Influences of organizational investments in social capital on service employee commitment and performance

Abstract

Improving customers' service experiences by identifying ways to develop organizational cultures that better motivate and engage service employees is an important issue for service organizations and a top priority in services research. However, extant services research focuses far more on managing customer relationships than on the dynamics of effectively supporting and developing the service personnel who interact with customers. This study assesses the influence of an organizational human resource developmental initiative on service employees. The authors utilize social capital theory and the theory of reasoned action to propose and test a model that examines relationships between organizational investments in social capital and service employees' work-related attitudes, norms, and behaviors. Results from a field study of 407 customer-facing employees from multiple service organizations suggest that making organizational investments in social capital favorably influences service employees' commitment, job performance, and organizational citizenship behavior.