Antecedents of discretionary risky-service behavior: an exploratory study

Abstract

Purpose – The purposes of this paper is to first explore, and describe positive discretionary risky-service behaviour (DRSB) of customer-contact service providers in relational context and second to model the antecedents of such actions. Design/methodology/approach – Employed an exploratory qualitative approach and purposive sampling. The authors gather data from field interview of 35 relationship managers in private and public banks in India. Grounded theory method using analytic induction approach was employed. Findings – Existing studies and field interviews are used to forward the notion of “DRS behaviour” denoting employee service behaviour that is discretionary as it is work beyond what could reasonably be expected from an employee's job role and risky in a sense that it is outside the specific rules and processes incorporated in the formal service process document. Data reveal the existence of DRS behaviour in banks. A definition of DRS behaviour is forwarded and a range of antecedents proposed. Research limitations/implications – To explore the generalizability of results replications among bank employees (relationship managers) in other countries (with more regulatory banking environments) required. While the exploratory data suggest the general antecedents of DRS, the specific propositions have not been tested. Practical implications – The paper includes implications for the management and advancement of employee-customer relationship such as employee's traits, reward structure, and system for monitoring employee-customer relationship strength. Originality/value – The main contribution of the study is relationship antecedent, which may be taken as a starting point for relationship advancement research.