Abstract
To deliver superior customer service, frontline service employees (FSEs) need to be creative while also being attentive to detail. However, achieving the right balance between these behaviors is difficult; too much focus on one to the detriment of the other can diminish service performance. Using data from two independent studies of microservice and small service firms, we examine the interplay of employee creativity and attention to detail in driving service performance. The results reveal that at high levels of attention to detail, greater creativity will increase service performance and vice versa. In contrast, at low levels of attention to detail, increasing employee creativity enhances service performance up to a point, after which it declines, and vice versa. Thus, increasing creativity when attention to detail is low or enhancing attention to detail when creativity is low is likely to be harmful to firms. Our findings suggest that managers should empower FSEs to be ambidextrous—they need to engage in high levels of both creativity and attention-to-detail behaviors–to enhance service performance. Firms should invest in training to increase FSEs’ ability to engage in these behaviors simultaneously and create an environment that enhances their self-confidence to do so.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 365-378 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Journal of Service Research |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Aug 2018 |
Keywords
- ambidexterity
- attention to detail
- creativity
- frontline service employee performance
Cite this
}
The complementarity of frontline service employee creativity and attention to detail in service delivery. / Sok, Phyra; Sok, Keo Mony; Danaher, Tracey S.; Danaher, Peter J.
In: Journal of Service Research, Vol. 21, No. 3, 01.08.2018, p. 365-378.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
TY - JOUR
T1 - The complementarity of frontline service employee creativity and attention to detail in service delivery
AU - Sok, Phyra
AU - Sok, Keo Mony
AU - Danaher, Tracey S.
AU - Danaher, Peter J.
PY - 2018/8/1
Y1 - 2018/8/1
N2 - To deliver superior customer service, frontline service employees (FSEs) need to be creative while also being attentive to detail. However, achieving the right balance between these behaviors is difficult; too much focus on one to the detriment of the other can diminish service performance. Using data from two independent studies of microservice and small service firms, we examine the interplay of employee creativity and attention to detail in driving service performance. The results reveal that at high levels of attention to detail, greater creativity will increase service performance and vice versa. In contrast, at low levels of attention to detail, increasing employee creativity enhances service performance up to a point, after which it declines, and vice versa. Thus, increasing creativity when attention to detail is low or enhancing attention to detail when creativity is low is likely to be harmful to firms. Our findings suggest that managers should empower FSEs to be ambidextrous—they need to engage in high levels of both creativity and attention-to-detail behaviors–to enhance service performance. Firms should invest in training to increase FSEs’ ability to engage in these behaviors simultaneously and create an environment that enhances their self-confidence to do so.
AB - To deliver superior customer service, frontline service employees (FSEs) need to be creative while also being attentive to detail. However, achieving the right balance between these behaviors is difficult; too much focus on one to the detriment of the other can diminish service performance. Using data from two independent studies of microservice and small service firms, we examine the interplay of employee creativity and attention to detail in driving service performance. The results reveal that at high levels of attention to detail, greater creativity will increase service performance and vice versa. In contrast, at low levels of attention to detail, increasing employee creativity enhances service performance up to a point, after which it declines, and vice versa. Thus, increasing creativity when attention to detail is low or enhancing attention to detail when creativity is low is likely to be harmful to firms. Our findings suggest that managers should empower FSEs to be ambidextrous—they need to engage in high levels of both creativity and attention-to-detail behaviors–to enhance service performance. Firms should invest in training to increase FSEs’ ability to engage in these behaviors simultaneously and create an environment that enhances their self-confidence to do so.
KW - ambidexterity
KW - attention to detail
KW - creativity
KW - frontline service employee performance
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85049831903&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1094670517746778
DO - 10.1177/1094670517746778
M3 - Article
VL - 21
SP - 365
EP - 378
JO - Journal of Service Research
JF - Journal of Service Research
SN - 1094-6705
IS - 3
ER -