HR Practices and Customer Satisfaction: The Mediating Link of Commitment

Abstract

This research examined organizational commitment as a mediator between HR
practices and customer satisfaction of 35 job groups from 13 service firm business
units. Both commitment level and consensus were predicted to influence customer
satisfaction. Results found that commitment level mediated the relationship between HR practices and customer satisfaction.

Abstract

Organizations are facing major challenges, many of them resulting in restructuring, reengineering and downsizing. Work environments have become more complex and sophisticated. The need for effective leadership and organizational commitment has become more critical. (Earle, 1996) Previous research studies have found that specific types of behavior, found in the transformational and transactional leadership models, are positively related to organizational commitment. Other research studies have found no such relationship. Yet, no studies have examined all the variables found in these two leadership models. Therefore, this study will be unique in that it will help to fill this gap. Three steel companies, which have recently undergone reengineering, restructuring, and downsizing, are the focus of this study. Of the 471 questionnaires distributed, 308 were considered valid for the data analyses for this study. Results show both transformational and transactional leadership behaviors have a slightly positive relationship with organizational commitment. In particular, idealized influence, inspirational motivation, and individual consideration leadership behaviors were found to be more correlated with organizational commitment than other leadership behaviors in both models. Overall, the study found that transformational leadership behaviors are more slightly correlated with organizational commitment than transactional leadership behaviors.