service Industries Journal, 25, 773-788. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/ 02642060500103324
  • Podsakoff P. M., MacKenzie S. B., Lee J. Y., & Podsakoff N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of applied psychology, 88, 879-903. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879
  • Podsakoff P. M., & Organ D. W. (1986). Self-reports in organizational research: Problems and prospects. Journal of management, 12, 531-544. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/014920638601200408
  • Potocnik K., Tordera N., Martínez-Tur V., Peiró J. M., & Ramos J. (2011). Is service climate strength beneficial or detrimental for service quality delivery? European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 20, 681-699. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2010.496649
  • Preacher K. J., & Leonardelli G. J. (2003). Calculation for the Sobel test: An interactive calculation tool for mediation tests. Retrieved from http://quantpsy.org/sobel/sobel.htm
  • Quinn R. E., & Spreitzer G. M. (1997). The road to empowerment: Seven questions every leader should consider. Organizational Dynamics, 26, 37-49. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0090-2616(97)90004-8
  • Rafiq M., & Ahmed P. K. (1998). A customer-oriented framework for empowering service employees. Journal of Services Marketing, 12, 379-396. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/08876049810235423
  • Rust R. T., & Zahorik A. J. (1993). Customer satisfaction, customer retention, and market share. Journal of retailing, 69, 193-215. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0022-4359(93)90003-2
  • Salanova M., Agut S., & Peiro J. M. (2005). Linking organizational resources and work engagement to employee performance and customer loyalty: The mediation of service climate. Journal of Applied Psychology; Journal of Applied Psychology, 90, 1217-1227. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.90.6.1217
  • Sánchez-Hernández R. M., Martínez-Tur V., González- Morales M. G., Ramos J., & Peiró J. M. (2009). Un análisis transnivel de las relaciones de la calidad de servicio y la confirmación de expectativas con la satisfacción de los usuarios [Cross level analysis of the relationships of the service quality and confirmation of expectations with user satisfaction]. Psicothema, 21, 421-426.
  • Sánchez-Hernández R. M., Martínez-Tur V., Peiró J. M., & Ramos J. (2009). Testing a hierarchical and integrated model of quality in the service sector: Functional, relational, and tangible dimensions. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 20, 1173-1188. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14783360903247577
  • Schneider B. (1994). HRM-a service perspective: Towards a customer-focused HRM. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 5, 64-76. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09564239410051911
  • Schneider B., Ashworth S., Higgs A., & Carr L. (1996). Design, validity, and use of strategically focused employee attitude surveys. Personnel Psychology, 49, 695-705. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.1996.tb01591.x
  • Schneider B., & Bowen D. E. (1985). Employee and customer perceptions of service in banks: Replication and extension. Journal of Applied Psychology, 70, 423-433. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.70.3.423
  • Schneider B., Ehrhart M. G., Mayer D. M., Saltz J. L., & Niles-Jolly K. (2005). Understanding organizationcustomer links in service settings. The Academy of Management Journal, 48, 1017-1032. http://dx.doi.org/10.5465/AMJ. 2005.19573107
  • Schneider B., Salvaggio A. N., & Subirats M. (2002). Climate strength: A new direction for climate research. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 220-229. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//0021-9010.87.2.220
  • Schneider B., & White S. S. (2004). Service quality: Research perspective. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
  • Schneider B., White S. S., & Paul M. C. (1998). Linking service climate and customer perceptions of service quality: Test of a causal model. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83, 150-163. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010. 83.2.150
  • Siegall M., & Gardner S. (2000). Contextual factors of psychological empowerment. Personnel Review, 29, 703-722. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ 00483480010296474
  • Smith A. C., & Mouly V. S. (1998). Empowerment in New Zealand firms: Insights from two cases. Empowerment in Organizations: An International Journal, 6, 69-80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/14634449810210814
  • Sobel M. E. (1982). Asymptotic confidence intervals for indirect effects in structural equations models. In S. Leinhart (Ed.), Sociological methodology (pp. 290-312). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
  • Sowinski D. R., Fortmann K. A., & Lezotte D. V. (2008). Climate for service and the moderating effects of climate strength on customer satisfaction, voluntary turnover, and profitability. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 17, 73-88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/ 13594320701473065
  • Sparks B. A., Bradley G. L., & Callan V. J. (1997). The impact of staff empowerment and communication style on customer evaluations: The special case of service failure. Psychology & Marketing, 14, 475-493. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1520-6793(199708)14:5 3.3.CO;2-C
  • Spreitzer G. M. (1995). Psychological empowerment in the workplace: Dimensions, measurement, and validation. Academy of Management Journal, 38, 1442-1465. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/256865
  • Storbacka K., Strandvik T., & Grönroos C. (1994). Managing customer relationships for profit: The dynamics of relationship quality. International journal of service industry management, 5, 21-38. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09564239410074358
  • Thomas K. W., & Velthouse B. A. (1990). Cognitive elements of empowerment: An interpretative model of intrinsic task motivation. Academy of Management, 15, 666-681. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/258687
  • Tordera N., González-Romá V., & Peiró J. M. (2008). The moderator effect of psychological climate on the relationship between leader - member exchange (LMX) quality and role overload. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 17, 55-72. http://dx.doi.org/10. 1080/13594320701392059
  • Wa K., & Lam W. (2011). The trade-off of servicing empowerment on employees' service performance: Examining the underlying motivation and workload mechanism. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 39, 609-628. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11747-011-0250-9
  • Wallace J. C., Johnson P. D., Mathe K., & Paul J. (2011). Structural and psychological empowerment climates, performance, and the moderating role of shared felt accountability: A managerial perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96, 840-850. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0022227
  • Wei F., Yuan X., & Di Y. (2010). Effects of transactional leadership, psychological empowerment and empowerment climate on creative performance of subordinates: A crosslevel study. Frontiers of Business Research in China, 4, 29-46. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11782-010-0002-6
  • Wilkinson A. (1998). Empowerment: Theory and practice. Personnel Review, 27, 40-56. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00483489810368549
  • Yagil D., & Gal I. (2002). The role of organizational service climate in generating control and empowerment among workers and customers. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 9, 215-226. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0969- 6989(01)00033-9.