Internal Benefits of Service-Worker Customer Orientation: Job Satisfaction, Commitment, and Organizational Citizenship Behaviors

Abstract

Implementation of the marketing concept in service firms is accomplished through individual service employees and their interactions with customers. Although prior research has established a link between service-worker customer orientation and performance outcomes, little research has addressed other potentially important outcomes of customer orientation. Drawing from the literature on person–situation interaction and fit theory, the authors develop and test a model that explains how service-worker customer orientation affects several important job responses, including perceived job fit, job satisfaction, commitment to the firm, and organizational citizenship behaviors. Across three field studies in two distinct services industries, the results indicate that the positive influence of customer orientation on certain job responses is stronger for service workers who spend more time in direct contact with customers than for workers who spend less time with customers. The authors discuss the implications of the results for services marketing managers and researchers.