The service climate and role stressors of frontline employees in the service industry: Some empirical evidence

This paper aims to investigate the impact of role stressors in predicting the service climate among frontline employees (FLEs) in the service industry. Starting from previous research and empirical evidence on service quality and the current literature on FLEs, this work seeks to shed light on the current debate regarding the antecedents of the service climate by giving suggestions to managers and practitioners in the service industry on the stressors of FLEs in order to boost the service climate. The analysis was carried out on a sample of 71 FLEs in two service companies in Italy. The results of a regression analysis demonstrated that role stressors have a high impact on the service climate as perceived by FLEs. In particular, reduced work-family conflict (WFCs) and enhanced role clarity demonstrate a significant and positive effect in predicting service quality among FLEs.