The Contribution of Communication to Employee Satisfaction in Service Firms: A Causal Configurational Analysis

Abstract

Following social exchange theory, which claims that a set of dimensions lead to employee satisfaction, we tested a sample of 163 employees from companies operating in the services sector in Portugal. We used a fsQCA approach to identify the configurations of conditions that lead to the presence and absence of satisfaction. The results show that there are several paths leading to high satisfaction, which require the simultaneous existence of three levels of communication: the organization, the leader and peers. Equally, there are a number of paths that lead to low satisfaction. Our findings enrich social exchange theory as a theoretical background to understanding the complex nature of satisfaction and to illustrating which conditions promote reciprocity among employees through higher levels of satisfaction.