An Exploratory Examination of Supervisor Undermining,Employee Involvement Climate,and the Effects on Customer Perceptions of Service Quality in Quick-Service Restaurants

Abstract

Customer retention has become a continuous focus of service organizations and is especially salient in the quick-service restaurant industry due to the short time with the consumer. Restaurant employees being part of the product play imperative role in keeping customers happy and coming back. However, there is no complete understanding of factors that make employees perform their best and satisfy customers. The aim of this article is to explore how employee involvement climate, a construct composed of power, information, rewards and knowledge, and supervisor undermining are related to customer perceptions of service quality. Additionally, the interaction between employee involvement climate and supervisor undermining is tested. Results suggest that a significant interaction exists between these two constructs and are key predictors in increasing or decreasing customer perceptions of service quality.

Keywords

employee involvement undermining customer service quick-service restaurants

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Aiken

L. S.

West

S. G.

(1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Anderson

L. R.

Tolson

Fields

M. W.

Thacker

J. W.

(1990). Extension of the Pelz effect: The impact of leader’s upward influence on group members’ control within the organization. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 11, 19-32.

Bandura

(1977). Social learning theory. New York, NY: General Learning Press.

Baron

R. M.

Kenny

D. A.

(1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173-1182.

Bloisi

Hoel

(2008). Abusive work practices and bullying among chefs: A review of the literature. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 27, 649-656.

Borman

W. C.

Motowildo

S. J.

(1993). Expanding the criterion domain to include elements of contextual performance. In Schhmitt

Borman

W. C.

, & Associates (Eds.), Personnel selection in organizations (pp. 71-98). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Borucki

C. C.

Burke

M. J.

(1999). An examination of service-related antecedents to retail store performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 20, 943-962.

Bowen

D. E.

Ostroff

(2004). Understanding HRM-firm performance linkages: The role of the “strength” of the HRM system. Academy of Management Review, 29, 203-221.

Bowen

D. E.

Siehl

Schneider

(1989). A framework for analyzing customer service orientations in manufacturing. Academy of Management Review, 14, 75-95.

10.

Brown

Reich

Stern

(1993). Becoming a high-performance work organization: The role of security, employee involvement and training. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 4, 247-275.

11.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. (2010). Occupational outlook handbook, 2010-11 edition. Food and Beverage Serving and Related Workers. Washington, DC: Author.

12.

Chan

(1998). Functional relationships among constructs in the same content domain at different levels of analysis: A typology of composition models. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83, 234-246.

13.

Chebat

J. C.

Kollias

(2000). The impact of empowerment on customer contact employees’ roles in service organizations. Journal of Service Research, 3, 66-81.

14.

Chen

Bliese

P. D.

Mathieu

J. E.

(2005). Conceptual framework and statistical procedures for delineating and testing multilevel theories of homology. Organizational Research Methods, 8, 375-409.

15.

Conger

Kanungo

(1988). The empowerment process: Integrating theory and practice. Academy of Management Review, 13, 471-482.

16.

Dawson

Hillier

(1995). Competitor mystery shopping: Methodological considerations and implications for MRS code of conduct. Journal of the Market Research Society, 37, 417-427.

17.

Dawson

Richter

A. W.

(2006). Probing three-way interactions: The development and application of a slope difference test. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 917-926.

18.

DiPietro

R. B.

Pizam

(2008). Employee alienation in the quick service restaurant industry. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 32, 22-39.

19.

Duffy

M. K.

Ganster

D. C.

Pagon

(2002). Social undermining in the workplace. Academy of Management Journal, 45, 331-351.

20.

Duffy

M. K.

Ganster

D. C.

Shaw

J. D.

Johnson

J. L.

Pagon

(2006). The social context of undermining behavior at work. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 101, 105-126.

21.

Duffy

M. K.

Shaw

J. D.

Scott

K. L.

Tepper

B. J.

(2006). The moderating roles of self-esteem and neuroticism in the relationship between group and individual undermining behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 1066-1077.

22.

Fenton-O’Creevy

(1998). Employee involvement and the middle manager: Evidence from a survey of organizations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 19, 67-84.

23.

Finn

Kayande

(1999). Unmasking a phantom: A psychometric assessment of mystery shopping. Journal of Retailing, 75, 195-217.

24.

Gazzoli

Hancer

Park

(2010). The role and effect of job satisfaction and empowerment on customers’ perception of service quality: A study in the restaurant industry. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 34, 56-77.

25.

George

R. T.

Hancer

(2003). The impact of selected organizational factors on psychological empowerment of non-supervisory employees in full-service restaurants. Journal of Foodservice Business Research, 6, 35-47.

26.

Grant

L. M.

Nagada

B. A.

Brabson

H. V.

Jayaratne

Chess

W. A.

Singh

(1993). Effects of social support and undermining on African American workers’ perceptions of coworker and supervisor relationships and well-being. Social Work, 38, 158-164.

27.

Hair

J. F.

Jr. Black

W. C.

Babin

B. J.

Anderson

R. E.

(2009). Multivariate data analysis. Upper Saddle River NJ: Prentice-Hall.

28.

Han

Ryu

(2009). The roles of the physical environment, price perception, and customer satisfaction in determining customer loyalty in the restaurant industry. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 33, 487-510.

29.

Haslam

Atkinson

Brown

S. S.

Haslam

R. A.

(2005). Anxiety and depression in the workplace: Effects on the individual and organisation (a focus group investigation). Journal of Affective Disorders, 88, 209-215.

30.

Hoobler

J. M.

Brass

D. J.

(2006). Abusive supervision and family undermining as displaced aggression. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 1125-1133.

31.

James

L. R.

Choi

C. C.

C.-H. E.

McNeil

P. K.

Minton

M. K.

Wright

M. A.

Kim

(2008). Organizational and psychological climate: A review of theory and research. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 17(1), 5-32.

32.

Johns

Menzel

P. J.

(1999). If you can’t stand the heat . . . kitchen violence and the culinary art. Hospitality Management, 18, 99-109.

33.

Judge

T. A.

Bono

J. E.

Erez

Locke

E. A.

(2005). Core self-evaluations and job and life satisfaction: The role of self-concordance and goal attainment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90, 257-268.

34.

Kim

(2010). Customer orientation of service employees and rapport: Influences on service-outcome variables in full-service restaurants. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 34, 34-55.

35.

Kizilos

M. A.

Cummings

T. G.

Strickstein

(1994). Achieving superior customer service through employee involvement: An empirical investigation. Paper presented at the Academy of Management Best Papers Proceedings Academy of Management Fifty-Fourth Annual Meeting, Dallas, TX.

36.

Klein

K. J.

Kozlowski

S. W. J.

(2000). Multilevel theory, research, and methods in organizations: Foundations, extensions, and new directions. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

37.

Lawler

E. E.

III . (1996). From the ground up: Six principles for building the new logic corporation. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

38.

Lawler

E. E.

III Mohrman

S. A.

Ledford

G. E.

(1995). Creating high performance organizations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

39.

Liao

Chuang

(2004). A multilevel investigation of factors influencing employee service performance and customer outcomes. Academy of Management Journal, 47, 41-58.

40.

Lichtenstein

D. R.

Bearden

W. O.

(1989). Contextual influences on perceptions of merchant-supplied reference prices. Journal of Consumer Research, 16, 55-66.

41.

Locke

E. A.

Schweiger

D. M.

(1979). Participation in decision making: One more look. Research in Organizational Behavior, 1, 265-339.

42.

Maynard

M. T.

Mathieu

J. E.

Marsh

W. M.

Ruddy

T. M.

(2007). A multilevel investigation of the influences of employees’ resistance to empowerment. Human Performance, 20, 147-171.

43.

McMahan

G. C.

Bell

Virick

(1998). Strategic human resource management: Employee involvement, diversity, and international issues. Human Resource Management Review, 8, 193-214.

44.

Morgeson

F. P.

Hofmann

D. A.

(1999). The structure and function of collective constructs: Implications for multilevel research and theory development. Academy of Management Review, 24, 249-265.

45.

Murray-Gibbons

Gibbons

(2007). Occupational stress in the chef profession. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 19(1), 32-42.

46.

National Restaurant Association. (2010). Pocket factbook. Retrieved from http://www.restaurant.org/pdfs/research/2010Forecast_PFB.pdf

47.

Patterson

Warr

West

(2004). Organizational climate and company productivity: The role of employee affect and employee level. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 77, 193-216.

48.

Pelz

D. C.

(1951). Leadership within a hierarchical organization. Journal of Social Issues, 7, 49-55.

49.

Ployhart

R. E.

Wiechmann

Schmitt

Sacco

J. M.

Rogg

(2003). The cross-cultural equivalence of job performance ratings. Human Performance, 16, 49-79.

50.

Preacher

K. J.

(2003). A primer on interaction effects in multiple linear regression. Retrieved from http://www.people.ku.edu/~preacher/interact/interactions.htm

51.

Richardson

H. A.

Vandenberg

R. J.

(2005). Integrating managerial perceptions and transformational leadership into a work-unit level model of employee involvement. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26, 561-589.

52.

Rindfleisch

Malter

A. J.

Ganesan

Moorman

(2008). Cross-sectional versus longitudinal survey research: Concepts, findings and guidelines. Journal of Marketing Research, 45, 261-279.

53.

Riordan

C. M.

Vandenberg

R. J.

Richardson

H. A.

(2005). Employee involvement climate and organizational effectiveness. Human Resource Management, 44, 471-488.

54.

Salanova

Agut

Peiro

J. M.

(2005). Linking organizational resources and work engagement to employee performance and customer loyalty: The mediation of service climate. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90, 1217-1227.

55.

Schneider

Bowen

D. E.

(1993). The service organization: Human resource management is crucial. Organizational Dynamics, 21, 39-52.

56.

Seibert

S. E.

Silver

S. R.

Randolph

W. A.

(2004). Taking empowerment to the next level: A multiple-level model of empowerment, performance, and satisfaction. Academy of Management Journal, 47, 332-349.

57.

Shadur

M. A.

Kienzle

Rodwell

J. J.

(1999). The relationship between organizational climate and employee perceptions of involvement. Group & Organization Management, 24, 479-503.

58.

Spreitzer

G. M.

(1995). Psychological empowerment in the workplace: Dimensions, measurement, and validation. Academy of Management Journal, 38, 1442-1465.

59.

Spreitzer

G. M.

(1996). Social structure characteristics of psychological empowerment. Academy of Management Journal, 39, 483-504.

60.

Taylor

(1977). Fortune, fame and folly. Caterer and Hotelkeeper. Auckland, New Zealand: Reed.

61.

Tepper

B. J.

(2000). Consequences of abusive supervision. Academy of Management Journal, 43, 178-190.

62.

Tepper

B. J.

(2007). Abusive supervision in work organizations: Review, synthesis, and research agenda. Journal of Management, 33, 261-289.

63.

Tepper

B. J.

Henle

C. A.

Lambert

L. S.

Giacalone

R. A.

Duffy

M. K.

(2008). Abusive supervision and subordinates’ organization deviance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 721-732.

64.

Tesluk

P. E.

Farr

J. L.

Mathieu

J. E.

Vance

R. J.

(1995). Generalization of employee involvement training to the job setting: Individual and situational effects. Personnel Psychology, 48, 607-632.

65.

Tesluk

P. E.

Vance

R. J.

Mathieu

J. E.

(1999). Examining employee involvement in the context of participative work environments. Group & Organization Management, 24, 271-299.

66.

Tuuli

M. M.

Rowlinson

(2009). Empowerment in project teams: a multilevel examination of the job performance implications. Construction Management and Economics, 27, 473-498.

67.

Vandenberg

R. J.

Richardson

H. A.

Eastman

L. J.

(1999). The impact of high involvement work processes upon organizational effectiveness: A 2nd order latent variable approach. Group & Organization Management, 24, 300-339.

68.

Wallace

J. C.

Johnson

P. D.

Mathe

Paul

(in press). Structural and psychological empowerment climates, performance and the moderating role of shared felt accountability: A managerial perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology.

69.

Yuan

Y. H.

(2008). Relationships among experiential marketing, experimental value and customer satisfaction. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 32, 387-410.

70.

Zohar

(2000). A group-level model of safety climate: Testing the effect of group climate on microaccidents in manufacturing Jobs. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 587-596.

71.

Zohar

(2002). The effects of leadership dimensions, safety climate, and assigned priorities on minor injuries in work groups. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23, 75-92.