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The effects of selected

antecedents on the service
recovery performance of
frontline employees
Article in Service Industries Journal January 2006
DOI: 10.1080/02642060500358795

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The Effects of Selected Antecedents on

the Service Recovery Performance
of Frontline Employees
OSMAN M. KARATEPE

The purpose of the present study is to examine the effects of selected

antecedents on the service recovery performance of frontline employees
using data from frontline bank employees in Turkey. The results of the
path analysis indicate that trait competitiveness, intrinsic motivation,
and role ambiguity are significant antecedents of frontline employees
service recovery performance. Results also suggest that the significant
consequences of service recovery performance are job satisfaction and
intention to leave. The results of the other hypothesised linkages
demonstrate that intrinsic motivation, emotional exhaustion, and role
ambiguity are significantly associated with frontline employees job
satisfaction. In addition, the current empirical findings provide
support for the notion that role ambiguity and emotional exhaustion
are significant predictors of intention to leave. Limitations of the
study, managerial implications, and implications for future research
are discussed.

INTRODUCTION

In an increasingly global competitive environment, service firms focus on delivering

exceptional quality to their customers. However, mistakes and failures are inevitable
in service encounters. Service failures may lead to positive outcomes such as customer satisfaction and repurchase intentions, if they are resolved effectively. Unless
service failures are resolved satisfactorily, they may have detrimental outcomes
such as customer dissatisfaction, negative word-of-mouth, and loss of customers
[cf. Babakus et al., 2003].
Although it is acknowledged among researchers and practitioners that service
quality depends on the performance of frontline employees, research indicates that
more than 60 per cent of service failures are initiated with frontline employees
[Tax and Brown, 1998], and a few service firms learn from their mistakes [Johnston

Dr. Osman M. Karatepe, Assistant Professor of Marketing, School of Tourism and Hospitality
Management, Eastern Mediterranean University, Gazimagusa, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,
Via Mersin 10, Turkey. Email: osman.karatepe@emu.edu.tr
The Service Industries Journal, Vol.26, No.1, January 2006, pp.3957
ISSN 0264-2069 print=1743-9507 online
DOI: 10.1080=02642060500358795 # 2006 Taylor & Francis

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and Mehra, 2002]. In addition, frontline employees are the lowest paid members of
service firms, and are susceptible to high levels of role stress [Weatherly and
Tansik, 1993] and emotional exhaustion in the workplace [Boles et al., 1997]. It is
obvious that frontline employees working under stress and experiencing high levels
of emotional exhaustion may not be able to perform service recovery efforts successfully. In a work environment where frontline employees are expected to deal with a
wide variety of customer requests and complaints [Boshoff and Allen, 2000], competitive and intrinsically motivated frontline employees are more likely to resolve
customer complaints effectively and receive positive evaluations from their customers and managers.
With this realisation, the current study develops and tests a research model
which aims to measure the effects of selected antecedents on the service recovery
performance of frontline employees. In the current study, service recovery performance is conceptualised as frontline service employees perceptions of their own
abilities and actions to resolve a service failure to the satisfaction of the customer
[Babakus et al., 2003: 274]. The present study set out to address four important
research issues. First, there is still a paucity of empirical research regarding the
factors that may influence job-related outcomes of frontline employees [Netemeyer
et al., 2004], and specifically service recovery performance [Babakus et al., 2003;
Boshoff and Allen, 2000]. Second, based on the results of a large-scale Gallup
survey, Brewer [1994] reports that trait competitiveness and intrinsic motivation
are two significant talents that the best salespeople (frontline employees) have.
However, little is known about the effect of trait competitiveness on the
performance of frontline employees [cf. Brown et al., 1998]. Third, many studies
consider emotional exhaustion as the first stage of the burnout syndrome [e.g.,
Cordes and Dougherty, 1993]. Although this is the case, there is a lack of empirical
research concerning the effects of emotional exhaustion on frontline employees
affective and performance outcomes [Babakus et al., 1999; Boles et al., 1997].
Finally, the results of the current empirical study may provide useful implications
for managers to enhance the service recovery performance of their frontline
employees.

RESEARCH MODEL AND HYPOTHESES

The hypothesised relationships are shown in Figure 1. Specifically, the research

model aims to measure the effects of trait competitiveness, intrinsic motivation,
emotional exhaustion, role conflict, and role ambiguity on the service recovery performance of frontline employees. In the research model, job satisfaction and intention
to leave are treated as the consequences of frontline employees service recovery performance. Although several studies have investigated the effects of selected antecedents on service recovery performance [Yavas et al., 2003; Boshoff and Allen,
2000], they have not incorporated trait competitiveness, intrinsic motivation, and
emotional exhaustion into their conceptual models. Each of the constructs and the
hypothesised relationships in Figure 1 are discussed next.

SERVICE RECOVERY PERFORMANCE OF FRONTLINE EMPLOYEES

41

FIGURE 1
RESEARCH MODEL

The Hypothesised Relationships

As indicated above, competitiveness is one of the personality traits that the best salespeople possess [Brewer, 1994]. Trait competitiveness is conceptualised as an aspect
of personality relating to the enjoyment of interpersonal competition and the desire to
win and be better than others [Brown and Peterson, 1994: 72]. Wang and Netemeyer
[2002] convincingly discuss that traits associated with achievement motivation are
posited to have stronger correlations with performance than other personality variables. With this realisation, highly competitive individuals are more likely to focus
on exceeding the performance of others that will lead them to winning performance.

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There is empirical support which shows the significant positive relationship between
trait competitiveness and employee performance. For example, Brown and Peterson
[1994] found evidence that competitiveness positively influenced salesperson performance. Menguc [1996] also reported that an increase in trait competitiveness
resulted in an increase in salesperson performance. Recently, Wang and Netemeyer
[2002] showed that trait competitiveness had a significant positive influence on real
estate sales agents performance.
Therefore, it is hypothesised that:
H1: Frontline employees trait competitiveness will exert a significant positive
influence on their perceptions of service recovery performance.
Intrinsic motivation refers to an individuals feeling of challenge or competence
derived from performing a job [Keaveney, 1992: 151]. As is the case with trait competitiveness, intrinsic motivation is also reported to be one of the key talents that the
best salespeople have [Brewer, 1994]. As convincingly discussed by Thomas [2000],
intrinsic motivation is a key to increase employee performance. This is also supported
by other conceptual evidence that intrinsically motivated employees are innovative
and produce more in the workplace [Miller, 2002]. There is also empirical evidence
to support the premise that intrinsic motivation is positively related to employee performance. For example, in an empirical study of 94 salespeople, Tyagi [1985] found
that intrinsic motivation had a significant positive effect on salesperson work performance. Oliver and Anderson [1994] reported that intrinsic motivation was significantly correlated with salesperson relative performance. Babakus et al. [1996] found
evidence in a sales force context that intrinsically motivated salespeople displayed
high levels of performance.
This prompts the hypothesis that:
H2: Frontline employees intrinsic motivation will have a significant positive
effect on their perceptions of service recovery performance.
The job burnout construct developed by Maslach and Jackson [1981] consists of
three major components named as emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and
diminished personal accomplishment. While emotional exhaustion refers to the
lack of energy and depletion of emotional resources due to excessive psychological
demands, depersonalisation refers to a tendency to evaluate oneself negatively, and
diminished personal accomplishment is related to the negative feelings and attitudes
towards ones customers and co-workers [Maslach and Jackson, 1981; Cordes and
Dougherty, 1993; Boles et al., 2000]. Researchers agree that emotional exhaustion,
the first dimension of burnout examined in this study, is the initiator of burnout syndrome [e.g., Maslach and Jackson, 1981; Babakus et al., 1999; Gaines and Jermier,
1983], occurs in high-stress work environments, such as the ones where employees
work in boundary-spanning positions [Cordes and Dougherty, 1993], and has significant implications for the quality of work life in organisations [Wright and Cropanzano, 1998]. Emotional exhaustion leads to detrimental outcomes such as being
used up, frustration, and general loss of feeling and concern [Gaines and Jermier,
1983]. Once employees emotional resources are depleted, employees may not be

SERVICE RECOVERY PERFORMANCE OF FRONTLINE EMPLOYEES

43

able to perform job-related tasks successfully. Empirical studies demonstrated that

emotional exhaustion had a detrimental impact on employee performance. For
instance, Wright and Bonett [1997] reported that emotional exhaustion was a significant predictor of work performance in the public sector. In a study of social welfare
workers, Wright and Cropanzano [1998] found that emotional exhaustion was negatively related to job performance. Recently, Babakus et al. [1999] also found evidence
in a sales force setting that emotional exhaustion had a significant negative influence
on salesperson performance.
Therefore, the following hypothesis is proposed:
H3: Frontline employees emotional exhaustion will have a significant negative
effect on their perceptions of service recovery performance.
A number of empirical findings reveal that the major components of role stress
(role conflict and role ambiguity) are posited to influence employee job performance
[e.g., Jackson and Schuler, 1985]. Although the relationship between the major components of role stress and job performance has been investigated in boundaryspanning studies, most of the empirical studies have produced mixed findings.
More specifically, there are empirical studies which indicate that role conflict is not
significantly associated with employee performance [e.g., Brown and Peterson,
1993]. While some studies report that role conflict decreases employee performance
[Sohi, 1996], other studies demonstrate that role conflict leads to high levels of performance [Babin and Boles, 1996, 1998; Behrman and Perreault, 1984]. The current
study concurs with Behrman and Perreault [1984], who report that role conflict
enhances employee performance, since frontline employees confront high levels of
conflicting demands from managers, customers and co-workers, and role conflict
may be a prerequisite for successful service recovery efforts in the workplace.
Therefore, the following hypothesis is proposed:
H4: Frontline employees role conflict will have a significant positive influence
on their perceptions of service recovery performance.
Contrary to the mixed findings regarding the relationship between role conflict
and job performance, as convincingly discussed by Behrman and Perreault [1984],
the existing research findings are more consistent in suggesting that role ambiguity
is negatively related to employee performance. Specifically, Dubinsky et al. [1992]
found evidence in three different samples that an increase in salespeoples role ambiguity had a significant negative effect on their perceptions of job performance. In their
empirical study of 180 frontline bank employees, Yavas et al. [2003] found evidence
in the Turkish bank environment that role ambiguity influenced frontline employees
service recovery performance deleteriously. In their cross-national study, Netemeyer
et al. [2004] reported that an in increase in role ambiguity resulted in a decrease in
salesperson performance.
In light of the aforementioned findings, the following hypothesis is proposed:
H5: Frontline employees role ambiguity will have a significant negative influence on their perceptions of service recovery performance.

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Job satisfaction is defined as the pleasurable emotional state resulting from the
appraisal of ones job as achieving or facilitating the achievement of ones job
values [Locke, 1969: 316]. Miller [2002] cogently discusses that intrinsically motivated employees have high levels of job satisfaction. There is empirical support that
intrinsic motivation is linked to job satisfaction. In an empirical study of 305
buyers for retail organisations, Keaveney and Nelson [1993] indicated that intrinsic
motivation was positively related to job satisfaction. In a study of 300 homeinterviewed working adults, Lu [1999] showed that intrinsic motivation exerted a
strong positive effect on job satisfaction. Grant et al. [2001] reported that intrinsically
motivated employees had high levels of satisfaction with their jobs.
Accordingly, the following hypothesis is proposed:
H6: Frontline employees intrinsic motivation will have a significant positive
effect on their perceptions of job satisfaction.
There is empirical evidence to support the premise that emotional exhaustion
influences employees job satisfaction deleteriously. Specifically, Lee and Ashforth
[1996], in their meta-analytic study, showed that emotional exhaustion had a significant negative correlation with job satisfaction. Iverson, Olekalns and Erwin [1998]
reported that emotional exhaustion exerted a significant negative impact on employees job satisfaction in a health care setting. Recently, Babakus et al. [1999] found
that salespeople facing high levels of emotional exhaustion reported low levels of
job satisfaction.
The above findings lead to the following hypothesis:
H7: Frontline employees emotional exhaustion will exert a significant
negative effect on their perceptions of job satisfaction.
A careful examination of the literature indicates that the relationship between the
major components of role stress and job satisfaction has received considerable empirical attention [Jackson and Schuler, 1985]. Specifically, research demonstrates that
both role conflict and role ambiguity are posited to be negatively associated with
job satisfaction [e.g., Siguaw et al., 1994; Sohi, 1996; Van Sell et al., 1981; Brown
and Peterson, 1993]. However, there are empirical findings which provide support
for the notion that only one component of role stress (role conflict or role ambiguity)
has a significant negative impact on salesperson job satisfaction [e.g., Hartline and
Ferrell, 1996; Teas, 1983; Netemeyer et al., 1990]. In addition, several research findings report that role conflict and role ambiguity are not significantly related to salespeople job satisfaction [e.g., Naumann et al., 2000]. Although there are different
views concerning the association between the major components of role stress and
job satisfaction, the weight of the evidence supports the notion that increases in
both role conflict and role ambiguity will lead to low levels of job satisfaction.
Consistent with the weight of the evidence, the following hypotheses are
proposed:
H8: Frontline employees role conflict will have a significant negative effect on
their perceptions of job satisfaction.

SERVICE RECOVERY PERFORMANCE OF FRONTLINE EMPLOYEES

45

H9: Frontline employees role ambiguity will have a significant negative effect
on their perceptions of job satisfaction.
A synthesis of the related literature indicates that there are intriguing findings regarding the relationship between job performance and job satisfaction. For example, Brown
and Peterson [1993], in their meta-analytic inquiry, reported that performance did not
exert any significant positive effect on salesperson job satisfaction. However, in a
service recovery study, Boshoff and Allen [2000] indicated that frontline bank employees effective service recovery performance increased their job satisfaction. In a recent
service recovery study, Yavas et al. [2003] found that effective service recovery
performance by frontline bank employees led to an increase in their job satisfaction.
More recently, in their cross-national study, Netemeyer et al. [2004] found that performance depicted a significant positive relationship with salesperson job satisfaction.
The following hypothesis is proposed, since the effect of performance on job
satisfaction requires further testing [Netemeyer et al., 2004]:
H10: Frontline employees effective service recovery performance will have a
significant positive effect on their perceptions of job satisfaction.
Intention to leave is a significant and immediate precursor of actual turnover
[Johnston et al., 1988], and is an important consequence in the research model
depicted in Figure 1. Emotional exhaustion is posited to influence employees turnover intentions. In a study of salespeople, Boles et al. [1997] investigated the relationship between emotional exhaustion and propensity to leave and found that salespeople
experiencing high levels of emotional exhaustion had high levels of intentions to
leave the organisation. In another study, Wright and Cropanzano [1998] indicated
that emotional exhaustion was a significant predictor of employee voluntary turnover.
In an empirical study, Moore [2000] reported that emotional exhaustion exerted a
significant positive effect on employees intentions to leave the organisation.
Thus, the following hypothesis is proposed:
H11: Frontline employees emotional exhaustion will have a significant
positive influence on their intentions to leave the organisation.
Frontline employees who do not have adequate information about job-related tasks
experience uncertainty in the workplace. In this case, role ambiguity may have detrimental impact on employees affective outcomes. Specifically, in their meta-analytic
research, Brown and Peterson [1993] found a significant positive relationship between
role ambiguity and propensity to leave. Singh, Verbeke and Rhoads [1996] reported
that high levels of role ambiguity increased marketing boundary-spanners turnover
intentions. Recently, Grant et al. [2001] pointed out that role ambiguity had a significant positive influence on salespeoples intention to leave the sales force.
Based on the above information, the following hypothesis is proposed:
H12: Frontline employees role ambiguity will exert a significant positive effect
on their intentions to leave the organisation.
In the current empirical study, service recovery performance is posited to reduce
frontline employees intentions to leave the organisation. In their meta-analytic study,

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McEvoy and Cascio [1987] showed that employees performing their jobs effectively
were likely to continue their employment. Lance [1988] reported that job performance
was negatively correlated with employees turnover intentions. Recently, Boshoff and
Allen [2000] found that a decrease in frontline bank employees service recovery
performance led to an increase in their intentions to leave the organisation.
Accordingly, the following hypothesis is proposed:
H13: Frontline employees effective service recovery performance will have a
significant negative effect on their intentions to leave the organisation.
There is also empirical support for the notion that job satisfaction is negatively
associated with intention to leave [Martin, 1979]. Past research revealed that salespeople having low levels of satisfaction with their jobs had intentions to leave the
sales force [Boles et al., 1997]. A recent study indicated that higher levels of job
satisfaction had a significant negative impact on their intentions to leave the sales
force [Grant et al., 2001]. A more recent study demonstrated that job satisfaction
had a significant negative influence on salesperson turnover intent [Netemeyer
et al., 2004].
Consistent with these findings regarding the relationship between the two
constructs, the following hypothesis is proposed:
H14: Frontline employees job satisfaction will exert a significant negative
influence on their intentions to leave the organisation.

METHODOLOGY

Sample
The hypothesised relationships depicted in Figure 1 were tested using data collected
from frontline bank employees in one of the cities of the south-eastern region of
Turkey. After operating for years in a regulated and protected environment,
Turkish banks are now aware of the fact that that their survival in the future will
depend on the delivery of quality service [Babakus et al., 2003].
Managements of 23 banks in the research location were requested to give permission for the research team to collect data from frontline employees. After receiving permission, the research team was informed that there were 450 frontline
employees in 23 banks. These frontline bank employees had boundary-spanning
roles (i.e., customer service representatives and sales or credit staff) and spent most
of their time dealing directly with customers requests and complaints. At the
outset of the research, frontline bank employees were given an assurance of anonymity and confidentiality. Respondents were requested to self-administer the questionnaires. The research team personally distributed 450 questionnaires to these
frontline employees (50 frontline employees were used for pre-testing the questionnaires). By the cut-off date for data collection, 363 usable surveys were personally
retrieved from the employees for a response rate of 81 per cent.
Of those who responded, about 50 (50.4) per cent of the respondents were
between the ages of 28 and 37 and roughly 22 (22.4) per cent were between 38

SERVICE RECOVERY PERFORMANCE OF FRONTLINE EMPLOYEES

47

and 57 years old. The majority of the respondents (58.7 per cent) were male. More
than 70 (78.6) per cent of the respondents had university education. About 18
(17.9) per cent of the respondents had a tenure less than one year and more than 60
(67.6) per cent of the respondents had tenures between one and 14 years.
Measurement
Multiple item indicators from past writings were used to measure trait competitiveness, intrinsic motivation, emotional exhaustion, role conflict, role ambiguity,
service recovery performance, job satisfaction, and intention to leave. Responses to
the items in trait competitiveness, intrinsic motivation, emotional exhaustion, role
conflict, role ambiguity, service recovery performance, and intention to leave were
elicited on five-point scales ranging from 5 strongly agree to 1 strongly
disagree. Responses to the items in job satisfaction were elicited on five-point
scales ranging from 5 extremely satisfied to 1 extremely dissatisfied. The
survey was originally prepared in English and then translated into Turkish by using
the back-translation method [McGorry, 2000].
Trait Competitiveness. Trait competitiveness was measured using four items from
Brown et al. [1998].
Intrinsic Motivation. Four items from Low et al. [2001] were used to measure
intrinsic motivation.
Emotional Exhaustion. Research indicates that the item working with people
directly puts too much stress on me seemed to correspond to depersonalisation
instead of emotional exhaustion [Boles et al., 2000]. Therefore, this item was not
included in the emotional exhaustion scale. Finally, eight items from Maslach and
Jackson [1981] were used to measure emotional exhaustion.
Role Conflict and Role Ambiguity. Role conflict and role ambiguity were measured
through, respectively, seven and six items from Rizzo, House and Lirtzman [1970].
Several studies indicate that there are problems associated with the validity of the
role conflict and role ambiguity scales [e.g., McGee et al., 1989]. However, the
role conflict and role ambiguity scales have received much empirical attention in
the marketing and organisational behaviour literatures [Babin and Boles, 1998;
Smith et al., 1993], and there is empirical evidence to support the validity of these
scales [Kelloway and Barling, 1990].
Service Recovery Performance. Service recovery performance was operationalised via
five items from Boshoff and Allen [2000]. Research suggests that measurement of
service recovery performance via a self-report measure is justified on the grounds that
frontline employees are in the best position to evaluate performance outcomes and
their perceptions typically converge with those of the customers [Babakus et al., 2003:
278]. In addition, there are studies which provide support for the use of self-report
measure of performance [Churchill et al., 1985; Harris and Schaubroeck, 1988].

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Job Satisfaction. Job satisfaction was measured using eight items from Hartline and
Ferrell [1996]. The job satisfaction construct evaluates eight facets of job satisfaction
such as overall job, co-workers, supervisor(s), banks policies, support given to
frontline employees, pay, opportunities for advancement with the bank, and banks
customers. This approach is consistent with that of Brown and Peterson [1993].
Intention to Leave. Three items were adapted from Boshoff and Allen [2000] to
measure intention to leave.
All measures were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis to provide support for
the issues of dimensionality, convergent and discriminant validity. In light of the initial
results of the confirmatory factor analysis, several items were deleted, since their factor
loadings were below .50 and there was no significant correlation among several items.
The scale purification process permits for deletion of items [Netemeyer et al., 2004;
Hartline and Ferrell, 1996]. Consequently, four items from role conflict, three items
from role ambiguity, two items from emotional exhaustion, and one item each from
service recovery performance and job satisfaction were removed from further analysis.
The final results of the confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated a reasonable fit of the
eight-factor model to the data on the basis of a number of fit statistics (x2 1047.71,
df 499; GFI 0.85; AGFI 0.83; NFI 0.83; NNFI 0.88; CFI 0.90;
IFI 0.90; RMSEA 0.06; SRMR 0.06). Table 1 demonstrates that all standardised loadings are above .50, and all t-values are significant [Anderson and Gerbing,
1988]. The majority of the standardised loadings are above .70. Model fit statistics as
well as the high standardised loadings provided support for convergent validity
[Anderson and Gerbing, 1988].
In order to provide empirical support for the issue of discriminant validity, we
employed several pairwise confirmatory factor analyses. Specifically, we first tried
to force items representing each construct into a single underlying factor and then
fit a two-dimensional model. On the basis of the results of various fit statistics, the
results suggest that each set of items represents a single underlying construct and
provides evidence for discriminant validity [Anderson and Gerbing, 1988].
Composite scores for each construct were computed by averaging scores across
items representing that construct. Means and standard deviations of the composite
scores are shown in Table 2. Table 2 also indicates that the correlation coefficients
among study variables ranged from .03 (intrinsic motivation and role conflict) to
.73 (emotional exhaustion and intention to leave). None of the correlation coefficients
were equal to and/or higher than .90 [Tabachnick and Fidell, 1996], which provided
further empirical support for the issue of discriminant validity. As demonstrated in
Table 2, all constructs had internal reliability estimates above the cut-off level of
0.70 as recommended by Nunnally [1978].

RESULTS

The abovementioned hypothesised relationships were tested using LISREL 8.30

[Joreskog and Sorbom, 1996] through path analysis. We used the correlation

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TABLE 1
SCALE ITEMS, RELIABILITIES AND CONFIRMATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS RESULTS
(n 363)

Scale items
Trait competitiveness (TRAITC)
I enjoy working in situations involving competition with others.
It is important to me to perform better than others on a task.
I feel that winning is important in both work and games.
I try harder when I am in competition with other people.
Intrinsic motivation (INTMOT)
When I do work well, it gives me a feeling of accomplishment.
I feel a great sense of personal satisfaction when I do my job well.
When I perform my job well, it contributes to my personal growth and
development.
My job increases my feeling of self esteem.
Emotional exhaustion (EEXHAUST)
I feel emotionally drained from my work.
I feel fatigued when I get up in the morning and have to face another day on
the job.
Working with people all day is really a strain for me.
I feel burned out from my work.
I feel frustrated by my job.
I feel like I am at the end of my rope.
Role conflict (ROLEC)
I work with two or more groups who operate differently.
I receive incompatible requests from two or more people.
I have to do things that should be done differently.
Role ambiguity (ROLEA)

I know exactly what is expected of me.
I know what my responsibilities are.
I feel certain about how much authority I have.
Service recovery performance (SERPERF)
Considering all the things I do, I handle dissatisfied customers quite well.
I do not mind dealing with complaining customers.
No customer I deal with leaves with problems unresolved.
Satisfying complaining customers is a great thrill to me.
Job satisfaction (JSAT)
My overall job.
My fellow workers.
My supervisor(s).
This banks policies.
The support provided by this bank.
My salary.
The opportunities for advancement with this bank.
Intention to leave (INTLEAVE)
I often think about leaving this bank.
It would not take much to make me leave this bank.
I will probably be looking for another job soon.

Standardised
loadings

T-values

0.67
0.78
0.71
0.75

13.19
16.11
14.45
15.48

0.66
0.76
0.76

13.11
15.77
15.80

0.76

15.67

0.66
0.76

13.82
16.65

0.69
0.88
0.81
0.79

14.61
20.72
18.33
17.63

0.52
0.76
0.77

9.30
13.61
13.68

0.72
0.76
0.62

13.48
14.47
11.55

0.69
0.63
0.63
0.72

13.38
11.81
11.92
14.09

0.73
0.63
0.76
0.82
0.78
0.60
0.64

15.47
12.67
16.42
18.44
17.17
11.89
12.89

0.84
0.73
0.76

18.70
15.20
16.10

Notes: Each item is measured on five-point scales. All loadings are significant at the .01 level or better.


Reverse-coded items.

matrix in Table 2 as input for testing the hypothesised relationships at the same time.
The results of the model fit statistics in Table 3 demonstrate that the research model
fits the data well. Ten of the 14 hypotheses are supported in the present study. The
summary of the path analysis results is shown in Table 3.

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TABLE 2
MEANS, STANDARD DEVIATIONS AND CORRELATIONS OF STUDY VARIABLES

Variables
Trait
competitiveness
(TRAITC)
Intrinsic
motivation
(INTMOT)
Emotional
exhaustion
(EEXHAUST)
Role conflict
(ROLEC)
Role ambiguity
(ROLEA)
Service recovery
performance
(SERPERF)
Job satisfaction
(JSAT)
Intention to leave
(INTLEAVE)
Alpha
Mean
Standard deviation

1.00
0.45

1.00

20.11

20.14

0.06

0.03

0.29

1.00

20.26

20.31

0.26

0.09

1.00

0.41

0.41

20.11

0.08

20.27

1.00

0.29

0.28

20.24

20.13

20.38

0.26

20.11

20.15

0.73

0.28

0.30

20.22

20.23

1.00

0.81
3.90
0.75

0.82
4.47
0.59

0.90
2.66
1.02

0.73
3.18
0.85

0.73
1.94
0.68

0.76
3.97
0.61

0.87
3.43
0.79

0.82
2.53
1.08

1.00

1.00

Notes: Composite scores for each variable were obtained by averaging scores across items representing that
measure. The scores range from 1 to 5. Correlations without any asterisks are insignificant.


Correlation is significant at the .05 level.



Correlation is significant at the .01 level.

Hypothesis 1 predicts that frontline employees trait competitiveness (TRAITC)

exerts a significant positive influence on their perceptions of service recovery performance (SERPERF). The results of the path analysis provide empirical support
for this hypothesised relationship. Therefore, Hypothesis 1 is accepted. Hypothesis
2 suggests that frontline employees intrinsic motivation (INTMOT) has a significant
positive effect on their perceptions of service recovery performance (SERPERF). The
path from intrinsic motivation to service recovery performance is both significant and
positive. Thus, Hypothesis 2 is accepted. Hypothesis 3 refers to the significant negative relationship between emotional exhaustion (EEXHAUST) and service recovery
performance (SERPERF). However, Table 3 shows that frontline employees
emotional exhaustion does not have any significant negative impact on their perceptions of service recovery performance. Hence, Hypothesis 3 is rejected. In addition,
Hypothesis 4 predicts that frontline employees role conflict (ROLEC) depicts a significant positive relationship with their perceptions of service recovery performance
(SERPERF). The results of the path analysis in Table 3 do not lend any empirical
support for this association. Therefore, Hypothesis 4 is rejected. The significant negative relationship between role ambiguity (ROLEA) and service recovery performance
(SERPERF) represents Hypothesis 5. The path analytic result for the relationship

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TABLE 3
MODEL TEST RESULTS

Hypothesised paths
I. Impact on service recovery performance
H1 TRAITC ! SERPERF
H2 INTMOT ! SERPERF
H3 EEXHAUST ! SERPERF
H4 ROLEC ! SERPERF
H5 ROLEA ! SERPERF

Standardised
parameter
estimates

T-values

Accepted/Rejected

0.26
0.25
20.04
0.08
20.12

4.95

4.71

20.76
1.64
22.47

Accepted
Accepted
Rejected
Rejected
Accepted

0.13
20.11
20.09
20.27
0.13

2.47

22.21

21.76
25.19

2.45

Accepted
Accepted
Rejected
Accepted
Accepted

0.68
0.09
20.12
20.01

18.26

2.24

23.20

20.02

Accepted
Accepted
Accepted
Rejected

R2 5 0.25
II. Impact on job satisfaction
H6 INTMOT ! JSAT
H7 EEXHAUST ! JSAT
H8 ROLEC ! JSAT
H9 ROLEA ! JSAT
H10 SERPERF ! JSAT
R2 5 0.21
III. Impact on intention to leave
H11 EEXHAUST ! INTLEAVE
H12 ROLEA ! INTLEAVE
H13 SERPERF ! INTLEAVE
H14 JSAT ! INTLEAVE
R2 5 0.55
Model fit statistics:
Chi-square 13.85, df 4, p 0.01
GFI 0.99
AGFI 0.91
NFI 0.98
NNFI 0.89
CFI 0.98
IFI 0.99
RMR 0.02
RMSEA 0.08
Notes: GFI Goodness of Fit Index; AGFI Adjusted Goodness of Fit Index; NFI Normed Fit Index;
NNFI Non-Normed Fit Index; CFI Comparative Fit Index; IFI Incremental Fit Index;
RMR Root Mean Square Residual; RMSEA Root Mean Square Error of Approximation.


All t-values are significant at the .05 level or better.

between role ambiguity and service recovery performance is both significant and
negative. Thus, Hypothesis 5 is accepted. Trait competitiveness, intrinsic motivation,
emotional exhaustion, role conflict and role ambiguity jointly explain 25 per cent of
the variance in service recovery performance.
Hypothesis 6 predicts that frontline employees intrinsic motivation (INTMOT)
has a significant positive relationship with their perceptions of job satisfaction
(JSAT). In light of the results of the path analysis, there is empirical support for
this association. Thus, Hypothesis 6 is accepted. Hypothesis 7 refers to the significant
negative relationship between emotional exhaustion (EEXHAUST) and job

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satisfaction (JSAT). The results of the path analysis provide empirical support for this
relationship. Hence, Hypothesis 7 is accepted. Hypothesis 8 suggests that frontline
employees role conflict (ROLEC) exerts a significant negative influence on their perceptions of job satisfaction (JSAT). As demonstrated in Table 3, role conflict is not
significantly associated with job satisfaction. Therefore, Hypothesis 8 is rejected.
Hypothesis 9 predicts that frontline employees role ambiguity (ROLEA) portrays
a significant negative relationship with their perceptions of job satisfaction (JSAT).
This relationship is supported by the results of the path analysis. Thus, Hypothesis
9 is accepted. Additionally, Hypothesis 10 suggests a significant positive relationship
between service recovery performance (SERPERF) and job satisfaction (JSAT). The
path analytic result between the two constructs is both significant and positive. Hence,
Hypothesis 10 is accepted. Intrinsic motivation, emotional exhaustion, role conflict,
role ambiguity, and service recovery performance jointly explain 21 per cent of the
variance in job satisfaction.
The significant positive relationship between emotional exhaustion (EEXHAUST)
and intention to leave (INTLEAVE) represents Hypothesis 11. Table 3 indicates that
this relationship is supported. Thus, Hypothesis 11 is accepted. Hypothesis 12
suggests that frontline employees role ambiguity (ROLEA) exerts a significant positive impact on their intentions to leave the organisation (INTLEAVE). The results of
the path analysis also demonstrate that there is empirical support for this relationship.
Therefore, Hypothesis 12 is accepted. Hypothesis 13 predicts that effective service
recovery performance by frontline employees (SERPERF) has a significant negative
effect on their intentions to leave the organisation (INTLEAVE). The path from
service recovery performance to intention to leave is both significant and negative.
Thus, Hypothesis 13 is accepted. Finally, Hypothesis 14 suggests that job satisfaction
(JSAT) exerts a significant effect on frontline employees intentions to leave the
organisation (INTLEAVE). However, this relationship is not supported by the
results of the path analysis. Therefore, Hypothesis 14 is rejected. Emotional exhaustion, role ambiguity, service recovery performance, and job satisfaction jointly
explain 55 per cent of the variance in intention to leave.

DISCUSSION

The results of our study offer significant insights regarding the effects of selected
antecedents on the service recovery performance of frontline employees. Consistent
with the prior empirical findings [e.g., Wang and Netemeyer, 2002; Babakus et al.,
1996; Brown and Peterson, 1993], the results of the path analysis provide support
for the significant effects of trait competitiveness, intrinsic motivation and role ambiguity on the service recovery performance of frontline employees. The magnitudes of
the effects of trait competitiveness and intrinsic motivation on service recovery performance are almost the same. As already reported by the results of the Gallup
Management Consulting Groups survey [Brewer, 1994], trait competitiveness and
intrinsic motivation are among the key talents the best salespeople (frontline employees) have. Our results provide empirical support for this finding. Although emotional

SERVICE RECOVERY PERFORMANCE OF FRONTLINE EMPLOYEES

53

exhaustion is a critical variable in understanding the attitudes and behaviours of

employees [Babakus et al., 1999], our study does not lend any support to the relationship between emotional exhaustion and service recovery performance. In this study
role conflict has not been found to be one of the significant predictors of service
recovery performance. This finding is not surprising, since various research findings
are not monotonic in support concerning the relationship between the two constructs.
In addition, job satisfaction and intention to leave are found to be significant consequences of service recovery performance. The significant positive relationship
between service recovery performance and job satisfaction provides further empirical
support for prior findings [e.g., Yavas et al., 2003]. It is apparent in our study that
frontline employees performing their jobs effectively are unlikely to leave the organisation. This empirical finding is consistent with the findings reported by Boshoff and
Allen [2000].
Consistent with the results of the prior studies [Lu, 1999; Babakus et al., 1999;
Grant et al., 2001], intrinsic motivation, emotional exhaustion, and role ambiguity
are reported to be significant predictors of frontline employees job satisfaction.
This suggests that intrinsically motivated frontline employees have high levels of
job satisfaction, and frontline employees who are susceptible to high levels of role
ambiguity and emotional exhaustion report decreased job satisfaction. As is the
case with the role conflict ! service recovery performance relationship, role conflict
is not a significant predictor of job satisfaction. Although the weight of the evidence
suggests that role conflict is one of the outcomes of job satisfaction [e.g., Jackson and
Schuler, 1985], our results provide support for those of Boles et al. [1997] and
Naumann et al. [2000].
The result involving the path from job satisfaction to intention to leave is surprising. Although most of the empirical findings indicate that job satisfaction is one of the
consequences of intention to leave [e.g., Babakus et al., 1996], our results do not lend
any further credence to this relationship. One possible explanation for this unexpected
finding is that the inclusion of emotional exhaustion in the model may have attenuated
the relationship between job satisfaction and intention to leave. On the other hand,
role ambiguity and emotional exhaustion have been found to be positively associated
with intention to leave. The magnitude of the impact of emotional exhaustion on
intention to leave is high, when compared with those of service recovery performance
and role ambiguity. This finding suggests that emotionally exhausted frontline
employees have high levels of intentions to leave the organisation.
Managerial Implications
Our current study points to some useful guidelines for managerial action. First, it is
known among practitioners that frontline employees are expected to deal with a
wide variety of customer requests and complaints and resolve complaints to the satisfaction of the customer. Therefore, managers should establish a work environment
where frontline employees will perceive the importance of competitiveness that is
posited to enhance service recovery performance. Second, in order to raise the
level of intrinsic motivation and thus service recovery performance, managers

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should establish high standards for excellence in service delivery, trust in employees
and, when necessary, delegate authority [cf. Thomas, 2000].
Third, George [1990: 64] cogently discusses that if managers want their employees to do a great job with customers, then they must be ready to do a great job with
their employees. Therefore, it becomes important for managers to minimise role
ambiguity by providing frontline employees with clear guidance regarding their
job-related tasks through the use of ongoing training programmes. By reducing role
ambiguity, managers may enhance service recovery performance, increase job satisfaction, and decrease turnover intentions. Fourth, managers need to reduce frontline
employees emotional exhaustion in the workplace by providing them with time
management programmes.
Finally, the magnitude of the impact of emotional exhaustion on intention to leave
is higher than that of service recovery performance. In some cases, managers may
selectively want to replace emotionally exhausted employees and low performers
with other employees (preferably, competitive and intrinsically motivated employees) instead of losing time just to reduce their emotional exhaustion and/or trying
to increase their performance. By doing so, several opportunities may be created
for internal advancement and new employees may bring in creative and innovative
ideas for the organisation [cf. Boshoff and Allen, 2000].
Limitations and Implications for Future Research
While interpreting the results and managerial implications of the current study,
several limitations should be taken into consideration. First, the research data
regarding the study constructs depicted in Figure 1 were collected from the
same respondents. This approach may have created common method variance
[Doty and Glick, 1998]. However, in their meta-analytic review, Churchill et al.
[1985] convincingly discuss that the use of self-report measure of performance
does not necessarily lead to biased results. In future studies, customer and/or
supervisor evaluations should also be used to measure the study constructs (e.g.,
service recovery performance).
Second, the current study was undertaken in the Turkish bank environment.
The selection of a single service setting and a single culture may raise concerns
for the issue of generalisability. Although our approach eliminates the problems
that may arise from differences among several industries or cultures, future
studies should select several service settings and/or cultures for the measurement
of study constructs and the provision of empirical support for our results. Third,
our research model has not measured the potential effects of such variables as
effort, self-efficacy, and supervisor support on service recovery performance. In
future studies, the inclusion of these variables in the research model may
enhance our understanding regarding their potential effects on service recovery performance. Finally, the deletion of items, especially from role conflict and role
ambiguity raises questions about the issue of validity. With this realisation,
future studies should use rigorous analyses for the measurement of the psychometric properties of these scales.

SERVICE RECOVERY PERFORMANCE OF FRONTLINE EMPLOYEES

55

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