Internal service quality as a driver of employee satisfaction, commitment and performance: Exploring the focal role of employee well-being

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to use “positive organizational behavior” and “transformative service research” paradigms to introduce “employee well-being” as a focal construct in the process by which internal service quality (ISQ) drives employee satisfaction, commitment and performance.

Design/methodology/approach

A field-survey using a structured questionnaire is employed to test all the hypotheses with 250 employees and their 25 supervisors in a manufacturing unit in Guangdong province of the People’s Republic of China.

Findings

All the eight hypotheses are supported. ISQ has a positive effect on employee satisfaction, commitment and employee well-being, which in turn positively influence employee performance. Employee well-being also positively moderates (strengthens) the effects of employee satisfaction and commitment on employee performance.

Research limitations/implications

This paper uses data from a single factory in China and focuses on a few key constructs, which may restrict the generalizability of its findings. Moreover, no significant differences were found among the supervisor-workers units.

Practical implications

Managers in non-service industries should focus on improving ISQ and employee well-being in their organizations because both these constructs have significant direct and indirect effects on employee performance.

Originality/value

This paper extends past research on ISQ by showing that it affects employee performance via satisfaction and commitment, and that employee well-being moderates the effects of employee satisfaction and commitment on performance.

Citation

Sharma, P., Kong, T.T.C. and Kingshott, R.P.J. (2016), "Internal service quality as a driver of employee satisfaction, commitment and performance: Exploring the focal role of employee well-being", Journal of Service Management, Vol. 27 No. 5, pp. 773-797. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-10-2015-0294