Exploring the relationships between compassion at work, the evaluative perspective of positive work-related identity, service employee creativity, and job performance

Abstract

Purpose This study examines whether compassion at work increases service employees’ job performance. More specifically, the purpose of this study is to show the mechanism through which experienced compassion in an organization affects the job performance of service employees. Design/methodology/approach The employees from a department store in South Korea were surveyed using a self-administered instrument for data collection. Out of 550 questionnaires, a total of 309 usable questionnaires were obtained after list-wise deletion, for a 61.6 per cent response rate. Findings The results of this study suggest that the evaluative perspective of positive work-related identity mediates the relationship between compassion at work and service employees’ job performance. In addition, the findings of this study demonstrate that there is significant mediating effect of service employee creativity on the relationship between compassion at work and job performance. Furthermore, the relationship between compassion at work and job performance was sequentially mediated by the evaluative perspective of positive work-related identity and the creativity of service employees. Research limitations/implications The common method variance in the self-reported variables imposes a need for caution in the interpretation of the findings. Future studies could avoid the problem of common method bias by, for example, using supervisor ratings of creativity and job performance. On the other hand, this study will add to the growing body of research on service marketing by highlighting the role of compassion at work to enhance service employees’ job performance. Practical implications This study offers new insight for practitioners (i.e. CEOs, top management teams, employees) by suggesting that they may promote service employees’ job performance if they pay more attention to compassionate acts in service marketing. Originality/value As services are becoming more important and harder to sell simultaneously, this study provides a new perspective to improve service employees’ job performance by examining its link with compassion at work.

Compassion and Job Performance: Dual-Paths through Positive Work-Related Identity, Collective Self Esteem, and Positive Psychological Capital

“…194-195), which fits the purpose of our study. Past studies on compassion, such as Moon et al [16] and Hur et al [41], also used the same measurement providing empirical evidence of acceptable reliability and validity of the scale. Following Lilius et al [10], we measured the frequency of experienced compassion on the three aspects of work-(a) on the job, (b) from the supervisor, and (c) from coworkers, ranging from 1 = never to 5 = almost all the time.…”

“…Thus, we concluded Bednar et al [42] could capture the comprehensive picture of positive work-related identity. Although empirical studies on positive work-related identity are still limited, past studies, such as Moon et al [16] and Hur et al [41], also used the same measurement providing adequate evidence of its reliability and validity. Sample items read "As a member of this organization, I am a person of virtuous character" and "As a member of this organization, I exemplify virtuous qualities".…”

The effects of compassion experienced by SME employees on affective commitment: Double-mediation of authenticity and positive emotion

“…Their research on compassion has mainly relied on qualitative approaches, case studies to be specific, and Lilius et al (2008) have developed compassion scales to apply in their research. Conducting a study on compassion, Moon et al (2014) found the positive relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and compassion, and Hur et al (2016) found the positive effects of compassion and positive work-related identity on performance variables. Empirical studies on compassion, qualitative or quantitative, have consistently increased since Lilius et al (2008) conducted an empirical study on the causal relationships among compassion, positive emotion, and affective commitment.…”

Guest editorial: relationship marketing – past, present and future

“…At the same time, the relationship marketing research has become fragmented into areas such as relationship communication (e.g. Balaji, Roy and Wei, 2016), relationship dynamics (Harmeling, Palmatier, Houston, Arnold, and Samaha, 2015;Hollman, Jarvis and Bitner, 2015;Zhang Watson, Palmatier, and Dant, 2016), negative aspects of close relationship (Anderson and Jap, 2005) and the role of relationships in relation to other key issues such as service recovery (Hur, Moon and Jun, 2016) and service interactions (Martin, 2016). In conclusion, the relationship marketing research has moved to subareas, whereas many of its baseline ideas, such as inter-dependency between actors, are taken for granted in marketing.…”