Influence of customer contact employees (CCEs) competencies on their service recovery performance: a moderated-mediation approach

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to explore the influence of customer contact employees (CCEs) competencies (social, emotional and professional) on their service recovery performance (SRP) with mediation effect of internal marketing and moderation effect of industry/sector. Design/methodology/approach This study used survey-based dyads of 210 CCEs and their managers/supervisors in three service sectors (hotel and hospitality, automobile service centers and organized retail stores). Repeated-measures analysis of variance, confirmatory factor analysis and PROCESS macro of Hayes (2013) was used to assess reliability, validity and to test mediation, moderation and moderated-mediation. Findings CCEs competencies influenced SRP. The relationship between CCEs competencies and SRP was mediated by internal marketing. The industry/sector was found to be a significant moderator between the internal marketing and SRP. Additionally, a significant moderated-mediation effect was found between CCEs competencies and SRP. Research limitations/implications Longitudinal studies could be particularly helpful to evaluate the impact of internal marketing on SRP. The future researcher may benefit from replicating and extending the model in different industries or can study other factors as mediators or moderators for further contribution to the SRP literature. Practical implications Firms striving for consumer retention and aiming to extend their consumer life cycle can greatly benefit from the results of this study to provide effective SRP. The study also suggests that policymakers and management should adopt properly designed and well-articulated human resource management practices for excellence in SRP in their organizations. Originality/value To the best of the authors' knowledge, there is no study in the past which has addressed employee and organizational factors with the dyadic sample. In addition, it has used a moderated-mediation model in the context of SRP and also contributes to the extant literature by researching in a non-Western setting like India.