This chapter provides the conclusion and suggestions of this study based on the research findings. In addition, implications, limitations and suggestions for future research are presented in sequence.
Conclusions
This study’s purpose was to understand whether or not there were influences of perceived customer feedback, work motivation, and perceived supervisor support on employee job satisfaction and if there were comparable differences. The research hoped to uncover less explored factors by incorporating perceived customer feedback as an independent variable as well as work motivation. In this quantitative study, a total of 313 valid questionnaires were collected from employees working face-to-face with customers and clients. The data was then analyzed through statistical methods of one-way ANOVA and correlation analysis to answer research questions of the study, and SEM revealed whether or not hypotheses were supported.
The use of SEM showed that for this study, customer feedback has a small influence on employee job satisfaction, though not at a significant level, therefore hypotheses one was not fully supported. However, perceived customer feedback shows indirect influence on employee job satisfaction when the work motivation variable is present. The surveyed employees perceive customer feedback to have less direct influence on their job satisfaction levels when work motivation is factored in.
In accordance with past researches, the results revealed perceived supervisor support to have a strong direct influence on employee job satisfaction. Analysis also supports the two hypotheses that customer feedback and supervisor support each have positive influences on work motivation. In addition, data also supports the notion that work motivation positively influences employee job satisfaction.
From correlation analysis, familiarity with customers correlates significantly with the latent variables of this study. Employees who answered as knowing their customers more intimately, believe to have more supervisor support, customer feedback, work motivation and job satisfaction in comparison to employees less familiar with customers. After this observation, as expected employees from the nonprofit sector also indicated as being more familiar with their clients; which coincides with their line of work.
Additionally, responses confirm a significant difference in job satisfaction between employees working in the business and nonprofit sector. On a whole, respondents from nonprofit sector reported to have higher job satisfaction than those working in the business sector. Contrariwise, public sector employees show no significant job satisfaction difference from those working in the business or nonprofit sector.
Research Implications
Although this research, like that of Frey and colleagues (2013) proceeded to understand job satisfaction from a less ordinary approach, findings suggest customers to ultimately have an influence on how employees perceive their job satisfaction. The regression of customer feedback on work motivation also coincides with Ilgen, Fisher, and Taylor’s (1979) notion that an increase in positive feedback leads to an increase in motivation. Ryan and Deci (2000) and Harackiewicz (1979) also hypothesized feedback to influence motivation, though specifying at an intrinsic variety.
One issue this research faced included getting employees to answer how they felt about their supervisors. In spite of a cover letter ensuring individuals’ anonymity in responses, many questionnaires had to be excluded due to this problem. In regards to data results, measuring the influences of customer feedback up against supervisor support as independent variables demonstrated an illusion of overshadowing effects on the dependent variable. While supervisor support has repeatedly been illustrated to have strong influences on job satisfaction, it dominated variable relationships.
Practical Implications
What must be realized is that although in studies researchers often take a stance of one factor impacting, influencing or affecting another, in reality the relationships often circulate among each other. Taking employee job satisfaction as an example, employees who are satisfied with their job may influence a customer’s satisfaction level. In turn, a customer’s satisfaction level may also influence an employee’s job satisfaction.
From a human resources standpoint, organizations aught to understand internal factors that impact job satisfaction levels so that employees may influence satisfaction to those they serve. As a result, by positively influencing customers this may reversely, as an external factor, again positively influence employees. In addition, Pearson’s correlation analysis indicates a significantly positive association between supervisor support and customer feedback. Although the purpose of this study was not to look into the causal relationship between these two variables, findings indicate employees perceiving to have more support from their supervisor also reported as receiving more customer feedback or vice versa.
Therefore, organizations should emphasize ways to insure high levels of support from supervisors. Consequently, this may increase external avenues influencing employees’ job satisfaction.
Research Limitations
There are several limitations to this study. Firstly, the study did not carry out random sampling. In addition, only service industry personnel working face-to-face with customers and clients in the state of Hawaii partook in this survey. These limitations in addition to collection of data from a small sample size specify that the results are only representative of those who responded. Furthermore, roughly one-fifth of the responses came from individuals indicating as having the same job title. It must also be addressed that nearly three-fourths of the responses came from individuals working in Hawaii’s capital city, Honolulu; thus job industry and regional bias may exist.
Through observation of statistical results, high correlation between perceived supervisor support and employee job satisfaction poses as a limitation for this study. High correlations may indicate that the respondents could not distinguish between the two variables. Not only this, but while some figures from fit indices of the employee job satisfaction measurement model and structural equation model did not fall into suggested ranges, this also became a limitation for this research.
Lastly, CMV posed as a possible problem for this study while the independent and dependent variables were both collected from a single source using self-reporting methods.
Nonetheless, by conducting Harmon’s single factor test, the largest factor accounted for 37.81% of the variances, illustrating the study did not have a serious CMV problem with the measurement.
Future Research Suggestions
Due to the limitations of this study, there are some suggestions for futures studies. Firstly, this research received a large number of responses from individuals working in the same working sector (business) as well as job title (customer service agent). To be more representative of employees working face-to-face with customers, the survey should be randomly distributed to individuals in the service industry. Additionally, this study only surveyed individuals working within the state of Hawaii. Should future researchers wish to understand the study at a nation level, the study should be opened to the entire service industry population within the United States. As a reminder, the individuals should also meet the criterion of having face-to-face interactions with customers.
Lastly, as reaffirmed in this study, supervisor support indicates as having a strong direct influence on employee job satisfaction. Although this study sought to compare customer feedback with supervisor support and their influences on employee job satisfaction, outcomes bore confirmation that supervisor support has a strong, stand-alone impact. Perhaps by switching supervisor support for another or other factors, including ones that are less
researched, this may not only produce noteworthy findings, but also significantly contribute to the field of research.
REFERENCES
Ashforth, B. E., & Humphrey, R. H. (1995). Emotion in the workplace: A reappraisal.
Human Relations, 48(2), 97-125. doi:10.1177/001872679504800201
Babin, B. J., & Boles, J. S. (1996). The effects of perceived co-worker involvement and supervisor support on service provider role stress, performance and job satisfaction.
Journal of Retailing, 72(1), 57-75. doi:10.1016/S0022-4359(96)90005-6
Bacon, D. R., Sauer, P. L., & Young, M. (1995). Composite reliability in structural equations modeling. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 55(3), 394-406.
doi:10.1177/0013164495055003003
Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2008). Towards a model of work engagement. Career Development International, 13(3), 209-223. doi:10.1108/13620430810870476
Barge, J. K., & Oliver, C. (2003). Working with appreciation in managerial practice.
Academy of Management Review, 28(1), 124-142. doi:10.5465/AMR.2003.8925244
Blackburn, J. W., & Bruce, W. M. (1989). Rethinking concepts of job satisfaction: The case of Nebraska municipal clerks. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 10(1), 11-28. doi:10.1177/0734371X8901000102
Blunch, N. (2013). The General Model. In K. Metzler (Ed.), Introduction to structural equation modeling using IBM SPSS statistics and AMOS (pp. 163-191). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Bolton, R. N. (1998). A dynamic model of the duration of the customer's relationship with a continuous service provider: The role of satisfaction. Marketing Science, 17(1), 45-65. doi:0732-2399/98/1701/0045$05.00
Brough, P., & Pears, J. (2004). Evaluating the influence of the type of social support on job satisfaction and work related psychological well-being. International Journal of Organisational Behaviour, 8(2), 472-485.
Brown, S. P., & Lam, S. K. (2008). A meta-analysis of relationships linking employee satisfaction to customer responses. Journal of Retailing, 84(3), 243-255.
doi:10.1016/j.jretai.2008.06.001
Browne, M. W. (2000). Cross-validation methods. Journal of Mathematical Psychology, 44(1), 108-132. doi:10.1006/jmps.1999.1279
Byrne, B. M. (2001). Structural equation modeling with AMOS, EQS, and LISREL:
Comparative approaches to testing for the factorial validity of a measuring instrument. International Journal of Testing, 1(1), 55-86.
doi:10.1207/S15327574IJT0101_4
Byrne, B. M. (2013). Structural equation models: The basics. In L. Harlow (Ed.), Structural equation modeling with AMOS: Basic concepts, applications, and programming (pp.
3-15). New York, NY: Routledge.
Cadwallader, S., Jarvis, C. B., Bitner, M. J., & Ostrom, A. L. (2010). Frontline employee motivation to participate in service innovation implementation. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 38(2), 219-239. doi:10.1007/s11747-009-0151-3 Caruana, A. (2002). Service loyalty: The effects of service quality and the mediating role of
customer satisfaction. European Journal of Marketing, 36(7/8), 811-828.
doi:10.1108/03090560210430818
Cerasoli, C. P., & Ford, M. T. (2014). Intrinsic motivation, performance, and the mediating role of mastery goal orientation: A test of self-determination theory. The Journal of Psychology, 148(3), 267-286. doi:10.1080/00223980.2013.783778
Clark, A. E. (1997). Job satisfaction and gender: Why are women so happy at work? Labour Economics, 4(4), 341-372. doi:10.1016/S0927-5371(97)00010-9
Cleveland, L., & Yeh, C. R. (2015). Influence of work motivation on job satisfaction:
Customer feedback and supervisor support as moderators. Proceedings of the 2015 International Conference on Human Resource Development, Taiwan, 49-59.
Cronin Jr, J. J., Brady, M. K., & Hult, G. T. M. (2000). Assessing the effects of quality, value, and customer satisfaction on consumer behavioral intentions in service environments. Journal of Retailing, 76(2), 193-218. doi:10.1016/S0022-4359(00)00028-2
Currivan, D. B. (2000). The causal order of job satisfaction and organizational commitment in models of employee turnover. Human Resource Management Review, 9(4), 495-524. doi:10.1016/S1053-4822(99)00031-5
Eggert, A., & Ulaga, W. (2002). Customer perceived value: A substitute for satisfaction in business markets? Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 17(2/3), 107-118.
doi:10.1108/08858620210419754.
Eisenberger, R., Huntington, R., Hutchison, S., & Sowa, D. (1986). Perceived organizational support. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71(3), 500-507. Retrieved from
http://classweb.uh.edu/eisenberger/perceived-organizational-support/
Eisenberger, R., Stinglhamber, F., Vandenberghe, C., Sucharski, I. L., & Rhoades, L. (2002).
Perceived supervisor support: Contributions to perceived organizational support and employee retention. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(3), 565-573.
doi:10.1037//0021-9010.87.3.565.
Evanschitzky, H., Groening, C., Mittal, V., & Wunderlich, M. (2011). How employer and employee satisfaction affect customer satisfaction: An application to franchise services. Journal of Service Research, 14(2), 136-148.
doi:10.1177/1094670510390202
Fabrigar, L. R., Wegener, D. T., MacCallum, R. C., & Strahan, E. J. (1999). Evaluating the use of exploratory factor analysis in psychological research. Psychological Methods, 4(3), 272-299. doi:1082-989X/99/S3.00
Fields, D. L. (2002). Taking the measure of work: A guide to validated scales for organizational research and diagnosis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Fornell, C., Johnson, M. D., Anderson, E. W., Cha, J., & Bryant, B. E. (1996). The American customer satisfaction index: Nature, purpose, and findings. The Journal of Marketing, 60(4), 7-18.
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with
unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39-50. doi:10.2307/3151312
Frey, R., Bayón, T., & Totzek, D. (2013). How customer satisfaction affects employee satisfaction and retention in a professional services context. Journal of Service Research, 16(4), 503-517. doi:10.1177/1094670513490236
Frye, N. K., & Breaugh, J. A. (2004). Family-friendly policies, supervisor support, work-family conflict, work-family-work conflict, and satisfaction: A test of a conceptual model.
Journal of Business and Psychology, 19(2), 197-220. doi:10.1007/s10869-004-0548-4
Galbraith, J., & Cummings, L. L. (1967). An empirical investigation of the motivational determinants of task performance: Interactive effects between instrumentality-valence and motivation-ability. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 2(3), 237-257. doi:10.1016/0030-5073(67)90020-7
Gagné, M., & Deci, E. L. (2005). Self‐determination theory and work motivation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26(4), 331-362. doi:10.1002/job.322
Gerstner, C. R., & Day, D. V. (1997). Meta-analytic review of leader-member exchange theory: Correlates and construct issues. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82(6), 827-844. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.82.6.827
Grandey, A. A., & Diamond, J. A. (2010). Interactions with the public: Bridging job design and emotional labor perspectives. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 31(2‐3), 338-350. doi:10.1002/job.637
Grandey, A. A., Goldberg, L. S., & Pugh, S. D. (2011). Why and when do stores with satisfied employees have satisfied customers? The roles of responsiveness and store busyness. Journal of Service Research, 14(4), 397-409.
doi:10.1177/1094670511410304
Griffin, M. A., Patterson, M. G., & West, M. A. (2001). Job satisfaction and teamwork: The role of supervisor support. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 22(5), 537-550.
doi:10.1002/job.101
Harackiewicz, J. M. (1979). The effects of reward contingency and performance feedback on intrinsic motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37(8), 1352-1363.
doi:10.1037/0022-3514.37.8.1352
Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant
validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(1), 1-21. doi:10.1007/s11747-014-0403-8
Herzberg, F., Mausner, B., & Snyderman, B. B. (1993). The motivation to work. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
Hooper, D., Coughlan, J., & Mullen, M. (2008). Structural equation modelling: Guidelines for determining model fit. Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 6(1), 53-60.
Hornik, J. (1992). Tactile stimulation and consumer response. Journal of Consumer Research, 19(3), 449-458. doi:0093-5301/93/1903-0011$2.00
Hunt, J. W., & Saul, P. N. (1975). The relationship of age, tenure, and job satisfaction in males and females. Academy of Management Journal, 18(4), 690-702.
doi:10.2307/255372
Ilgen, D. R., Fisher, C. D., & Taylor, M. S. (1979). Consequences of individual feedback on behavior in organizations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 64(4), 349-371.
doi:10.1037/0021-9010.64.4.349
Jackson, D. L., Gillaspy Jr, J. A., & Purc-Stephenson, R. (2009). Reporting practices in confirmatory factor analysis: An overview and some recommendations.
Psychological Methods, 14(1), 6-23. doi:10.1037/a0014694
Janssen, O., & Van Yperen, N. W. (2004). Employees’ goal orientations, the quality of leader-member exchange, and the outcomes of job performance and job satisfaction.
The Academy of Management Journal, 47(3), 368-384. doi:10.2307/20159587
Judge, T. A., Thoresen, C. J., Bono, J. E., & Patton, G. K. (2001). The job satisfaction–job performance relationship: A qualitative and quantitative review. Psychological Bulletin, 127(3), 376-407. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.127.3.376
Kahn, W. A. (1990). Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work. Academy of Management Journal, 33(4), 692-724.
Kahn, W. A. (1992). To be fully there: Psychological presence at work. Human Relations, 45(4), 321-349.
Khosrow-Pour, M. (2006). Emerging trends and challenges in information technology management. Hershey, PA: Ideal Group Publishing.
Kim, M. K., Park, M. C., & Jeong, D. H. (2004). The effects of customer satisfaction and switching barrier on customer loyalty in Korean mobile telecommunication services.
Telecommunications Policy, 28(2), 145-159. doi:10.1016/j.telpol.2003.12.003
Kottke, J. L., & Sharafinski, C. E. (1988). Measuring perceived supervisory and
organizational support. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 48(4), 1075-1079. doi:10.1177/0013164488484024
Latham, G. P., & Budworth, M. H. (2007). The study of work motivation in the 20th century.
In L. L. Koppes (Ed.), Historical perspectives in industrial and organizational psychology (pp. 353-381). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Lee, P. P. (2014). Organization of the nonprofit organizations. In P. P. Lee (Ed.),
Management of nonprofit organization (pp. 1-12). Taipei: Great Coronora Print Co.
Locke, E. A. (1976). The nature and causes of job satisfaction. In M. D. Dunnette (Ed.), Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (pp. 1297-1349). Chicago, IL: Rand McNally.
Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (1990). Work motivation and satisfaction: Light at the end of the tunnel. Psychological Science, 1(4), 240-246.
doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.1990.tb00207.x
Ma, E., & Qu, H. (2011). Social exchanges as motivators of hotel employees’ organizational citizenship behavior: The proposition and application of a new three-dimensional framework. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 30(3), 680-688.
doi:10.1016/j.ijhm.2010.12.003
Macey, W. H., & Schneider, B. (2008). The meaning of employee engagement. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 1(1), 3-30. doi:10.1111/j.1754-9434.2007.0002
Parvin, M. M., & Kabir, M. M. N. (2011). Factors affecting employee job satisfaction of pharmaceutical sector. Australian Journal of Business and Management Research, 1(9), 113-123.
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879-903. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879
Podsakoff, P. M., & Organ, D. W. (1986). Self-reports in organizational research: Problems and prospects. Journal of Management, 12(4), 531-544.
doi:10.1177/014920638601200408
Rich, B. L., Lepine, J. A., & Crawford, E. R. (2010). Job engagement: Antecedents and effects on job performance. Academy of Management Journal, 53(3), 617-635.
doi:10.5465/AMJ.2010.51468988
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations: Classic definitions and new directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25(1), 54-67.
doi:10.1037/0021-9010.81.3.219
Sagie, A. (1998). Employee absenteeism, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction:
Another look. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 52(2), 156-171.
doi:10.1006/jvbe.1997.1581
Schaufeli, W. B., & Bakker, A. B. (2003). Utrecht work engagement scale: Preliminary manual. Retrieved from
http://www.beanmanaged.com/doc/pdf/arnoldbakker/articles/articles_arnold_bakker_
87.pdf
Schaufeli, W. B., Bakker, A. B., & Salanova, M. (2006). The measurement of work engagement with a short questionnaire a cross-national study. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 66(4), 701-716. doi:10.1177/0013164405282471
Schermelleh-Engel, K., Moosbrugger, H., & Müller, H. (2003). Evaluating the fit of structural equation models: Tests of significance and descriptive goodness-of-fit measures. Methods of Psychological Research Online, 8(2), 23-74.
Sergeant, A., & Frenkel, S. (2000). When do customer contact employees satisfy customers?
Journal of Service Research, 3(1), 18-34. doi:10.1177/109467050031002
Sparrowe, R. T., & Liden, R. C. (1997) Process and structure in leader-member exchange.
The Academy of Management Review, 22(2), 522-552.
doi:10.5465/AMR.1997.9707154068
Stajkovic, A. D., & Luthans, F. (2001). Differential effects of incentive motivators on work performance. The Academy of Management Journal, 44(3), 580-590.
doi:10.2307/3069372
Stinglhamber, F., & Vandenberghe, C. (2003). Organizations and supervisors as sources of support and targets of commitment: A longitudinal study. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 24(3), 251-270. doi:10.1002/job.192
Szymanski, D. M., & Henard, D. H. (2001). Customer satisfaction: A meta-analysis of the empirical evidence. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 29(1), 16-35.
doi:10.1177/009207030102900102
Tietjen, M. A., & Myers, R. M. (1998). Motivation and job satisfaction. Management Decision, 36(4), 226-231. doi:10.1108/00251749810211027
Turban, E., King, D., Lee, J., Warkentin, M., Chung, H. M., & Chung, M. (2002). Electronic commerce 2002: A managerial perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Weiss, D., Dawis, R., England, G., & Lofquist, L. (1967). Manual for the Minnesota satisfaction questionnaire. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press of Industrial Relations Center.
Wiley, C. (1997). What motivates employees according to over 40 years of motivation surveys. International Journal of Manpower, 18(3), 263-280.
doi:10.1108/01437729710169373
APPENDIX A: QUESTIONNAIRE
Please answer the following questions by filling in the appropriate areas.
Have you already taken this survey for this study? If Yes, thank you for your participation. If No, please continue.
☐Yes ☐No
Do you currently work in Hawaii? If No, thank you for your participation. If Yes, please continue.
☐Yes ☐No
Which city in Hawaii do you work in? Please indicate: __________________
Does your job involve direct interaction with customers/clients? If No, thank you for your participation. If Yes, please continue.
☐Yes ☐No How frequently do you interact with
customers/clients?
☐Daily ☐Weekly
☐Monthly ☐Yearly How well do you have to know your
customers/clients to carry out your job? ☐Not at all ☐Name or face
☐Personal background ☐Family background
I work in the:
☐ Business sector (e.g. retail, airlines, utilities company)
☐ Nonprofit sector
☐ Public sector (e.g. government, civil service)
What is your job title? Please indicate: __________________
Years with your current organization /employer: ______ years
Age: ________ years old
We are requesting your participation in a research survey to better understand job satisfaction within the service industry. This questionnaire will be collected for research purposes and participants are ensured anonymity in regards to responses.
We appreciate your willingness in taking the time to fill out this survey and thank you for your valuable contribution.
Sincerely,
National Taiwan Normal University
Graduate Institute of International Human Resource Development Advisor: Chu-Chen Rosa Yeh
Graduate Student: Lahelakuupokii Cleveland Email: lcleveland808@gmail.com
Please indicate how satisfied or dissatisfied you feel with each aspect of your present job.
Ve ry Di ss at is fi ed Di ss at is fi ed Ne u tr al Sat is fi ed Ve ry S at is fi ed
1 2 3 4 5
1 Being able to keep busy all the time.
2 The chance to work alone on the job.
3 The chance to do different things from time to time.
4 The chance to be “somebody” in the community.
5 The way my boss handles his/her workers.
6 The competence of my supervisor in making decisions.
7 Being able to do things that don’t go against my conscience.
8 The way my job provides for steady employment.
9 The chance to do things for other people.
10 The chance to tell people what to do.
11 The chance to do something that makes use of my abilities.
12 The way company policies are put into practice.
13 The pay in relation to the amount of work I do.
14 The chances for advancement on this job.
15 The freedom to use my own judgment.
16 The chance to try my own methods of doing the job.
17 The working conditions.
18 The way my co-workers get along with each other.
19 The praise I get for doing a good job.
20 The feeling of accomplishment I get from the job.
The following 17 statements are about how you feel at work. Please read each statement carefully and decide if you ever feel this way about your job. Then, please
The following 17 statements are about how you feel at work. Please read each statement carefully and decide if you ever feel this way about your job. Then, please