Why Can Some Service Employees Provide Service of a Consistently High Quality While Others Cannot?

I-Chen Lee (), Jui-fen Rachel Lu (), Ching-Wen Fu () and Ching-I Teng ()
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I-Chen Lee: Department of Industrial and Business Management, College of Management, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan; and Chang Gung Craniofacial Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan
Jui-fen Rachel Lu: Graduate Institute of Business and Management and Department of Health Care Management, College of Management, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan
Ching-Wen Fu: Department of Health Care Organization Management, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei 100, Taiwan
Ching-I Teng: Graduate Institute of Business and Management and Department of Industrial and Business Management, College of Management, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan; Department of Rehabilitation, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan; and Department of Business and Management, Ming Chi University of Technology, New Taipei City 243, Taiwan

Service Science, 2017, vol. 9, issue 2, 167-180

Abstract: Variation in service quality results in service failure and subsequent customer defection, and thus knowing how to manage such variation is critical for service managers. However, little is known about why, and at which workplaces, some service employees can provide service of a consistently high quality but others cannot. This study addresses this issue using the perspective of signal detection theory. Multiple-source and matched data from 160 nurses and 480 patients were used for the analysis. We found that job tenure was negatively related to variation in all dimensions of service quality. Moreover, control over practice interacts with job tenure and expertise to impact service variation and the average level of all dimensions of service quality. These factors interactively determine whether service employees can provide a consistently high quality of service. To our knowledge, this is the first empirical study addressing this issue by examining viable employee and workplace characteristics. The findings provide a means for service managers to ensure a consistently high level of service quality.

Keywords: service quality variation; control over practice; job tenure; expertise; self-efficacy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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