An examination of the role of perceived support and employee commitment in employee-customer encounters

The authors examined the relationships between perceived organizational support, organizational commitment. commitment to customers, and service quality in a fast-food firm. The research design matched customer responses with individual employees' attitudes, making this study a true test of the service provider-customer encounter. On the basis of a sample of matched employee-customer data (N = 133). hierarchical linear modeling analyses revealed that perceived organizational support had both a unit-level and an employee-level effect on I dimension of service quality: helping behavior. Contrary to affective organizational commitment, affective commitment to customers enhanced service quality. The 2 subdimensions of continuance commitment to the organization-perceived high sacrifice and perceived lack of alternatives-exerted effects opposite in sign: The former fostered service quality, whereas the latter reduced it. The implications of these findings are discussed within the context of research on employee-customer encounters.