Abstract
This study focuses two exchange relationships at service workplace––team-member exchange (TMX), customer-member exchange (CMX)––that customer contact employees may be involved in during a service encounter. This study extends exchange relationships into the service marketing domain by investigating less explored exchanges but ones (CMX, TMX) that service employees typically engage in the service encounter. It also highlights the mediating role of team commitment in team-oriented work environment. Based on social exchange theory and the selfregulation of attitude, this study examines the effects of both exchange variables on an emotional/attitudinal response (team commitment) and behavior (service performance). Data were collected from 468 customer-contact employees across 21 restaurants in seven branches of a prominent hotel chain in South Korea. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate proposed model and test hypotheses. The results showed that both TMX and CMX relationships have significant effect on team commitment, which in turn have positive impact on service performance. Team commitment mediated partially the positive relationships between both exchange variables and service performance. In regards to the direct effects on service performance, team commitment was strong relative to the effect of organizational commitment. Future studies should incorporate customer ratings or immediate supervisors‘ ratings of subordinates to measure the employee service performance. Further, the customer-member exchange scale needs further investigation in other contexts, to insure we have adequately captured it. Service organizations should not limit the employee relationships only to the formal contract or economic exchanges. Service management should scrutinize the critical role of TMX and CMX as perceived by service employees in generating positive job-related attitudes (team commitment) and superior service performance.
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