Employee Empowerment and Customer Orientation: Effects on Workers' Attitudes in Restaurant Organizations

Abstract

The goal of the research presented in this article is to contribute to a better understanding of how empowerment, employee customer orientation (CO), job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and job involvement relate to each other. The path model presents a driver of CO (empowerment) and the influence of CO on outcome variables. Data from 308 employees of nine full-service restaurants of a major chain located in the central United States is used for the structure equation modeling analysis. Results indicate that empowerment plays a significant role in shaping an employee's level of customer orientation. Employees identified as having a high degree of CO in turn report more positive response than other employees to personal attitudes related to their jobs, such as job satisfaction, job involvement, and organizational commitment.