Route to customer satisfaction is through employees: impact of management practices

Abstract

strongly belief that the route to customer satisfaction is through employees, especially for service businesses where customer interface is a critical part of the delivery process. The current book builds on the research on positive influence of employees' perceptions of service climate and service quality on customer satisfaction. We test a model between employees' perceptions of service climate, capability, quality and employee service behaviors, with customer satisfaction in a State Government agency. Results show that management practices related to coordination and service emphasis positively impact employee service capabilities. Employee service behaviors and service capability positively impact employees' perceptions of service quality. Only employee service behaviors have an impact on customers' perceptions of service quality. No relationships were found between employees' perceptions of service capability or service quality with customers' perceptions of service quality. Results using HLM indicate that HR practices, service emphasis, service behaviors and service capability positively impact and interpersonal relationships negatively impact customer satisfaction.