How and when does the career future time perspective motivate service performance?

Abstract

Despite the importance of the career future time perspective (CFTP) in shaping employee work behavior and performance, we know little about how and when CFTP influences employee performance. Based on the person-situation interactionist model, the present study proposes a comprehensive model wherein CFTP interacts with important contextual factors (i.e. work meaningfulness and perceived task interdependence) to influence strengths use for tasks and relationships, which subsequently impacts service performance—a particularly crucial output for the success of service organizations. We empirically examine this model using multi-wave and multi-source data collected from 246 hotel employee-supervisor dyads. We found that CFTP had a positive impact on strengths use for tasks and relationships, both of which were associated with increased in- and extra-role service performance. Furthermore, CFTP had a stronger relationship with strengths use for tasks and further service performance when work meaningfulness was high. CFTP was also closely associated with strengths use for relationships and subsequent service performance, regardless of the level of perceived task interdependence. We contribute to the literature by uncovering the mediating mechanisms and boundary conditions in the relationship between CFTP and service performance.