Relationships Among Supervisors’ Authentic Leadership, Ostracism, Perceived Supervisor’s Trust and Commitment to Customer Services: Evidence From Frontline Service Employees of Small Stores

Abstract

The influential roles of supervisor’s leadership in the context of a small store are not studied and it is unclear how it affects the attitudinal and behavioral outcomes of frontline service employees. Drawing on the social exchange theory, the purpose of this study is three folds. First, this study aims to examine the role of supervisors’ authentic leadership and supervisor ostracism on frontline service employees’ perceived supervisor trust. Second, this study investigates the effects of frontline service employees’ perceived supervisor trust on commitment to customer services and store affective commitment. Finally, the positive role of store affective commitment on frontline service employees’ commitment to customer services is examined. A survey-based was used to collect 203 responses from frontline service employees of coffee shops in Korea. Covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) was conducted to test the hypotheses. The results indicated that a supervisor’s authentic leadership is positively whereas supervisor ostracism is negatively associated with supervisor trust. Similarly, supervisor trust has a significant positive effect on the frontline service employee’s commitment to customer services and store affective commitment. Finally, frontline service employees’ store affective commitment has a significant positive effect on the commitment to customer services. This research offers practical implications for managers of frontline service employees, particularly in the selection, training, promotion, and socialization process of supervisors of small stores in general and in coffee shops in particular. Practitioners interested to increase frontline service employees’ commitment to customer services and store affective commitment can leverage the findings of this study.