Customer contact employees' commitment to extra-role customer service: the effect of internal service quality perception

Abstract

The important role of customer contact employees in creating superior customer service quality has been well demonstrated. Accordingly, extensive research has been conducted to identify antecedents of their commitment to customer service. The effect of internal service quality has been proposed as one such factor, but has not been empirically tested. We intend to fill this gap in this study. Specifically, we examine the exclusive role of perceived internal service quality in forming employee commitment to extra-role customer service by controlling the effects of other proven antecedents such as training, empowerment, and reward. Extra-role customer service refers to employees' discretionary behaviors extending beyond the formal role requirements. Using data collected through a survey of 245 customer contact employees at 22 full service hotels in Seoul, we first identified the dimensions of customer contact employees' perceptions of internal service quality and then examined their effect on employee commitment to extra-role customer service. Results demonstrated the significant effect of the responsiveness dimension of the internal service quality.