Interpersonal Conflicts in the Unit Impact the Service Quality Rated by Customers: The Mediating Role of Work-Unit Well-Being
Social dynamics at work are crucial for understanding how internal processes in an organization are related to their performance and productivity. Following the Service-Profit Chain (SPC) theory, this study analyses, at the work-unit level, how interpersonal conflicts are related to service quality...
| Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | article |
| Status: | Published version |
| Publication Date: | 2021 |
| Country: | España |
| Institution: | Universidad de Sevilla (US) |
| Repository: | idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:idus.us.es:11441/125119 |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/11441/125119 https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18158137 |
| Access Level: | Open access |
| Keyword: | interpersonal conflict burnout job satisfaction service quality work-unit performance tourism and hospitality occupational health and well-being |
| Summary: | Social dynamics at work are crucial for understanding how internal processes in an organization are related to their performance and productivity. Following the Service-Profit Chain (SPC) theory, this study analyses, at the work-unit level, how interpersonal conflicts are related to service quality in the hospitality and tourism industry through the shared experience of well-being in the work unit. In other words, we examine the mediating role of two main aspects of workrelated well-being in the unit (job satisfaction and burnout) on the relationship between interpersonal conflicts in the unit and customers’ perceptions of service quality. To do so, we conducted a crosssectional survey study that collected data from 398 service employees (91 work units) and 1233 customers from three and four-star hotels with restaurant in Spain. Using path analysis in Structural Equation Models, our results supported a full mediation model at the work-unit level: interpersonal conflicts in the work unit are related to customers’ service quality perceptions through the workunit’s well-being (job satisfaction and burnout). Therefore, our findings extend the SPC theory by integrating group dynamics and employees’ experiences, which should be enhanced through occupational health-oriented policies and practices to increase service quality. In this sense, this study has implications for the development of intervention programs aiming at improving the occupational well-being and quality of service in hospitality and tourism settings. |
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