Enhancing the lodging experience through ethical leadership

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 669-690 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Klearchou Dimitriou ◽  
Charles H. Schwepker
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Ethical Leadership ◽  
Customer Orientation ◽  
Lodging Industry ◽  
Ethical Values ◽  
Customer Contact ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Sabotage ◽  
Person Organization Fit ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeGrounded in ethical decision-making theory, this paper aims to develop and empirically tests a model that examines the relationships between ethical leadership, customer orientation, ethical values person-organization fit, commitment to service quality and service sabotage among customer-contact service employees in the lodging industry.Design/methodology/approachData were electronically collected from a national survey of 316 hotel/motel customer-contact employees.FindingsResults revealed that perceived ethical leadership behavior is positively related to customer orientation, ethical values person-organization fit and commitment to service quality. Customer orientation is positively related to commitment to service quality and mediates the relationship between ethical leadership and service sabotage. Ethical values person-organization fit mediates the relationship between ethical leadership and service sabotage.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is cross-sectional, limited to customer-contact employees in lodging settings and examines merely the employee perspective.Practical implicationsLodging leaders can benefit significantly in many areas by practicing ethical leadership. For example, service sabotage behaviors can be reduced indirectly by aligning the customer-contact employees’ ethical values with those of the organization, as well as when this employee is customer-oriented. An ethical leadership style also can positively influence customer-contact employees’ customer orientation and increase their commitment to service quality. Lodging properties must hire and cultivate managers and supervisors with ethical values.Originality/valueThis research helps to better understand leadership behaviors useful for improving the ethical conduct and performance of customer-contact employees in the lodging industry, while simultaneously improving their commitment to service quality and guest-oriented behavior.

Reducing service sabotage and improving employee commitment to service quality

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 615-625 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles H. Schwepker, Jr ◽  
Christina K. Dimitriou ◽  
Todd McClure
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Ethical Climate ◽  
Employee Commitment ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Customer Contact ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Sabotage ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of formal [ethics training (ET)] and informal [psychological ethical climate (EC)] controls in reducing service sabotage (SS) and increasing employee commitment to service quality. Design/methodology/approach Data were electronically collected from a national survey of hotel/motel customer contact employees leading to a usable sample of 316 employees. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Findings The findings indicate that ET can be used to positively influence the EC of customer contact service employees, which, in turn, reduces their SS behavior and increases their commitment to service quality. Practical implications Management should incorporate both formal (ET) and informal (EC) controls to bring about less SS and greater commitment to service quality among customer contact employees in service settings. Originality/value This research furthers the understanding of SS by finding an important variable, EC that may be used to reduce its incidence in service settings. Further, it shows that EC is an important contributor to improving ECSQ. As such, this research gives important direction for companies wishing to improve the customer service experience.

Service quality and word of mouth: a study of the banking sector

2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (7) ◽  
pp. 612-627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koushiki Choudhury
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Banking Sector ◽  
Customer Orientation ◽  
Retail Banking ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Four Dimensions ◽  
Bank Managers ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of the dimensions of service quality on customers’ word-of-mouth (WOM) in the context of the retail banking industry. Design/methodology/approach – A modified SERVQUAL instrument was used to capture customers’ perceptions of service quality followed by exploratory factor analysis to study the dimensionality of service quality in retail banking. Multiple regression was used to probe the influence of the dimensions of service quality on WOM. Findings – The study revealed four dimensions of service quality in retail banking, namely, attitude, competence, tangibles and convenience and showed that the service quality factor attitude is most important in influencing WOM. Research limitations/implications – Continued refinement of the scale for measuring service quality in retail banking, proposed in this study, is certainly possible based on further research and trends in retail banking. Further research may also incorporate multiple measures of the WOM construct. Practical implications – Retail bank managers must realise the importance of employees’ attitude towards customers, be sensitive to the intangible aspects of the service, particularly the customer-orientation of its frontline personnel and engender and continuously rejuvenate a customer-oriented culture. This is because, the provision of personalised, courteous service and helpful employees who understand the customers’ needs is the strongest driver for WOM. Originality/value – This study explores the relationship between service quality and WOM by linking both constructs at their dimensional level. This increases the diagnostics of explaining customers’ propensity for WOM.

Event quality and loyalty among runners with different running involvement levels

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 292-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kostantinos Alexandris ◽  
Nicholas Theodorakis ◽  
Kiki Kaplanidou ◽  
Dimitra Papadimitriou
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Sport Event ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Environment ◽  
Event Marketing ◽  
Quality Dimensions ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Moderating Role

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: to investigate if the three service quality dimensions (service environment, interaction and outcome quality), proposed by Brady and Cronin (2001), influence the development of event loyalty, among runners of the “‘Alexander the Great’ International Marathon”, and to test if running loyalty moderates the relationship between event quality and event loyalty. Design/methodology/approach In all, 368 runners participated in the study and filled the Sport Event Quality Questionnaire (Theodorakis et al., 2015) and an adjusted version of the Leisure Involvement Questionnaire (Kyle et al., 2010). Findings The results indicated that only the service environment and outcome dimensions contributed significantly to the prediction of event loyalty, while, and in contrast to other sport services, interaction quality was not shown to be an important determinant for the development of event loyalty. Furthermore, running involvement was shown to play a moderating role in the relationship between event quality and event loyalty. Service quality is more important for the development of event loyalty among low- than high-involved runners. The theoretical and applied implications of these results are discussed. Research limitations/implications The study provided results on how high- and low-involved runners perceive event quality, and for which of these groups the event quality is an important antecedent for the development of event loyalty. Practical implications Investigating the moderating role of involvement on the relationship between service quality and loyalty has also applied value. While committed runners have been traditionally seen as a key target group for event marketing professionals, the majority of runners in city marathons today are more leisure oriented. The increase in the number of leisure runners is actually the reason for the rapid growth of city marathons in the last few years. Meeting the needs of these leisure runners and increasing their loyalty levels is therefore a key task for marathon marketers today. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature, as for the first time it explores the moderating role of involvement on the relationship between service quality and loyalty in the context of a sport event.

Service quality and global competitiveness: evidence from global service firms

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 1058-1080 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenbin Sun ◽  
Jing Pang
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Service Industry ◽  
Situational Factors ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Moderating Effects ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Global Competitiveness ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between service quality and firms’ global competitiveness in the service industry. A set of moderating effects is formulated to further reveal how the relationship varies under different situations. Design/methodology/approach This paper tests the model with data collected from multiple sources such as World’s Most Admired Companies and COMPUSTAT. Two types of robust regressions for panel data are employed in the empirical model estimation. Findings Service quality is found to significantly drive global competitiveness. Specifically, its impact is stronger for large service firms and when the global environment is characterized as low munificence, high dynamism, or high complexity. Practical implications The paper provides a set of implications for managers of service firms regarding global expansion and quality management. It generates useful guidelines of maximizing the power of service quality when a firm’s global competitive advantage is considered. Originality/value This paper takes the first attempt to formulate service quality’s influence on firm’s global competitiveness with a consideration of specific situational factors.

Dear top management, please don’t make me a cynic: intention to sabotage

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (10) ◽  
pp. 1266-1286 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Mohammed Abubakar ◽  
Huseyin Arasli
Keyword(s):  
Procedural Justice ◽  
Conservation Of Resources ◽  
Differentiated Service ◽  
Work Processes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Service Sabotage ◽  
Employee Cynicism ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The conceptualization of service sabotage failed to adequately tap the domain of interest. Phenomena like turnover and service sabotage are difficult to measure and are not suitable for individual-level study. However, “intention” is suitable for individual-level or management-oriented studies. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach A new scale (eight items) to measure the intention to sabotage was developed and tested using a sample of bank (n=313) and insurance (n=258) employees in Nigeria. Cynicism and the desire for justice are the roots of sabotage. As such, the inability to stabilize institutionalized work processes and procedures may cause employees to be overcome with the intention to sabotage service, prior to the actual sabotage. Drawing on conservation of resources theory, this paper investigates the impact of employee cynicism on intention to sabotage as moderated by procedural justice. Findings The analyses suggest that employee cynicism is related to the intention to sabotage, and procedural justice moderates the relationship between employee cynicism and intention to sabotage. The findings endorse the model of interest, and implications of this study for research and practice are discussed. Originality/value The study differentiated service sabotage from intention to sabotage, and developed and tested a scale to measure the intention to sabotage.

Ethical leadership, frustration, and humor: a moderated-mediation model

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 665-678 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Valle ◽  
Micki Kacmar ◽  
Martha Andrews
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Leadership ◽  
Affective Commitment ◽  
Positive Mood ◽  
Moderated Mediation ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Mediation Model ◽  
Surface Acting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Moderated Mediation Model ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of ethical leadership on surface acting, positive mood and affective commitment via the mediating effect of employee frustration. The authors also explored the moderating role of humor on the relationship between ethical leadership and frustration as well as its moderating effect on the mediational chain. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected in two separate surveys from 156 individuals working fulltime; data collections were separated by six weeks to reduce common method variance. The measurement model was confirmed before the authors tested the moderated mediation model. Findings Ethical leadership was negatively related to employee frustration, and frustration mediated the relationships between ethical leadership and surface acting and positive mood but not affective commitment. Humor moderated the relationship between ethical leadership and frustration such that when humor was low, the relationship was stronger. Research limitations/implications Interestingly, the authors failed to find a significant effect for any of the relationships between ethical leadership and affective commitment. Ethical leaders can enhance positive mood and reduce surface acting among employees by reducing frustration. Humor may be more important under conditions of unethical leadership but may be distracting under ethical leadership. Originality/value This study demonstrates how frustration acts as a mediator and humor serves as a moderator in the unethical behavior-outcomes relationship.

The mediating role of passenger satisfaction on the relationship between service quality and behavioral intentions of low-cost carriers

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hsiu-Fen Lin
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Behavioral Intentions ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Group Analysis ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Research Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Passenger Satisfaction ◽  
Low Cost Carriers ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeBy extending the existing service quality dimensions and reflecting the low-cost carriers (LCCs) context, the purpose ot this study aims to develop the research model to examine whether passenger satisfaction mediates the relationship between service quality and behavioral intentions of LCCs across low- and high-experience passengers.Design/methodology/approachData collected from 320 passengers (180 for low-experience passengers and 140 for high-experience passengers) to test the research model. The partial least square structural equation modeling approach was used to perform the path modeling and multi-group analysis.FindingsThe results confirm that passenger satisfaction mediates the relationship between four service quality constructs (tangible features, service reliability, quality of personnel and online ticketing service) and behavioral intentions (repurchase and recommendation intentions) for both low- and high-experience passengers. However, convenient flight schedule has a significant influence on passenger satisfaction only for low-experience passengers.Practical implicationsThe results of multi-group analysis indicated that passenger satisfaction exerts stronger effect on recommendation intentions for low-experience passengers. LCCs managers' priority should be placed on providing satisfying service experiences to less experienced passengers. Improved passenger satisfaction through superior service quality motivates low-experience passengers to recommend LCCs, thus increasing the positive word-of-mouth promotion.Originality/valueTheoretically, this study is first considering both low- and high-experience LCCs passenger perceptions to examine how passenger satisfaction mediates the relationship between service quality and post-purchase intentions. From the managerial perspective, the findings can provide useful management insights into developing multi-faceted strategies that allow LCCs firms to restore passenger confidence and retain their repurchase intentions.

Authentic leadership, person-organization fit and collectivistic orientation: a moderated-mediated model of workplace safety

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuzhen Liu ◽  
Fulei Chu ◽  
Ming Guo ◽  
Yuanyuan Liu
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Authentic Leadership ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Workplace Safety ◽  
Safety Behaviors ◽  
Safety Behavior ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Safety Compliance ◽  
Person Organization Fit ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeWorkplace safety has been a persistent issue for safety-critical organizations. Based on self-verification theory, this study investigates how authentic leadership affects safety behaviors in a collectivistic context.Design/methodology/approachThis research collected 259 matching questionnaires for high-speed railway (HSR) drivers and their supervisors in China. Specifically, HSR drivers were invited to fill in their general perceived authentic leadership, person-organization fit and collectivistic orientation. In addition, their direct supervisors were invited to assess their safety behaviors.FindingsAuthentic leadership exhibits a significant positive impact on safety compliance and safety participation, implying that authentic leadership positively impacts safety behavior. The person-organization fit partially mediated the relationship between authentic leadership and safety behavior (safety compliance and participation). Furthermore, collectivistic orientation moderates the relationship between authentic leadership and person-organization fit.Originality/valueThe findings of this study provide important insights into authentic leadership and person-organization fit for developing effective strategies to improve workplace safety.

As the tree is, so is the fruit? Examining the effects of ethical leadership on bootlegging from the perspective of leader–follower gender similarity

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuwen Li ◽  
Ruiqian Jia ◽  
Juergen H. Seufert ◽  
Huijie Tang ◽  
Jinlian Luo
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Leadership ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Moral Identity ◽  
Path Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Chinese Companies ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Gender Similarity ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Moral Efficacy

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore how and when ethical leadership enhances bootlegging. To achieve this purpose, the authors proposed a moderated dual-path model in this study. Design/methodology/approach The model was tested on two related studies. Study 1 was based on three-wave, collected data from a sample of 511 employees of Chinese companies. Data used in Study 2 was collected by survey from employees and their direct leaders of multiple departments of companies in China. Findings In Study 1, the authors found that moral efficacy and moral identity mediate between ethical leadership and bootlegging. Findings from Study 2 provide convergent support of moral efficacy’s and moral identity’s impact on the mediation relationship between ethical leadership and bootlegging. Moreover, the results of Study 2 further reveal that the relationship between ethical leadership and moral efficacy (or moral identity) was more significant among leader–follower with different genders. Originality/value This study not only enriches the literature on ethical leadership and gender (dis)similarity, but also helps managers to better understand the function of bootlegging.

Retail atmospherics and retail store patronage of supermarkets in emerging economies: mediating role of perceived service quality

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Dokcen ◽  
Vincent Obedgiu ◽  
Gideon Nkurunziza
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Retail Store ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Perceived Service Quality ◽  
Patronage Behavior ◽  
Store Patronage ◽  
Retail Atmospherics ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to establish the mediating role of Perceived Service Quality on the relationship between Retail Atmospherics and Retail Store Patronage of Supermarkets in Emerging Economies using empirical evidence from Uganda.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a cross-sectional research design and quantitative approach to understand stand the structured reality of Retail Store Patronage of supermarkets in context of emerging economies. In the context of this study, the data were drawn from Uganda's supermarkets. A sample of 1,504 customers were selected from 136,270 customers. Data was collected from supermarket customers using closed ended questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics were derived to describe the behavior of customers and draw conclusions on population using sample statistics. Correlation analysis was used to establish the degree of association between the variables. Hierarchical regression was applied to assess the unique contribution of each variable; control variables-income and age, predictor variables – Retail Atmospherics and Perceived Service Quality on dependent variable – Retail Store Patronage. Mediation was done following the four-step procedures of mediation of Baron and Kenny (1986).FindingsThe results revealed significant positive relationship between Retail Atmospherics, Perceived Service Quality and Retail Store Patronage, confirming the direct hypotheses. Perceived Service Quality partially mediated the relationship between Retail Atmospherics and Retail Store Patronage. The findings depict that Retail Store Patronage is influenced directly by Retail Atmospherics and indirectly through Perceived Service Quality as a mediating variable. However, in situations where the atmospherics is good but perceived service quality is poor, Retail Store Patronage may not be fully realized.Originality/valueThe study provides information that is relevant for filling the practical and theoretical gap in the Retail Store Patronage in Ugandan supermarkets. Previous research studies investigated patronage behavior of shoppers in single retail units yet there is paucity of research on patronage behavior across different retail formats in the world. This study can be generalized and have strategic implications to developing economies that seek to grow and sustain their businesses. It points to the gaps that are normally overlooked and could lead business failure. The focus of most previous studies were on developed economies more especially Europe and America. This study in particular focused on the role of perceived service quality in the relationship between retail atmospherics and customer retail store patronage in emerging economies like Uganda as a testing ground.

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