Perspective Of Frontline Employees Research Articles

Hidden Discrimination: Designing Culturally Inclusive Service Encounters Using Grounded Theory

Few studies have been published about handling intercultural service encounters. The limited prior publications have focused on satisfaction and dissatisfaction and have neglected the concept of inclusivity. This study reveals the sources of discriminatory services to customers who have limited English proficiency, focusing on those with limited English proficiency, and presents components that can facilitate culturally inclusive service encounters. A combination of lacking intercultural service policies and of language barriers lead to vulnerability among customers when receiving service. This study has determined that the necessary components for culturally inclusive service encounters are: a) training and granting accessibility at the organizational level and b) patience and creating needs at the individual level. From the perspective of frontline employees, culturally inclusive service encounters require integration at both organizational and individual levels. Hospitality and tourism organizations are encouraged to train frontline employees on cultural differences and to embrace technologies that enable a realization of service value among customers with limited English proficiency.

Frontline Employees’ Attitude Toward Embodied Social Robots In Customer Service: An Integrative Framework And Empirical Test

Embodied social robots-robots providing services for and in cocreation with consumers-are expected to profoundly change the way services are delivered. Yet, their integration in customer service poses a challenge: their adoption by frontline employees (FLEs). Accordingly, this study aims to examine FLEs’ attitude toward embodied social robots and to uncover its antecedents. This work presents an integrative framework which builds upon the technology acceptance model and examines the influence of potential factors on FLEs’ attitude toward embodied social robots. An online survey among 165 FLEs is used to test the integrative framework. Despite the growing knowledge regarding customers’ perceptions of (embodied social) robots, the perspective of FLEs is under-investigated while crucial to foster FLEs’ acceptance of such robots. This research concludes with several strategies service providers can implement to possibly enhance FLEs’ attitude toward embodied social robots, and thus, to support their adoption by FLEs.

Frontline Employees’ Attitude Toward Embodied Social Robots In Customer Service: An Integrative Framework And Empirical Test

Embodied social robots-robots providing services for and in cocreation with consumers-are expected to profoundly change the way services are delivered. Yet, their integration in customer service poses a challenge: their adoption by frontline employees (FLEs). Accordingly, this study aims to examine FLEs’ attitude toward embodied social robots and to uncover its antecedents. This work presents an integrative framework which builds upon the technology acceptance model and examines the influence of potential factors on FLEs’ attitude toward embodied social robots. An online survey among 165 FLEs is used to test the integrative framework. Despite the growing knowledge regarding customers’ perceptions of (embodied social) robots, the perspective of FLEs is under-investigated while crucial to foster FLEs’ acceptance of such robots. This research concludes with several strategies service providers can implement to possibly enhance FLEs’ attitude toward embodied social robots, and thus, to support their adoption by FLEs.

“My colleague is a robot” – exploring frontline employees' willingness to work with collaborative service robots

PurposeAs service robots increasingly interact with customers at the service encounter, they will inevitably become an integral part of employee's work environment. This research investigates frontline employee's perceptions of collaborative service robots (CSR) and introduces a new framework, willingness to collaborate (WTC), to better understand employee–robot interactions in the workplace.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on appraisal theory, this study employed an exploratory research approach to investigate frontline employees' cognitive appraisal of service robots and their WTC with their nonhuman counterparts in service contexts. Data collection consisted of 36 qualitative problem-centered interviews. Following an iterative thematic analysis, the authors introduce a research framework of frontline employees' WTC with service robots.FindingsFirst, this study demonstrates that the interaction between frontline employees and service robots is a multistage appraisal process based on adoption-related perceptions. Second, it identifies important attributes across three categories (employee, robot and job attributes) that provide a foundation to understand the appraisal of CSRs. Third, it presents four employee personas (supporter, embracer, resister and saboteur) that provide a differentiated perspective of how service employee–robot collaboration may differ.Practical implicationsThe article identifies important factors that enable and restrict frontline service employees' (FSEs’) WTC with robots.Originality/valueThis is the first paper that investigates the appraisal of CSRs from the perspective of frontline employees. The research contributes to the limited research on human–robot collaboration and expands existing technology acceptance models that fall short to explain post-adoptive coping behavior of service employees in response to service robots in the workplace.

Seeking consumer forgiveness: face management by frontline employees

ABSTRACT The research paper is a pioneering effort to explore the concept of consumer forgiveness from the perspective of frontline employees (FLEs), specifically FLEs’ consumer forgiveness seeking behavior and their post-consumer forgiveness emotions, work attitudes and behavior. Consumer forgiveness seeking is conceptualized as a face management strategy adopted by FLEs to facilitate face restoration for consumers who suffered a loss of face due to deficiency in services provided by the FLEs, and for prevention of further face loss for FLEs who have faced consumer anger provoked by deficient services. Post-consumer forgiveness, FLEs experience positive emotions which have a constructive impact on their work attitudes and behavior. Consumer forgiveness seeking is revealed to be interwoven with power distance, the subjugation of self and mythical autonomy of FLEs. Qualitative research has been undertaken using the critical incident technique. Face negotiation theory provides the theoretical foundation for analyzing critical incidents collected from FLEs of banks, restaurants and retail outlets. In the case of service failures, FLEs are advised to give importance to consumers’ face restoration for facilitating consumer forgiveness.

Relational Partnership in Public Construction Organizations: Front-Line Employee Perspective

AbstractThe adoption of relational contracting (RC) has been increasingly used by parties in various developed countries as one of the innovative tools in traditional contracting to achieve benefit...

The role of organizational attractiveness in an internal market-oriented culture (IMOC): a study of hospital frontline employees

BackgroundHospitals need to understand how to reduce their frontline employees’ turnover rate as well as how to positively engage them and improve their service. Central to these issues, we find, is the employees’ perception of their organization’s attractiveness. This objective of this paper is to clarify how the role of organizational attractiveness relates to frontline employees’ perception of their internal market-oriented culture as well as their turnover rate, engagement, and service quality. To our knowledge, no previous research has explored the role of organizational attractiveness from a frontline employee perspective in health-service organizations.MethodsThe conceptual framework we developed was tested in a quantitative study. We sent a questionnaire to nurses in several public hospitals in Norway. We then analyzed the data with confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling in Stata. Further, we performed multi-group comparisons to test heterogeneity in personal characteristics. The indirect effects were tested by mediator analyses.ResultsWe made three main findings. First, organizational attractiveness has a significant positive effect on frontline employees’ engagement (β = 0.833) as well as on the service quality they provide to hospital patients (β = 0.472). Additionally, it significantly lowers their turnover rate (β = − 0.729). Second, the ‘internal market-oriented culture’ (IMOC) has a significantly positive effect on organizational attractiveness (β = 0.587) and explains a total of 35% of the variance in organizational attractiveness. Third, organizational attractiveness fully mediates the relationship between “internal market-oriented culture” (IMOC) and frontline employees’ engagement and the service quality they provide to patients, and it partially mediates the relationship with the turnover rate.ConclusionsThis study proves that organizational attractiveness is vital for hospital managers to focus on, as it affects employees’ perception of whether the organizations is a great place to work. It reveals the need for those same managers to develop an internal market-oriented culture (IMOC) directed toward hospital frontline employees, as it has both a direct effect on organizational attractiveness and an indirect effect on employees’ engagement, turnover intention, and service quality.

The acceptance of technological change in the hospitality industry from the perspective of front-line employees

PurposeWhereas past research has been valuable in explaining how “perceived usefulness” (PU) and “perceived ease of use” (PEU) constructs lead to technology acceptance and refusal behaviors in organizations, it has not explored the antecedents of these two factors. The purpose of this paper is to propose an interpretive approach to the study of front-line employees’ sense making of technological change as well as the understanding of behavioral and psychological origins of PU and PEU.Design/methodology/approachThis study analyses a major transition in work mode induced by an IT innovation implemented within a leading French hospitality company. A qualitative method was employed to answer the research questions. The data were collected using 22 in-depth semi-structured interviews from front-line employees and their line managers in five 4-star hotels in Paris. The participants were asked how they made sense of the technological change and what they consider when they judge the usefulness and the ease of use during the implementation of change.FindingsThe analysis revealed that employees’ acceptance of technological change is paradoxical and shaped by a continuous process of sense making when using the IT innovation. The findings also suggest that PU can be explained by factors like job relevance, PEU and output quality. Anxiety, playfulness, perceived enjoyment, objective usability and facilitating conditions were identified as antecedents of PEU.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper reports the effect of perceptions of social influence, system characteristics, individual differences and facilitating conditions on PU and PEU constructs in IT adoption process. It is among the first to examine the antecedents of such beliefs in the hospitality industry through the use of a qualitative method. It also shows that that three variables – result demonstrability, computer self-efficacy and social influence process described by subjective norm and image – did not play a significant role in influencing the intensions of using the system through PU and PEU.Practical implicationsUnderstanding the antecedents of the two key predictors in technology acceptance models allows managers to implement efficient adjustments and interventions in order to positively influence employees’ IT innovation acceptance and use.Originality/valueThis qualitative study contributes to open the black boxes concerning the conceptualizations of PU and PEU. It advances the understanding of the employees’ acceptance of IT innovation.

Triad theory of hotel managerial leadership, employee brand-building behavior, and guest images of luxury-hotel brands

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the brand building behavior in the luxury hotel industry from the perspective of frontline employees. In particular, this study addresses the importance and relevance of supportive leadership, brand building behavior and customers’ perceived brand image in the hotel industry.

A case study on service recovery: Frontline employees’ perspectives and the role of empowerment

Abstract The aim of this study was to improve our understanding of how frontline employees cope with service recovery situations and recover from them. It also takes a closer look at employee empowerment. This work represents a qualitative case study, and investigates the topic from the perspective of frontline employees. Data collection is implemented by interviewing the case hotel’s frontline personnel. A content analysis method was utilised to analyse the collected data. The findings suggest that the support of colleagues is more crucial in coping with service recovery situations and recovering from them than the support of managers. Personality traits also play a role. A theoretical scheme of the service recovery process from the perspective of frontline employees is developed from the analysis of the interviews. The findings indicate that written instructions would assist employees in service recovery situations.

Managing the downside effect of a productivity orientation

Purpose Although many service organizations have adopted a productivity orientation to respond to increasing market challenges, the unanticipated downside effect of such an orientation is not well understood. For managers, it is interesting to know if this strategic initiative is working and how to implement it more successfully. Design/methodology/approach The theoretical model used in this paper is tested with a survey of 879 frontline employees from five different health-care organizations. Findings The authors find evidence of a trade-off when a productivity orientation is adopted. A productivity orientation improves frontline service employee productivity performance but indirectly harms quality performance and job satisfaction. The authors find further evidence that trust in management helps to mitigate these negative effects. Research Limitations/implications This paper suggests that a productivity orientation must be managed carefully. Efficiency improvements may be overshadowed by reduced quality and job satisfaction. Limitations arise from the self-reported survey data. Practical Implications The results suggest that employees who trust their managers are better able to cope with the stressors arising from increased productivity demands. Originality/value To the authors’ best knowledge, no research has systematically examined the process and potential hazards of implementing a productivity orientation from a frontline employee perspective. The current paper reveals the mechanisms by which a productivity orientation influences frontline employees’ change perceptions and performance and shows that employee trust in management may buffer the downside effects of a productivity orientation.

Continuous improvement competence, employee creativity, and new service development performance: A frontline employee perspective

As an important source of competitive advantage, new service development (NSD) is widely used by service firms for new developments. Since creative ideas are crucial to NSD and service firms commonly involve frontline employees in the process of NSD, we argue that frontline employees’ creativity can enhance NSD performance. In addition, since the implementation of continuous improvement practices necessitates frontline employees to make changes and solve problems consistently, we argue that frontline employees’ operational improvement competence (OIC) (i.e., skills in implementing continuous improvement practices) can enhance their creativity. Furthermore, we draw on the contingency theory and argue that the relationships between OIC, employee creativity, and NSD performance are contingent on six relevant contextual factors. Based on the data collected from 146 frontline teams in the banking sector of China, we test our theory-driven model and the posited hypotheses. Our findings serve to advance the knowledge of multiple disciplines by showing the linkages among their core concepts (i.e., OIC, employee creativity, and NSD performance) and also ascertain the factors (i.e., OIC and employee creativity) that enhance NSD performance and the circumstances under which these factors are particularly effective.

Triggers and inhibitors of illegitimate customer complaining behavior

Purpose– The study aims to investigate the illegitimate customer complaining behavior (ICCB) in the hospitality industry from the perspective of frontline employees. In particular, this study identified ICCB incidents, ICCB triggering factors and inhibitors in the hospitality industry.Design/methodology/approach– A qualitative research approach was adopted in this study by using in-depth personal interviews. Twenty-six semi-structured interviews were conducted with frontline employees who had first-hand experiences with ICCB in the hospitality industry. The interviews were transcribed, coded and analyzed following the procedures of open coding, axial coding and selective coding.Findings– Analysis of the qualitative data has revealed 7 types of ICCB incidents, 11 ICCB triggering factors and 3 ICCB inhibitors in the hospitality industry, as perceived by frontline employees. The study also proposed a multiple-layer model of ICCB triggers and inhibitors based on the results. Four propositions are developed delineating three layers of driving forces and the dynamics between ICCB triggers and inhibitors that exert joint effects on ICCB.Research limitations/implications– Impacts of various cultural settings, different hospitality business settings (hotels vs restaurants) and profile information of frontline employees on ICCB need to be examined in future research.Originality/value– Findings of this study contribute to the customer complaining literature and the hospitality service management literature by offering the frontline employees’ perspective of ICCB. Hospitality businesses can benefit from this study by using the research findings to develop more effective company policies and training programs to recognize, monitor and resolve ICCB incidents.

Investigating Customer-Oriented Deviance (COD) from a frontline employee's perspective

While frontline employees (FLEs) are known to bend the rules or act in non-conforming ways for customers, the phenomenon of FLEs over-servicing customers is not well understood. This paper proposes a behavioural concept termed customer-oriented deviance (COD) and a conceptual model of its key drivers. Using a qualitative study involving 22 in-depth interviews with FLEs, the analysis reveals three categories of COD behaviours: deviant service adaptation (DSA), deviant service communication (DSC), and deviant use of resources (DUR). The drivers of COD are categorised as individual (risk-taking, service aptitude, and pro-social moral values), situational (resource availability, social capita with customers, legitimacy of customer problems, and avoidance of hassles), and organisational (unconducive service climate and anticipated rewards). This paper contributes to understanding how and why FLEs over-service customers and extends current research by exploring multiple categories of behaviours within a services marketing context.

Does role clarity explain employee‐perceived service quality?

PurposeRole clarity of frontline staff is critical to their perceptions of service quality in call centres. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of role clarity and its antecedents and consequences on employee‐perceived service quality.Design/methodology/approachA conceptual model, based on the job characteristics model and cognitive theories, is proposed. Key antecedents of role clarity considered here are feedback, autonomy, participation, supervisory consideration, and team support; while key consequences are organizational commitment, job satisfaction and service quality. An internal marketing approach is adopted and all variables are measured from the frontline employee's perspective. A structural equation model is developed and tested on a sample of 342 call centre representatives of a major commercial bank in the UK.FindingsThe research reveals that role clarity plays a critical role in explaining employee perceptions of service quality. Further, the research findings indicate that feedback, participation and team support significantly influence role clarity, which in turn influences job satisfaction and organizational commitment.Research limitations/implicationsThe research suggests that boundary personnel in service firms should strive for more clarity in perceived role for delivering better service quality. The limitations are in sample availability from in‐house transaction call centres of a single bank.Originality/valueThe contributions of this study are untangling the confusing research evidence on the effect of role clarity on service quality, using service quality as a performance variable as opposed to productivity estimates, adopting an internal marketing approach to understanding the phenomenon, and introducing teamwork along with job‐design and supervisory factors as antecedent to role clarity.