Frontline Employee Behavior Research Articles

Despotic Leadership and Front-Line Employee Deviant Work Behaviors in Service Organizations: The Roles of Moral Disengagement and Moral Identity

Research on despotic leadership and its impacts on the behavior of front-line employees (FLE) in service organizations is nascent. Drawing on the social cognitive theory of morality, we develop and test a model in two service settings investigating the direct and indirect effects of despotic leadership on three FLE deviant work behaviors. In Study 1, using a multi-wave, multi-data source research design with data derived from banks, telecommunications, and training/education service organizations in Pakistan, we demonstrate the ecological validity of our constructs. In Study 2, using a multi-wave, multi-source longitudinal research design, we investigated these relationships in hotels located in Pakistan and confirmed the results found in Study 1 and also investigated the sustainability of deviant work outcomes. Cumulatively, we found support for the direct effects of despotic leadership on FLE deviant work behaviors. Moral disengagement acted as a partial mediator of these relationships and moral identity moderated the mediated relationship between despotic leadership and FLE deviant work behaviors via moral disengagement. Our findings provide a nuanced understanding of despotic leadership and FLE deviant work behaviors in service settings. We contribute to the front-line services literature stream by focusing on the supervisor and FLE interaction and highlighting research and practice implications.

A multi-level perspective of the value congruence mechanisms underlying transformational leadership and cooperative voice

PurposeTransformational leadership (TFL) has been identified by a number of studies as a positive force for business success. However, few studies have explicitly examined its influence on the cooperative employment relationship, such as frontline employees' voice in the workplace. Thus, this study conducts an empirical analysis of dual-level (i.e. group-focused and individual-focused) TFL and its effect on frontline employees' cooperative voice.Design/methodology/approachThis empirical study is based on data from a survey of 468 full-time frontline workers from 38 hotels in China.FindingsThe empirical results revealed that both individual-level and group-level TFL are significantly associated with frontline employees' cooperative voice. Person–Organization value congruence and Person–Supervisor value congruence both act as mediators in the linkage between group-level TFL and employees' cooperative voice behaviors. The partial mediating role of Demand–Ability congruence on the relationship between individual-level TFL and cooperative voice is also established.Originality/valueFirst, this study investigates the dual-level effects of TFL on the cooperative voice behavior of frontline employees. Second, this study explores whether three dimensions of value congruence mediate the influence of TFL on the voice behaviors of employees.

Transformational leadership and innovative work behavior: The role of identification, voice and innovation climate

Researchers and businesses are becoming more interested in encouraging employees to engage in innovative work behavior in a highly competitive environment. The current study explores the underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions that explain the association between transformational leadership and innovative work behavior of frontline employees, based on the social exchange theory (SET) and conservation of resource theory (COR theory). Data was collected from frontline employees and managers working in 145 hotels in four provinces along China’s southeast coast (Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong). The results indicated that (1) transformational leadership had a positive impact on innovative work behavior, (2) organizational identification/employee voice mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and innovative work behavior, and (3) the indirect effect of transformational leadership on innovative work behavior (via organizational identification/employee voice) was stronger when the employee worked in a more innovation climate. This study provides hotel management insights regarding why and under what conditions employees behave as they do.

Does a leader’s motivating language enhance the customer-oriented prosocial behavior of frontline service employees?

The customer-oriented prosocial behavior of frontline employees can benefit their employers. This study demonstrated the effect of leaders' motivating language and behavioral integrity on the customer-oriented prosocial behavior of frontline employees. This study established a research framework to explore how leaders' motivating language enhances employees' perceived task significance, which in turn affects their deep acting and customer-oriented prosocial behavior. This study also explored the effect of leaders' behavioral integrity on customer-oriented prosocial behavior through the collection of questionnaire data from 304 frontline employees. Smart PLS 3 was employed to test the measurement model and study hypotheses. An empirical analysis demonstrated that leaders' empathetic language increased task significance, which in turn positively affected employees' deep acting and extra-role prosocial behavior. In addition, leaders’ behavioral integrity positively influenced role-prescribed prosocial behavior.

An imitation game – supervisors’ influence on customer sweethearting

PurposeCustomer sweethearting is a common illicit behavior of frontline employees in service firms. This paper aims to examine the impact of supportive–disloyal leadership behavior on customer sweethearting at different levels of leader–member exchange (LMX) quality.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on imitation theory and need-to-belong theory, the paper builds a conceptual model and empirically tests it using data from a survey-based study and a complementary experiment.FindingsThe authors find that employees’ customer sweethearting is affected by their supervisors’ supportive–disloyal behavior (employee sweethearting) through two divergent paths: employees imitate the sweethearting behavior of their supervisors; and employee sweethearting triggers employees’ feelings of belongingness to their organization, which reduces their customer sweethearting behavior.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that service firms can mitigate customer sweethearting by raising awareness that supervisors act as negative role models to subordinates and fostering high-quality LMX relationships, which give employees a sense of belonging to the supervisor and the organization.Originality/valueBy taking supervisors’ supportive–disloyal leadership behavior as an ambivalent driver of customer sweethearting into account, this paper provides further insight into the occurrence of customer sweethearting, particularly its underlying contrasting psychological mechanisms.

The effect of paradoxical leadership on extra-role service in the hospitality industry

PurposeThis study aims to examine the influence of paradoxical leadership (PLSH) on the extra-role service behavior of frontline employees. It analyzes not only direct but also indirect influence through mechanisms that improve the learning (self-improvement) and communication (voice) capabilities of hospitality employees.Design/methodology/approachData were gathered through structured questionnaires administered to a sample of frontline employees from Spanish hotels. A structural equations model was used to evaluate the theoretical model proposed.FindingsThe results show both a direct positive effect of PLSH on extra-role service and a mediating effect of employees’ improvement-oriented behaviors on this relationship. These results support the idea that employees under paradoxical leaders seek both self-improvement and organizational improvement through their voice to provide guests with excellent service.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings extend understanding of PLSH’s effects on the hospitality industry through its impact on extra-role service, an essential element of hotel success.Originality/valueThis study addresses the lack of research on hospitality leadership by analyzing the effects of PLSH on employees’ communication and learning behaviors, as well as on their extra-role service. The authors argue that some behaviors that help hotels compete (e.g. extra-role service) can have paradoxical implications for employees.

To speak up or stay silent? How employee–supervisor value differences affect speaking up behavior in the hospitality industry

Speaking up behavior plays an essential role in improving the service quality of teams and organizations. This study uses cross-level polynomial regression to explore the influence of supervisor–frontline employee power distance orientation (PDO) congruence on the speaking up behavior of frontline employees. The results indicate that congruence (vs. incongruence) in supervisor–frontline employee PDO can lead to more speaking up behavior. In addition, we propose an asymmetrical incongruence effect such that speaking up behavior will be most when supervisors are low in PDO and frontline employee are high in PDO. A team-oriented incentive structure also moderates the relationship between supervisor–frontline employee power distance orientation and speaking up behavior. These findings not only help us better understand the antecedents of frontline employee speaking up behavior, but also provide important implications for hospitality management.

Transformational Leadership, Psychological Empowerment, and Innovative Work Behavior of Frontline Employees in the Public Sectors: Empirical Evidence from North Sumatera, Indonesia

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of transformational leadership (TL) and psychological empowerment (PE) on innovative work behavior (IWB) of frontline employees at public sector in North Sumatera. This study examines the effects of PE as a moderator on the relationship between transformational leadership and innovative work behavior (IWB). The data were collected from 786 frontline employees through an online survey. Partial least square structural equation modeling analysis by the bootstrap method were used for the data analysis. Results indicated that TL and PE have positive influence on innovative work behavior, however specifically, the result showed that PE does not moderates on the relationship between TL and IWB of frontline employees in North Sumatera.

The Influence of Management Control Systems and Trust in the Organization on the Behavior of Frontline Employees

The Influence of Management Control Systems and Trust in the Organization on the Behavior of Frontline Employees

Corporate Social Responsibilities of Tourism Enterprises and Its Effects on Frontline Employees

As one of the micro-level contents of sustainable development, corporate social responsibility is the most effective method for tourism enterprises to support sustainable tourism. Studying the impact of tourism corporate social responsibility on the service behavior of frontline employees will help maintain the stability of the frontline employee of tourism enterprises and improve the competitiveness of tourism enterprises. This study builds a research model, proposes research hypotheses, and uses 405 valid data to conduct empirical research on the issue. The results show that tourism corporate social responsibility has a positive impact on the pro-social motivation and tourism service improvisation of frontline employees, and pro-social motivation also has a positive impact on tourism service improvisation. In addition, pro-social motivation plays a partial mediating role in the relationship between corporate social responsibility and tourism service improvisation. Finally, this study provides a reference and a new theoretical perspective for the management and research of tourism enterprises in the context of the epidemic.

The Role of Active Identification in Driving Retail Customer Feedback

Extensions of service-dominant logic conceive of value co-creation as socially constructed. The marketing literature has recognized the need to further articulate mechanisms through which socially meaning-laden coordination contributes to value co-creation. This research addresses gaps understanding firm-customer (micro-level) value creation. Through an integration of identity literature, we deepen thinking as to how identity processes can be implicated in value co-creation in a B2C retail context. Specifically, we examine moderated and mediated relationships among perceived front-line employee behavior and identification with the retailer in explaining customer feedback. Model relationships are supported which hold implications for future marketing research and practice.

Bringing Service Interactions Into Focus: Prevention- Versus Promotion-Focused Customers’ Sensitivity to Employee Display Authenticity

Despite growing managerial interest in frontline employee behavior, and in display authenticity specifically, customers’ heterogeneous reactions to authentic displays have received little scholarly attention. Drawing on emotion as social information theory, we investigate the role of motivational orientations (i.e., regulatory focus) in customer reactions to authentic displays. The findings show that inauthentic displays have stronger negative effects on service performance for prevention-focused than for promotion-focused customers. A dyadic field study details these effects in terms of tipping, and three experiments provide further evidence by experimentally manipulating authenticity and regulatory focus. The conditional effect of authenticity on service performance also is mediated by inferred deception. Specifically, prevention-focused customers interpret inauthentic emotion displays as more deceptive than promotion-focused customers do. Managers should prime customers’ promotion focus using marketing communications before the service delivery when inauthentic displays are likely as well as consider customers’ regulatory focus when designing authenticity training for employees.

Determinants of frontline employee service innovative behavior

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the influence of workplace happiness and work engagement on employee service innovative behavior from the perspective of positive psychology. The study also examines if work engagement mediates the relationship between workplace happiness and employee service innovative behavior. Finally, it investigates how co-worker socializing and the service climate of the organization moderate the relationship between work engagement and employee service innovative behavior.Design/methodology/approachThe study used survey data from 321 frontline employees working in the service sector in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Six major hypotheses were established and examined using the SPSS Statistics V22.0 Process. The measurement model was analyzed using Amos 22.FindingsWorkplace happiness and work engagement are found to be important factors affecting employee service innovative behavior. Workplace happiness influences employee service innovative behavior directly and indirectly through work engagement. Both service climate and co-worker socializing play a significant moderating role in the relationship between work engagement and employee service innovative behavior among frontline employees. Interestingly, service climate erodes this relationship while co-worker socializing enhances it.Practical implicationsThis study provides guidelines for managers and practitioners in the service industry to promote frontline employee service innovative behavior. Specifically, the findings provide guidance for decision-makers on how to use workplace happiness to trigger the innovative service behaviors of frontline employees, taking into consideration the conditional role of service climate and co-worker socializing.Originality/valueThe literature on factors affecting the service innovative behavior of frontline employees in the service sector from the perspective of positive psychology is limited, especially in the context of the UAE. The data, framework and outcomes of this research address this gap and contribute to the current body of knowledge. Specifically, the study contributes to the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions in the field of positive psychology by validating the applicability of the theory in a wider organizational context.

The Impact of Retail Setting Antecedents on Organizational Citizenship Behavior through Job Satisfaction

This study aims to investigate the impact of retailing antecedents on Organizational Citizenship Behavior through job satisfaction of front line employees in Arabic Bank branches at Amman Capital. The study’s population included all front line employees in these branches at Amman Capital totaling (52) branches. The study sampling unit consists of individuals working at front line servicing clients in these branches totaling (235) individuals, where 235 questionnaires distributed at the surveyed employees, retrieved (232) and excluded (5) which comes to a total (227). To achieve the study objectives, the study used quantitative (descriptive analytical approach) through different statistical tools, most notably multiple regression analysis.
 
 The study showed number of results namely: The retail system antecedents (Leadership support, Empowerment and Professional Development) impacted the organizational citizenship behavior of frontline employees of Arabic Bank.
 
 The study is proposed a few recommendations for Arabic Bank branches; The managerial practices of Arabic bank management are better to link OCBs and job satisfaction, view it as a base to their strategies to manage the frontline employees.

Managing the Behavior of Public Frontline Employees through Change-Oriented Training: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment

AbstractMost public frontline employees work out of sight of management. Direct management through authority and incentives is therefore often challenging. We argue that managers can rely on change-oriented training as an effective management tool that can affect employee behavior and work as an alternative or supplement to commands and incentives. First, we outline the concept of change-oriented training and explain how it can direct the behavior of public employees towards organizational goals and political priorities. Second, we test the effect of change-oriented training on employee behavior in a large-scale field experiment of teachers in Danish public schools. We show that training has a substantial effect on teachers’ behavior in the classroom and infer from this that training should be seen as a valuable management tool with the ability to influence the behavior of frontline employees.

Role of Personal, Contextual and Psychological Factors on Innovative Work Behavior of Front-Line Employees in Service Sector: A Review Study

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand the Role of Personal, Contextual and Psychological Factors on Innovative Work Behavior of Front-Line Employees in service sector. Design/methodology/approach: Existing research emphasized the importance of innovative work behavior of Front-Line Employees in organizational growth and development. Several research paper, thesis, articles etc. have been reviewed to know impact of Personal, Contextual and Psychological factors. This study is based on secondary data.Findings: For service firms, innovation has turned out to be a significant factor inducing their performance and development due to rapid changing environment (Campo et al., 2014; Rodgers, 2007). Competition in the worldwide economy has progressively become knowledge-based and the same holds for service sectors, to achieve business success through smart NWOW (new ways of working) which can be analyzed and measured by performance analysis (Miikka, Maiju Vuolle, Aki J., H. Laihonen, A. Lönnqvist 2015).Limitations/Implications: Employees gave their different viewpoints on Innovative Work Behavior of Front-Line Employees both positive (gain competitive advantage) and negative (there’s chance of conflict of interest due to attitude problem), this paper covers the positive impact. Researches have been conducted on emphasizing a particular factor rather than collective study of all the factors simultaneously such as personal, contextual and psychological.Originality/Value: The paper studies the concept of Innovative work behavior and in relation to front line employees of service firms. It also analyzes the impact of various factors collectively such as personal, contextual and psychological factors on Innovative Work Behavior of front-line employees.

Predicting Innovative Information Systems (IS) Behavior of Frontline Employees in Hotels

ABSTRACTAlthough the existing information systems (IS) literature investigated technology acceptance in the early stages of implementation, it is outdated and has a theoretical limitation in its understanding of users as passive recipients of technology. Addressing such limitations, this research focuses on innovative IS behavior as a crucial pattern of IS behavior. To predict innovative IS behaviors of front-office employees at hotels, this research analyzes the personal attitude of commitment to service quality and organizational conditions of psychological empowerment and organizational IS support for employees. The research results emphasize personal attitude, the significance of organizational predictors, and the effect of their interaction on innovative IS behaviors.

Triggering and tempering brand advocacy by frontline employees: vendor and customer-related influences

PurposeLawler (2001) posits that social exchanges create a sense of shared responsibility for outcome success. The purpose of this study is to apply this framework to the vendor/frontline employee/customer triad to examine the underlying role of emotions in how frontline employees’ evaluations of vendors and customers trigger and temper brand advocacy efforts, respectively.Design/methodology/approachWith cross-sectional data from 168 frontline employees working at a leading national retailer of electronic goods, path analysis is used to evaluate the hypotheses.FindingsFrontline employees’ relationship quality with the vendor and perceptions of vendors’ product quality positively influence brand advocacy. Also, customers’ brand affinity and recommendation preference both demonstrate a significant, negative curvilinear relationship with brand advocacy.Research limitations/implicationsFrontline employees’ emotion-laden evaluations of vendors and customer influence brand advocacy in different ways. Vendor relationship quality and brand quality perceptions “trigger” brand advocacy. However, customer’s affinity toward a vendor’s brand and willingness to seek recommendations “temper” brand advocacy. Specifically, brand advocacy effort is low when customers possess very low and very high affinity toward a focal brand – moderate affinity spurs high advocacy; likewise, advocacy is low when customers demonstrate very low and very high interest in seeking the frontline employees’ opinion – moderate interest spurs high advocacy. Although ideal to examine vendor and customer emotional exchanges, using only frontline employee data from a technology-selling retailer may constrain generalizability.Practical implicationsFrontline employee training programs should emphasize the customer’s role in the transaction to increase perceptions of shared responsibility, as a means to create a favorable emotional experience, and accentuate timing strategies on when to pursue heightened or diminished emotionally charged brand advocacy efforts.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the frontline employee behavior literature by viewing shared responsibility in transactions as a source of emotional value, explaining variance in frontline employee brand advocacy through relationship and product quality dimensions, and uncovering curvilinear effects for customers’ brand affinity and recommendation preference in elucidating brand advocacy.

Customer power and frontline employee voice behavior

PurposeThis paper aims to develop a research model that proposes a relationship among customer power, psychological empowerment and voice behavior of frontline employees (FLEs). The model also suggests that managerial openness, as a result of the manager–employee interface, contributes by mediating the effect of customer power on psychological empowerment. As a result of the job characteristic–employee interface, task interdependence is suggested as a moderator in the relationship between psychological empowerment and voice behavior.Design/methodology/approachTo analyze the data, a confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling procedure using LISREL 8.5 were used. Next, the conditional process modeling was fitted to test the moderated mediation hypotheses. In this stage, the mediating role of psychological empowerment and the moderating effect of task interdependence voice behavior were tested with bootstrapping methods.FindingsThe results showed a significant relationship between customer power and FLEs’ voice behavior, establishing psychological empowerment as an intervening mechanism. Thus, customer power can be a signal of appreciation for passive and job uncontrollability to service employees. The findings also suggested the mediating role of managerial openness, which delivered a negative effect of customer power on the FLEs’ psychological empowerment. Task interdependence enhanced the link between psychological empowerment and voice behavior.Research limitations/implicationsThe specific service sector chosen for this study was retail banks. Furthermore, the study was undertaken among the FLEs of banks in South Korea. Having FLEs self-report on managerial openness raises a general concern that those employees with little experience may not have fully understood whether a manager’s current behaviors are open-minded and empowering. Lastly, the perceptions of customer power, psychological empowerment, managerial openness, task interdependence and voice behavior that all came from FLEs naturally raises concerns about the influence of method bias in these results.Practical implicationsThe significant negative and indirect relationship observed between the perception of customer power and employees’ voice through managerial openness and employees’ psychological empowerment suggested that the double deviation effect of customer power on employees’ psychological empowerment through the interface between customer and employee (customer power) and manager and employee (managerial openness). This study provides insight into the management of service customer–employee and manager–employee interactions to encourage employee psychological empowerment.Originality/valueThe main emphasis of the model is on the so-called voice behaviors that FLEs exhibit as an overall consequence of various service employee interfaces. The management of FLEs has been extensively discussed in the services marketing literature. However, few research studies have attempted to link and combine the effect of various interfaces to which employees are exposed on employees’ voice behavior. In this study, three interfaces that the FLEs are always exposed to were examined simultaneously: that of the employee and the customer (perceived customer power), the interface of the employee and the manager (managerial openness) and that of the employee and his or her job characteristic (task interdependence).

Firm’s service orientation, frontline employee behavior and customer participation - A study of short - training services

This study investigated the impact of a firm’s service orientation on the behaviors of two key service interaction components, i.e. frontline employees and customers for value cocreation in short-training services. Data were collected from 220 trainers in 46 training organizations in HCMC. SEM analysis revealed that firm’s service orientation has substantial effects on both trainee’s participation and trainer’s customer-oriented behavior which in turn, has significant impact on trainee’s participation. Theoretical and managerial implications have been discussed accordingly.