Kearney, Treasa and Coughlan, Joseph and Kennedy, Aileen (2021) Investigating the employee–customer relationship in a utilitarian context. Journal of Marketing Management, 37 (13-14). pp. 1287-1312. ISSN 0267-257X

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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 satis-faction and service quality within a utilitarian context. Multi-level structural equation modelling is employed to analyse 974 custo-mers 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 competi-tiveness assume a more significant role in both customer satisfac-tion 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
Keywords:	Customer satisfaction; employee satisfaction; service quality; retailing;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Business
Item ID:	17125
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2021.1910329
Depositing User:	Joseph Coughlan
Date Deposited:	28 Apr 2023 11:27
Journal or Publication Title:	Journal of Marketing Management
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	Publisher
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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