Unravelling the impact of psychological empowerment on customer service behaviours as a consequence of ‘Leader-Member Exchange’

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the cognitive process by which perceived organizational justice and leader–member exchange (LMX) are channelized into role-prescribed and extra-role customer service behaviours. It proposes the mediating role of three forms of psychological empowerment (goal internalization, perceived competence, and perceived control) in the predictor–outcome relationship, and examines this relationship from a comparative view of the role-prescribed and extra-role behaviours. Valid and reliable self-report and supervisory evaluation measures were administered to 282 nurses in Korea. The results indicate that LMX had a significantly greater effect on extra-role behaviours than on role-prescribed behaviours, and that perceived control mediated the relationship between LMX and extra-role behaviours. In terms of justice perceptions, there was no significant comparative effect on customer service behaviours. Furthermore, perceived competence mediated the relationship only between distributive justice and role-prescribed behaviours.

Keywords:

• empowerment
• customer service
• provider role
• extra-role behaviour

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Inha University, Incheon, South Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea Grant funded by the Korean Government (NRF-2009-332-B00115). We are grateful to the hospitals and their employees who participated in this study.

Notes