The “why” of HR practices: employee attributions regarding HR practices and resulting effects on service climate and employee attitudes in casinos

Abstract

For service businesses, a key goal is the consistent delivery of exceptionally high levels of service quality. A hospitality organisation that emphasises service in everything it says and does is more likely to achieve high levels of service quality, customer satisfaction and competitive advantage. This thesis applies a services management framework to the study of casinos. The research contributes to knowledge by examining the differential effects of employee interpretations of human resources (HR) practices on service climate and job-related attitudes. The research problem has three aspects. First, academics and practitioners need to better understand the internal dynamics that affect the development of an organisational climate for service. A positive service climate encourages desirable service-related behaviours. Second, although it is widely understood why human resource management (HRM) can contribute to positive organisational outcomes, it is not well understood exactly how HRM is connected with such desirable outcomes. In particular, this thesis explores the effect of the differential attributions that employees make regarding why their organisation has implemented its chosen set of HR practices. Third, research that addresses HR and service-related variables in the casino industry is lacking. Some evidence suggests that the casino industry has specific contextual characteristics that may set it apart from other industries in terms of organisational dynamics. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the impact of employee attributions regarding HR practices on perceptions of service climate and important work-related employee attitudes in the context of the casino industry. Further aims are to provide insight into the specific working conditions in the casino industry that have an impact on employee perceptions and attitudes, and to examine what causes these employees to make particular attributions regarding HR practices. The research questions to be addressed are: RQ1: What is the influence of employee attributions of HR practices on job satisfaction and organisational commitment? RQ2: How do employee perceptions of service climate explain the relationships between employee attributions of HR practices and job satisfaction and organisational commitment? RQ3: What are the salient features of the casino working environment that have an impact on employee HR attributions, perceptions of service climate, job satisfaction and organisational commitment? The study is premised on a post-positivist perspective, with a realist approach to knowledge. The research design included a mix of methods in a sequential explanatory design involving two stages. The study organisations were two Australian casino hotels, “Casino Ace” and “Casino Baccarat”. Both participating casino hotels are located in regional and remote locations. Employees of these two casino hotels were participants for each data collection stage. The first stage was quantitative and explored the first two research questions. The data collection instrument was a self-report questionnaire designed to measure each of the variables of interest: employee attributions of HR practices, perceptions of service climate, job satisfaction and organisational commitment. A total of 443 usable surveys were collected across the two data collection sites: 139 completed questionnaires at Casino Ace and 304 at Casino Baccarat (representing a response rate from the sample of 87% and 95% respectively). Data analysis techniques adopted to explore the research questions included confirmatory factor analyses, tests of validity and reliability, and structural equation modelling to assess the hypotheses. The second stage was qualitative and explored the third research question. A series of interviews was conducted with employees from both of the participating casino hotels. A total of 23 interviews were conducted – 11 at Casino Ace and 12 at Casino Baccarat. Thematic analysis techniques were used to analyse the data. Findings indicate that when employees attribute HR practices to a concern for employee well-being and a commitment to quality service delivery (the Internal Commitment HR attribution), higher levels of job satisfaction and organisational commitment result. In contrast, when employees attribute HR practices to either a desire to cut costs and exploit employees (the Internal Control HR attribution) or the need to comply with external regulations (the External Compliance HR attribution), there is little to no influence of job-related attitudes. A positive level of service climate is highly related to the Internal Commitment HR attribution. Service climate is also positively related to job-related attitudes. Contrary to expectations, there is limited evidence to suggest that service climate mediates the relationship between HR attributions and job-related attitudes. Implications of the study are wide-ranging. The newly emerging theory of HR attributions has merit, although there appear to be contingencies and boundary conditions on the hypothesised relationships. Further research into employee HR attributions is warranted. The remote location of the two casino hotels appears to have influenced the results. This unplanned finding highlights the need for a better understanding of the impact of operating in remote location on workplace outcomes.