Analyzing the impact of service provider empowerment on perceptions of service quality inside an organization

Abstract

The purpose of the project was to analyze the perceptual linkages between empowerment and employees' perceptions of the service quality that they are able to provide for the organization. The service quality and empowerment literature are reviewed and connected in order to establish propositions about the relationship. The service quality literature also suggests that several other variables may influence service quality, and these are included in the investigation. A survey was administered to individuals employed in customer service positions in a catalog operation of a large retailer located in a major western city. The results suggest that the perceptual linkage between empowerment of individuals and the service quality that the service providers were able to deliver had a strong positive relationship in this organization. The empowerment components competence and impact were significantly associated with perceived service quality in separate multivariate regression analyses. In addition, the construct intrinsic rewards for quality service was highly associated with perceptions of service quality. Also, the extent to which service providers believe members of the organization value exceptional customer service (i.e., a service quality culture exists in the firm) had a strong, positive relationship with perceptions of service quality.