Klaus J. Templer, Jeffrey C. Kennedy and Riyang Phang
Customer orientation of service employees relates to customer satisfaction and loyalty, sales growth and business performance. Drawing from conservation of resources (COR) theory…
Abstract
Purpose
Customer orientation of service employees relates to customer satisfaction and loyalty, sales growth and business performance. Drawing from conservation of resources (COR) theory, the aim of this study was to test the interactive effects of service employees' role clarity and learning goal orientation on customer orientation. Specifically, it was hypothesized that even under conditions of low role clarity, service employees with high learning goal orientation would maintain a high level of customer orientation.
Design/methodology/approach
Participants were 323 employees of 4- and 5-star hotels in Singapore. Using questionnaires, they reported their role clarity, learning goal orientation and customer orientation. For hypothesis testing, moderated regression analysis was performed.
Findings
Role clarity and learning goal orientation were significantly related to customer orientation, and in support of the hypothesis, the interaction effect of role clarity and learning goal orientation was also significant. With high role clarity, all employees showed high customer orientation. But with low role clarity, only employees with high learning goal orientation demonstrated high customer orientation.
Practical implications
The recommendations from this study are to include learning goal orientation as a selection criterion for service employees and to clearly define the roles of existing service employees, especially for those with low learning goal orientation.
Originality/value
The originality and value of this study lies in highlighting the importance of learning goal orientation especially under conditions of low role clarity.
Details
Keywords
This study aimed to test Early and Ang’s (2003) proposition that self-enhancement hinders successful cross-cultural adjustment. The literature on self-enhancement is reviewed, and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to test Early and Ang’s (2003) proposition that self-enhancement hinders successful cross-cultural adjustment. The literature on self-enhancement is reviewed, and the overclaiming technique as an unobtrusive measure of self-enhancement is introduced for use in global mobility contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the overclaiming technique, an international-cultural overclaiming test was developed. Expatriates in Singapore stated their familiarity with international-cultural knowledge items, with some of them being foil items, and rated their cross-cultural (general, interaction, work) adjustment. Supervisors rated the expatriates on their work adjustment and performance.
Findings
Overclaiming was not related to self-rated cross-cultural adjustment. However, overclaiming was negatively related to supervisor rated work adjustment and performance. Additionally, the results showed that international-cultural knowledge accuracy was positively related to self-rated general adjustment and to supervisor rated work adjustment and performance.
Research limitations/implications
The small sample size with a majority of expatriate teachers from international schools in the sample makes it necessary for the results to be replicated with larger and more varied expatriate samples.
Practical implications
While further validation is needed, this research indicates that the overclaiming technique could be a valuable tool for assessing self-enhancement in candidates for expatriate positions in order to gauge potential cross-cultural (mal)adjustment, as perceived by others.
Originality/value
This study was (likely) the first study that has applied the overclaiming technique in a global mobility context. An international-cultural knowledge overclaiming test is provided to academic researchers for future use.
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Naresh Khatri, Klaus J. Templer and Pawan S. Budhwar
The purpose of this paper is to develop measures of charisma and vision and to examine their influences on follower‐level outcomes in four countries, namely, India, Singapore, the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop measures of charisma and vision and to examine their influences on follower‐level outcomes in four countries, namely, India, Singapore, the UK, and the USA.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a series of three studies. In the first study, conducted in Singapore, an open‐ended questionnaire was used to gather statements of charisma and vision for developing charismatic and visionary categories or themes. The second study, also conducted in Singapore, involved constructing items to represent various categories or themes of charisma and vision, collecting data, and performing factor analyses to develop dimensions of charisma and vision. The third study validated the measures of charisma and vision developed in the first two studies across national samples drawn from two Asian (India and Singapore) and two Western countries (the UK and the USA), and examined the relationships of charismatic and visionary dimensions with motivation, satisfaction, cooperation, and performance of employees.
Findings
One major dimension of charisma, social sensitivity, and two key dimensions of vision, daring/change‐seeking and expertise/knowledge, universally emerged across all four countries. Social sensitivity showed highly significant positive relationships with motivation and satisfaction of followers across all four countries. The daring/change‐seeking leadership was highly positively related to motivation, satisfaction, cooperation, and performance of employees in the UK and the USA only. Expertise and knowledge showed relatively stronger relationship with follower outcomes in India and Singapore than in the UK and the USA.
Originality/value
The study identifies charisma and vision as two basic components of transformational leadership, develops new measures of these constructs, and examines their relationships with follower‐level outcomes.
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Since the first Volume of this Bibliography there has been an explosion of literature in all the main areas of business. The researcher and librarian have to be able to uncover…
Abstract
Since the first Volume of this Bibliography there has been an explosion of literature in all the main areas of business. The researcher and librarian have to be able to uncover specific articles devoted to certain topics. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume III, in addition to the annotated list of articles as the two previous volumes, contains further features to help the reader. Each entry within has been indexed according to the Fifth Edition of the SCIMP/SCAMP Thesaurus and thus provides a full subject index to facilitate rapid information retrieval. Each article has its own unique number and this is used in both the subject and author index. The first Volume of the Bibliography covered seven journals published by MCB University Press. This Volume now indexes 25 journals, indicating the greater depth, coverage and expansion of the subject areas concerned.