This article focuses on sexual harassment, defined as unwanted sexual attention at work. Due to their inherent characteristics, service organizations are a prime breeding ground for such harassment. In spite of this, the problem is rarely in focus. The authors argue that a major reason for this is the particular cultural norms in service organizations: employees are not allowed to perceive them selves as victims of sexual harassment. An explorative study supports this proposition. Implications for management are discussed.
Adams, J. Stacy1976'The structure and dynamics of behaviour in organizational boundary roles' in Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology. M. D. Dunnette (ed.), 1175-1199. Chicago: Rand McNally.
2.
Barak, Azy, William A. Fisher, and Sandra Houston1992'Individual difference correlates of the experience of sexual harassment among female university students'. Journal of Applied Social Psychology22/1: 17-37.
3.
Berry, Leonard L., Valarie A. Zeithaml, and A. Parasuraman1990 'Five imperatives for improving service quality'. Sloan Management Review90 (Summer): 29-38.
4.
Bitner, Mary Jo1990 'Evaluating service encounters: The effects of physical surroundings and employee responses'. Journal of Marketing54 (April): 69-82.
5.
Bitner, Mary Jo, Bernard H. books, and Mary Stanfield Tetreault1990'The service encounter: diagnosing favorable and unfavorable incidents'. Journal of Marketing54 (January): 71-84.
6.
Davies, Celia, and Jane Rosser1986'Gendered jobs in the health service: A problem for labour process analysis'. Gender and the labour process. David Knights and Hugh Wilmott (eds.), 94-116. Aldershot: Gower.
7.
Deaux, K.1985'Sex and gender'. Annual Review of Psychology36: 49-81; in Gutek , Barbara A., and Aaron Groff Cohen (1987): 'Sex ratios, sex role spillover, and sex at work: a comparison of men's and women's experiences'. Human Relations40/2: 97-115.
8.
Downey, Stephen M.1987 'The relationship between corporate culture and corporate identity'. Public Relations Quarterly87 (Winter): 7-12.
9.
Fitzgerald, L. f.1991'Sexual harassment: The definition and measurement of a construct' in Ivory power: sexual harassment in academia and the workplace . M. Paludi (ed.), 21-44. SUNY Press.
10.
Folgerø, Ingebjørg S.1993'Restructuring the service industries'. Working Paper No. 174, Rogaland University Centre, Norway.
11.
Frøberg, Sissel1990'9-6': Om arbeidsliv, og seksualitet ('9-6': working life and sexuality), Masters thesis, Oslo University.
12.
Frøberg, Sissel1991Seksualitet i arbiedslivet. Del 1: 'De er jo syke' (Sexuality at work. Part 1: 'They are sick, after all')Oslo: Norsk Kommuneforbund.
13.
Frøberg, Sissel, and Rønnaug Sørensen1992STOPP seksuell trakassering på jobben (STOP sexual harassment at work). Oslo: Tiden Norsk Forlag .
14.
Gervasio, Amy Herstein, and Katy Ruckdeschel1992 'College students' judgements of verbal sexual harassment '. Journal of Applied Social Psychology22/3: 190-211.
15.
Glenn, Evelyn Nakano1992 'From servitude to service work: historical continuities in the racial division of paid reproductive labor'. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society8/1: 1-43.
16.
Gornitzka, Nina1976Flyvertinneyrket, kvinnestatus og serviceroller (The stewardess profession, women's status and service roles). Masters thesis, Oslo University.
17.
Grimsmo, Asbjørn, and Bjørg Aase Sørensen1991Fravœr og fravœrsårsaker i norsk arbeidsliv (Sick leave and reasons for sick leave in Norwegian working life)Oslo: Work Research Institute .
18.
Gutek, Barbara A., and Aaron Groff Cohen1987 'Sex ratios, sex role spillover, and sex at work: A comparison of men's and women's experiences'. Human Relations40/2: 97-115.
19.
Hamilton, Arthur J., and Peter A. Veglahn1992'Sexual harassment: The hostile work environment'. The Cornell H.RA. Quarterly92 (April): 88-92.
20.
Hearn, Jeff, and Wendy Parkin1987 'Sex' at 'work'. Sussex: Wheatsheaf Books.
21.
Holmes, J.G.1971'The effects of the structure of intragroup and intergroup conflict on the behavior of representatives', cited by J. Stacy Adams in Handbook of inciustrial and organizational psychology. M. D. Dunnette (ed.), 1175-1199. Chicago: Rand McNally.
22.
Holter, Harriet1970Sex roles and social structure. Oslo : Universitetsforlaget.
23.
Holter, Harriet1992'Seksuell trakassering: en hersketeknikk i arbeidsorganisasjonen?' in Sex i arbeid(et) i Norge (Sex at work in Norway). Marianne C. Brantsaeter and Karin Widerberg (eds.), 130-145. Oslo: Tiden Norsk Forlag.
24.
Jones, Peter, and Andrew Lockwood1989The management of hotel operations. England: Cassell.
25.
Larsen, Svein, and Lotti Aske1992 'On stage in the service theatre'. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management4/4: 12-15.
26.
Larsen, Svein, and Ingebiørg S. Folgerø1993 'Supportive and defensive communication: a study of the communication climate in a Cruiseline'. Interuatiortal Journal of ContemporaryHospitality Management5/3.
27.
Lehtinen, U.1985'On defining service' in Service marketing — Nordic school perspectives. Christian Gronroos and E. Gummesson (eds.), 80-88. Sweden: Stockholms Universitetet.
28.
Lewis, Jane1984Women in England 1870-1950. Sussex: Wheatsheaf Books.
29.
Likestillingsrådet1987Kvinner og ledelse (Women and management). Oslo: Likestillingsrådet and Lederopplæringsrådet i Norge.
30.
Likestillingsrådet1992Mini-fakta om likestilling 1992 (Mini-facts about equal opportunities 1992). Oslo: Likestillingsrådet
31.
Lovelock, Christopher H.1991Services marketing. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Nungesser, Lon G.1983Homosexual acts, actors, and identities. New York: Praeger.
34.
Parasuraman, A., Leonard L. Berry, and Valarie A. Zeithaml1991'Understanding customer expectations of service'. Sloan Management Review91 (Spring): 39-48.
35.
Parasuraman, A., Valarie A. Zeithaml, and Leonard L. Berry1985 'A conceptual model of service quality and its implications for future research'. Journal of Marketing49 (Fall): 41-50.
36.
Rafaeli, Anat1989'When clerks meet customers: a test of variables related to emotional expressions on the job'. Journal of Applied Psychology74/3: 385-393.
37.
Solomon, Michael R., Carol Surprenant, John A. Czepiel , and Evelyn G. Gutman1985 'A role theory perspective on dyadic interactions: the service encounter'. Journal of Marketing49 (Winter): 99-111.
38.
Surprenant, Carol, F., and Michael R. Solomon1987 'Predictability and personalization in the service encounter'. Journal of Marketing51 (April): 86-96.
39.
Sørensen, Rønnaug1992'Det går på verdigheten løs' in Sex i arbeid(et) i Norge (Sex at work in Norway). Marianne C. Brantsaeter and Karin Widerberg (eds.), 51-75. Oslo : Tiden Norsk Forlag.
40.
Teas, R. Kenneth, and John Wong1991'Measurement of customer perceptions of the retail bank service delivery system'. Journal of Professional Services Marketing7/1: 147-167.
41.
Wilkins, A.L., and W.G. Ouchi1983 'Efficient cultures: exploring the relationship between culture and organizational performance'. Administrative Science Quarterly28/3: 468-481.
