Investigating the employee–customer relationship in a utilitarian context

Kearney, Treasa ORCID: 0000-0002-4655-3749, Coughlan, Joseph and Kennedy, Aileen (2021) Investigating the employee–customer relationship in a utilitarian context. Journal of Marketing Management, 37 (13-14). pp. 1-26.

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Abstract

This research, drawing on dyadic data, is one of the first to assess the significance of employee satisfaction in driving customer satisfaction and service quality within a utilitarian context. Multi-level structural equation modelling is employed to analyse 974 customers directly matched to 95 employees across 15 retail grocery stores. Our key empirical finding is that within a utilitarian context, and using a multi-level approach, employee satisfaction does not have a significant direct effect on either customer satisfaction or customer service quality perceptions. Perceptions of price competitiveness assume a more significant role in both customer satisfaction and service quality perceptions than employee satisfaction. Utilitarian store managers should focus their efforts on appropriate service strategies where employee satisfaction still plays a key role.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, service quality, retailing
Divisions:	Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Management
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	28 Apr 2021 10:36
Last Modified:	18 Jan 2023 22:50
DOI:	10.1080/0267257x.2021.1910329
Related URLs:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3120864