Relative efficacy of organizational support and personality traits in predicting service recovery and job performances: a study of frontline employees in Turkey

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine the relative efficacies of a set of organizational support mechanisms and personality traits in predicting frontline employees' service recovery and job performances.Design/methodology/approach -Data were gathered through self-administered questionnaires. A sample of 723 frontline hotel employees in Turkey serves as the study setting. Findings -The study results show that organizational support is more effective in differentiating between high-and low-performing frontline employees in the case of service recovery performance. However, job performance overall is more susceptible to the influences of personality traits.Research limitations/implications -Replication studies in other regions of Turkey and other countries among frontline employees in the hotel industry as well as other service settings would broaden the database for further generalizations. Including other organizational support mechanisms (e.g. technology support) and personality traits (e.g. customer orientation) would shed further light on our understanding of the relative roles of organizational support and personality traits in predicting frontline employee performance.Practical implications -In addition to providing organizational support to their employees, hotel managers should recruit individuals with the relevant personality traits for frontline service jobs. Using these strategies in tandem increases the likelihood of having high-performing employees.Social implications -From a macro standpoint, implementation of the strategies discussed here will benefit the hotels in Turkey which are in stiffening competition with their counterparts.Originality/value -The study adds to the body of knowledge by investigating simultaneously the relative efficacies of organizational support and personality traits in predicting service recovery and job performances of frontline hotel employees in a developing economy.

The Effect of Management Commitment to Service Quality on Job Embeddedness and Performance Outcomes

“…Yavas et al (2003) reported that empowerment positively influenced frontline bank employees' service recovery performance in Turkey. Recently, Yavas et al (2010) also indicated that training and empowerment triggered frontline employees' service recovery performance in Turkish hotels. Accordingly, the following hypotheses are proposed:…”

“…Boshoff, Allen 2000;Yavas et al 2010). Empowered employees would be able to provide quick, appropriate, and equitable responses to complainants (Boshoff, Allen 2000;Yavas et al 2003).…”

“…In addition, training, empowerment, and rewards have been reported or discussed to increase organizational development, attract qualified individuals, and enhance employee work outcomes (e.g. organizational commitment, job performance, and job satisfaction) (Ashill et al 2005;Marković 2008;Rees, Althakhri 2008;Singh 2007;Yavas et al 2010). …”

Job Resources, Work Engagement, and Hotel Employee Outcomes: A Time-Lagged Analysis

“…Employees having intense face-to-face or voice-to-voice interactions with customers play the most critical role in this process (Cheng et al, 2008;Weber and placeCitySparks, 2010;Yavas et al, 2010). Such employees are also among the main actors who can return disgruntled customers to a state of satisfaction after a service failure (Yavas et al, 2010).…”

“…Employees having intense face-to-face or voice-to-voice interactions with customers play the most critical role in this process (Cheng et al, 2008;Weber and placeCitySparks, 2010;Yavas et al, 2010). Such employees are also among the main actors who can return disgruntled customers to a state of satisfaction after a service failure (Yavas et al, 2010). In addition, according to the resource-based view, inimitable human resources (e.g., highly quali…ed frontline employees) are pivotal in service delivery process (Jerman and Završnik, 2006;Karatepe and Aleshinloye, 2009).…”