How does transformational leadership influence proactive customer service behavior of frontline service employees? Examining the mediating roles of psychological empowerment and affective commitment

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating roles of two variables of psychological empowerment and affective commitment of frontline service employees (FSEs) in the relationship between transformational leadership (TFL) and proactive customer service behavior (PCSB) of FSEs. Design/methodology/approach In a rigorous research design, the authors obtained data from 225 FSE-supervisor dyads working in a large Indian IT services organization. Analysis was done using structural equation modeling approach in LISREL 8.72. Findings As expected, affective commitment and psychological empowerment of FSEs fully mediated the positive relationship between TFL and PCSB of FSEs, even after controlling for age and tenure. The specified model explained 24 percent of the variance in PCSB of FSEs. Research limitations/implications As FSEs act as the face of a service organization, therefore their proactive behavior plays an important role in customer satisfaction. Enactment of TFL by supervisors fosters PCSB of FSEs. Therefore, organizations must develop TFL skills in their managers to psychologically empower FSEs and get them committed to a superior service delivery through PCSB. Originality/value The study is one amongst the few studies to explore the relationship between TFL and proactive behavior in the customer service domain. Additionally, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine the explanatory mechanisms through which transformational leaders foster PCSB of FSEs.

The Impact of Transformational Leadership on Nurses’ Organizational Commitment: A Multiple Mediation Model

“…Therefore, it can be proposed that the transformational leadership style is a possible predictor of psychological empowerment. Past studies proclaim a significantly positive nexus between transformational leadership and psychological empowerment [47,56,57]. Therefore, we hypothesize that: Hypothesis 2 (H2).…”

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“…Também se observa que o Comprometimento Afetivo Organizacional tem um impacto positivo na Lealdade (SRW=0,61, p<0,01), corroborando H13 e indo de encontro com estudos prévios que comprovam que um trabalhador que está comprometido com a organização é-lhe leal (SOLÍS; MONROY, 2015) e que a Iniciativa Pessoal tem um impacto positivo na orientação para o cliente (SRW=0,746; p<0,01) corroborando H17 e a ideia de que somente os trabalhadores proativos e dotados de iniciativa pessoal têm uma maior predisposição para satisfazer os clientes (JAUHARI; SINGH; KUMAR, 2017) the authors of6c4fa9"]}],"mendeley":{"format-tedCitation":" (Jauhari et al, 2017.…”

“…Segundo Stroppa e Spieß (2011), os trabalhadores sentem-se mais propensos a adotar comportamentos de iniciativa pessoal quando se sentem satisfeitos e motivados em seu trabalho, pois o gosto pelo ele leva-os a quererem ajudar a organização a ultrapassar todas as dificuldades encontradas. Também foi estudado anteriormente por Jauhari, Singh e Kumar (2017)http://www.mendeley.com/ documents/?uuid=4aef7489-9441-4902-9cd-5-ebee9f6c4fa9"]}],"mendeley":{"formatted-Citation":" (Jauhari, Singh, & Kumar, 2017 que esses trabalhadores que são dotados de iniciativa pessoal são os que têm uma maior predisposição para satisfazer o cliente; pois, como procuram maneiras para superar os problemas de forma a atingir os objetivos organizacionais, garantem sempre soluções para seus clientes. Como resultado, propõem-se as seguintes hipóteses:…”

Validation of Supervisor Effectiveness Determinants for Engineering Team-Based Organisations

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