Multiple Identification and Boundary Spanning Behaviours: The Consequences of Alignment and Misalignment.

Transcription

1 Multiple Identification and Boundary Spanning Behaviours: The Consequences of Alignment and Misalignment. Abstract This research proposes investigates how the alignment between organizational identification and employee-customer identification influences the different types of discretionary boundary spanning behaviours of frontline service employees. We suggest that the behaviours enacted by frontline employees depend on the alignment or misalignment of their multiple identities. When identities are aligned, employees are more likely to engage in positive behaviours. However, employees are likely to behave in a dysfunctional manner when misalignment is high. Keywords: Organizational Identification, Employee-Customer Identification, Discretionary behaviours, Boundary-spanning, Frontline Service employees, Alignment Track: Services Marketing 1

2 1. Introduction An emerging trend within the literatures that study customer-contact employees is that employees hold distinct perceptions about and direct significantly different attitudes toward multiple foci such as the organisation, individuals within the organisation and customers (Ashforth, Harrison and Corley, 2008; Lavelle, Rupp and Brockner, 2007). Among customercontact employees, customer-focused attitudes and organisation-focused attitudes seem to hold the greatest significance for employee performance (Lam, 2007; Lavelle et al., 2007). One important multi-foci construct which has been addressed in previous studies is identification. For example, employees might have dual identifications (Organizational Identification, hereafter OI), and one with the customer (Employee-Customer Identification, hereafter CI). Previous research has considered the individual consequences of both OI and CI. However, one key issue still needs to be addressed. This issue relates to the implications of a match or mismatch between OI and CI of frontline service employees. This is clearly a gap in the literature, because while an employee s multiple identifications may sometimes be complementary; identification with multiple constituents such as an organization and its customers may at times be incongruent, resulting in a conflict of identities. Such conflict is not uncommon, and employees must often confront and resolve conflicts by strategically managing the salience and application of multiple identities (Lam, 2007; Mael & Ashforth, 1992). The aim of this study is thus to investigate the consequences of a match or mismatch of organizational and customer identification of frontline employees on their behavioural performance. Theoretically, understanding how alignment or misalignment between organizational identification and customer identification affects frontline employees behaviours should improve our knowledge of how frontline employees manage multiple identities. Furthermore, there may be nuanced ways in which alignment or misalignment impacts on different types of employee behaviours. Thus, the specific research question in this study is: how does the alignment between employees organizational identification and employees customer identification impact on the behaviours of frontline employees? 2. Literature Review Identification Issues of identity are particularly relevant for frontline employees because of the multifaceted social environment characterizing their jobs. Frontline employees, such as customer service or sales representatives, interface between constituencies that often have divergent interests. Managing these complexities requires a lot of skill as mismanagement of either relationship can create problems with either constituency (Holmvall & Sidhu, 2007; Dormann & Zapf, 2004). Organizational identification refers to the incorporation of organizational membership into an employee s self-image, thereby leveraging the prestige and distinctiveness of the organization as a means toward self-enhancement (Ashforth & Mael, 1989). An employing firm, however, is not the only source of identification available to frontline employees. Due to their position as boundary spanners, these employees may acknowledge a number of salient constituent groups in addition to the organization. Moreover, social identity is not limited to association 2

3 with organizations, but also includes smaller groups and individuals (Brown, 2000). Research shows that frontline employees may also identify with individual customers or the customer base as a whole. This identification with customers can be based on multiple components (cognitive, affective and behavioural) which reflect different motives and the different contexts in which identification takes place (cf. van Dick, Wagner, Stellmacher, & Christ, 2004). Boundary-Spanning Behaviours Boundary spanning behaviours are the range of behaviours that customer-contact employees are likely to have opportunity to perform due to their role as organisational boundaryspanners. These behaviours may either be role-prescribed or discretionary. Although roleprescribed behaviours may result from identification, the effect of identification on such behaviours may be quite distal (Ashforth et al, 2008). Therefore in this study, we limit our investigation to behaviours whose performance is likely to have a stronger discretionary element. In this study, we present a typology of discretionary behaviours that builds upon previous research. The foundation for this typology is who the beneficiary of frontline employees behaviour is. Furthermore, these behaviours are categorised based on whether the behaviour benefits one party at the expense o the other or is equally beneficial to both parties. In Table 1, we present this typology of behaviours and examples of each kind of behaviour Table 1 Behaviour Category Pro-customer anti-firm behaviours Pro-firm behaviours Pro-firm anti-customer behaviours Mediation behaviours Reactive behaviours Examples Deviant discretion, excessive customeroriented behaviour External Representation Hard Selling Internal Influence, Creative Discretion Withdrawal Behaviour 3. Research Propositions Consequences of Matched or Mismatched Identifications Identification with multiple constituents such as an organization and its customers may at times be incompatible, resulting in a conflict of identities. Such conflict is not inherent in the identities themselves; rather conflict arises because both identities may prescribe a set of behaviours in a given situation: OI prescribes pro-organization behaviours, CI prescribes procustomer behaviors. Because the role of the boundary-spanner is such that the needs of the customer and the needs of the organization simultaneously present themselves in service encounters, the frontline employee often has to play a mediating role in deciding whether to and how to meet the needs of the customer and/or the needs of the organization. The specific behaviours they perform should depend on the salience of these multiple identities to the employee. When both identities are highly salient, enacting behaviors contradictory to any of the identities is an attack on the employee s self-concept. Conceptually, therefore, managing the demands of multiple identities is similar to Heider s (1958) balance theory. Heider's (1958) balance theory suggests that, within a triad, a missing tie between two individuals creates emotional tension (Ferrin, 2006). 3

4 Consequently, employees must perform actions that do not lead to tension between their OI and CI. On the other hand, when one identity is chronically salient compared to the other, there is less or little identity conflict (Lam, 2007). Therefore, in order to remain consistent with the salient identity, employees would perform behaviors necessary to meet the needs of the entity for who the employee s identification is more salient. Finally, when none of these identities is salient, employees would experience no conflict and would be more inclined to engage in anti-customer or anti-organization behaviour. In the next section we provide research propositions detailing the consequences of matched identities as well as the effect of mismatched identities Mediation behaviours and multiple identities Conceptually, employees that identify strongly with both the organization and its customers are more likely to behave in ways that benefit both the customer and the organization and perform these behaviours to a greater extent than their misaligned colleagues. We suggest that because of the presumed motivation of individuals to maintain behavior that is consistent with both identities, employees who have a strong identification with both the organization and the customers will be motivated to perform behaviours that benefit both parties and will seek to refrain from behaviours that will benefit one party at the expense of the other. Proposition 1: Identity alignment is positively related to meditational behaviours. The consequence of identity alignment is such that employees with high (low) OI and high (low) CI will display higher (lower) levels of meditational behaviours. Pro-firm- behaviours and Identity Alignment For pro-firm behaviours, we suggest that employees will be motivated to perform the behaviour so long as the employee identifies with the firm. Therefore performance is dependent on OI Proposition 2: Identity alignment is positively related to pro-firm behaviours. The consequence of identity alignment is such that employees with high (low) OI and high (low) CI will display highest (lowest) levels of pro-firm behaviours. Dysfunctional Behaviours Certain behaviours have the potential to hurt one party while benefiting the other party. In such circumstances, we expect that behaviour will be more likely to occur when one identity is considerable more salient than the other. Therefore, when employees identify strongly with the organization, they will be reluctant to give preferential treatment to customers if it hurts the organization. Rather, they will emphasize customer service behaviors that do not hurt the organization. When employees identify weakly with the organization, however, they will not feel a strong need to protect it, and may then be willing to consider customer services that are detrimental to the organization. The reverse is likely to be the case when CI is more salient than OI Proposition 3: Identity alignment is negatively related to both pro-customer anti-firm behaviours and pro-firm anti-customer behaviours. 4

5 Selected References Ashforth, B.E; Harrison, S.H & Corley, K.G (2008). Identification in Organizations: An Examination of Four Fundamental Questions. Journal of Management; 34, Bettencourt L.A. & Brown S.W (2003) Role Stressors and Customer-Oriented Prosocial Boundary-Spanning Behaviours: Test of a Theoretical Model across Two Service Contexts" Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 31 (4), Bettencourt, L.A., Brown S.W & MacKenzie, S.B., (2005). Customer-oriented Boundaryspanning Behaviors: Test of a Social Exchange Model of Antecedents. Journal of Retailing, 81 (2), Brief, A. P., & Motowidlo, S. J. (1986). Prosocial Organizational Behaviors. Academy of Management Review, 11, Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1974). Attitudes towards Objects as Predictors of Single and Multiple Behavioral Criteria. Psychological Review, 81, Homburg, C., Wieseke, J. & Hoyer, W (2009). Social Identity and the Service-Profit Chain. Journal of Marketing 73 (2), Lam, S.K. (2007). Excessive Customer-Oriented Behaviors in Sales. (2007) AMA Winter Educators Conference Proceedings, 79. Lance, C. (1988). Residual Centering, Exploratory and Confirmatory Moderator Analysis, and De-Composition of Effects in Path Models Containing Interactions. Applied Psychological Measurement, 12, Lavelle, J.J., Rupp, D.E., & Brockner, J. (2007). Taking a Multifoci Approach to the Study of Justice, Social Exchange, And Citizenship Behavior: The Target Similarity Model. Journal of Management. 33 (6), Mael, F & Ashforth, B.E (1992). Alumni and Their Alma Mater: A Partial Test of the Reformulated Model of Organizational Identification. Journal of Organization Behavior, 13, Ullrich, J., Wieseke, J., Christ, O., Schulze, M, & van Dick, R (2007). The Identity-Matching Principle: Corporate and Organizational Identification in a Franchising System. British Journal of Management, 18: