Managing the ethical climate of customer-contact service employees

Journal of Service Research

Volumn 7, Issue 4, 2005, Pages 377-397

  Schwepker Jr , Charles H ^a   Hartline, Michael D ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL MISSOURI   (United States)

^b FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

Customer contact employees; Ethical climate; Ethical control; Internalization of codes of ethics; Job satisfaction; Role ambiguity; Role conflict; Service quality

Indexed keywords

EID: 21644490075     PISSN: 10946705     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/1094670504273966     Document Type: Article

References (86)

1. Ahmed, Irfan and A. Parasuraman (1994), "Environmental and Positional Antecedents of Management Commitment to Service Quality: A Conceptual Framework," in Advances in Services Marketing and Management, Vol. 3, Teresa A. Swartz, David E. Bowen, and Stephen W. Brown, eds. Greenwich, CT: JAI, 69-93.
2. Allen, Natalie J. and John P. Meyer (1990), "Organizational Socialization Tactics: A Longitudinal Analysis of Links to Newcomers' Commitment and Role Orientation," Academy of Management Journal, 33 (December). 847-58.
3. Anderson, James C. and David W. Gerbing (1988), "Structural Equation Modeling in Practice: A Review and Recommended Two-Step Approach, " Psychological Bulletin, 103 (May), 411-23.
4. Anthony, R. (1952), Management Controls in Industrial Research Organizations. Cambridge, MA: Division of Research, Graduate School of Business, Harvard University Press.
5. Armstrong, J. Scott and Terry S. Overton (1977), "Estimating Non-response Bias in Mail Surveys," Journal of Marketing Research, 14 (August), 396-402.
6. Babin, Barry J., James S. Boles, and Donald P. Robin (2000), "Representing the Perceived Ethical Work Climate among Marketing Employees." Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 28 (Summer), 345-58.
7. Barles, Stephen, Elizabeth Murphy, Robert Randel, Kathy Williams, Curtis Verschoor, and Elizabeth A. Murphy (2002), "Best Corporate Citizens Have Better Financial Performance," Strategic Finance, 83 (January), 20-21.
8. Barnett, Tim and Cheryl Vaicys (2000), "The Moderating Effect of Individuals' Perceptions of Ethical Work Climate on Ethical Judgments and Behavioral Intentions," Journal of Business Ethics, 27 (October), 351-62.
9. Brothers, T. (1991), Corporate Ethics: Developing New Standards of Accountability. New York: The Conference Board.
10. Brown, Steven P. and Robert A. Peterson (1993), "Antecedents and Consequences of Salesperson Job Satisfaction: Meta-Analysis and Assessment of Causal Effects," Journal of Marketing Research, 30 (February), 63-77.
11. Brown. Tom J., John C. Mowen, Donald T. Donavan, and Jane W. Licata (2002), "The Customer Orientation of Service Workers: Personality Trait Effects on Self- and Supervisor Performance Ratings," Journal of Marketing Research, 39 (February), 110-19.
12. Chonko, Lawrence B. and John J. Burnett (1983), "Measuring the Importance of Ethical Situations as a Source of Role Conflict: A Survey of Salespeople, Sales Managers, and Sales Support Personnel," Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 3 (May), 41-47.
13. _, Roy D. Howell, and Danny N. Bellenger (1986), "Congruence in Sales Force Evaluations: Relation to Sales Force Perceptions of Conflict and Ambiguity," Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 6 (May), 35-48.
14. Drolet, Aimee L. and Donald G. Morrison (2001), "Do We Really Need Multiple-Item Measures in Service Research?" Journal of Service Research, 3 (February), 196-204.
15. Dubinsky, Alan J. (1985), "Studying Field Salespeople's Ethical Problems: An Approach for Designing Company Policies," in Marketing Ethics; Guidelines for Managers, G. R. Laczniak and P. E. Murphy, eds. Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath.
16. _. Marvin A. Jolson, Ronald E. Michaels, Masaaki Kotabe, and Chae Un Lim (1992), "Ethical Perceptions of Field Sales Personnel: An Empirical Assessment," Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 12 (Fall), 9-21.
17. Ethics Resource Center (2000), 2000 National Business Ethics Survey Volume I: How Employees Perceive Ethics at Work. Washington, DC: Ethics Resource Center.
18. Ferrell, O. C. and Gareth Gardiner (1991), In Pursuit of Ethics. Springfield, IL: Smith Collins.
19. _ and Larry G. Gresham (1985), "A Contingency Framework for Understanding Ethical Decision Making," Journal of Marketing, 49 (Summer), 87-96.
20. _ and Steven J. Skinner (1988), "Ethical Behavior and Bureaucratic Structure in Marketing Research Organizations," Journal of Marketing Research, 25 (February), 103-9.
21. Grundstein-Amado, Rivka (2001), "A Strategy for Formulation and Implementation of Codes of Ethics in Public Service Organizations," International Journal of Public Administration, 24 (May), 461-78.
22. Gundlach, Gregory T. and Patrick E. Murphy (1993), "Ethical and Legal Foundations of Relational Marketing Exchanges," Journal of Marketing, 57 (October), 35-46.
23. Hair, Joseph F., Jr., Rolph E. Anderson, Ronald L. Tatham, and William C. Black (1995), Multivariate Data Analysis, 4th ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
24. Hartline, Michael D. and O. C. Ferrell (1996), "The Management of Customer-Contact Service Employees: An Empirical Investigation," Journal of Marketing, 60 (October), 52-70.
25. _, James G. Maxham, and Daryl O. McKee (2000), "Corridors of Influence in the Dissemination of Customer-Oriented Strategy to Customer Contact Service Employees." Journal of Marketing, 64 (April), 35-50.
26. Hegarty, W. Harvey and Harry P. Sims Jr. (1978), "Some Determinants of Unethical Decision Behavior: An Experiment," Journal of Applied Psychology, 63 (August), 451-57.
27. Herndon, Neil (1991), "Commitment, Satisfaction, and Turnover: The Impact of Individual Moral Value Structures When Exposed to a Conflicting or Matching Organizational Sales Culture," doctoral dissertation, Department of Marketing, Texas A&M University.
28. Heskett, James L., W. Earl Sasser Jr., and Leonard A. Schlesinger (1997), The Service Profit Chain. New York: Free Press.
29. Jackson, Susan E. and Randall S. Schuler (1985), "A Meta-Analysis and Conceptual Critique of Research on Role Ambiguity and Role Conflict in Work Settings," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 36 (August), 16-78.
30. Jaworski, Bernard (1988), "Toward a Theory of Marketing Control: Environmental Context, Control Types, and Consequences," Journal of Marketing, 52 (July), 23-39.
31. _, Vlasis Stathakopoulos, and H. Shanker Krishnan (1993), "Control Combinations in Marketing: Conceptual Framework and Empirical Evidence," Journal of Marketing, 57 (January), 57-69.
32. Jones, Gareth R. (1986), "Socialization Tactics, Self-Efficacy, and Newcomers' Adjustments to Organizations," Academy of Management Journal, 29 (June), 262-79.
33. Jones, Thomas M. (1991), "Ethical Decision Making by Individuals in Organizations: An Issue-Contingent Model," Academy of Management Review, 16 (April), 366-95.
34. _ (1995), "Instrumental Stakeholder Theory: A Synthesis of Ethics and Economics," Academy of Management Review, 20 (April), 404-41.
35. Jöreskog, Karl and Dag Sorborn (1993), LISREL 8: A Guide to the Program and Applications. Chicago: SPSS.
36. Kahn, R. L., D. M. Wolfe, R. P. Quinn, J. D. Snoek, and R. A. Rosenthal (1964), Organizational Stress: Studies in Role Conflict and Ambiguity. New York: John Wiley.
37. Koh, Hian Chye and El'fred H. Y. Boo (2001), "The Link between Organizational Ethics and Job Satisfaction: A Study of Managers in Singapore," Journal of Business Ethics, 29 (February), 309-24.
38. Lau, R. S. M. (2000), "Quality of Work Life and Performance: An ad hoc Investigation of Two Key Elements in the Service Profit Chain Model," International Journal of Service Industry Management, 11 (5), 422-37.
39. Locke, Edwin A. (1969), "What Is Job Satisfaction?" Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 4 (November), 309-36.
40. Loe, Terry W. and O. C. Ferrell (1997), "Ethical Climate's Relationship to Trust, Market Orientation, and Commitment to Quality: A Single Firm Study," in Developments in Marketing Science, Vol. 20, Elizabeth J. Wilson and Joseph F. Hair Jr., eds. Coral Gables, FL: Academy of Marketing Science, 61-63.
41. Mathieu, John E. and Dennis M. Zajac (1990), "A Review and Meta-Analysis of the Antecedents, Correlates, and Consequences of Organizational Commitment," Psychological Bulletin, 108 (September), 171-94.
42. McCabe, Donald L., Linda K. Trevino, and Kenneth D. Butterfield (1996), "The Influence of Collegiate and Corporate Codes of Conduct on Ethics-Related Behavior in the Workplace," Business Ethics Quarterly, 6 (October), 461-76.
43. Mills, P. (1985), "The Control Mechanism of Employees at the Encounter of Service Organizations," in The Service Encounter, J. A. Czepiel, M. R. Solomon, and C. F. Surprenant, eds. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
44. Moser, Martin R. (1988), "Ethical Conflict at Work: A Critique of the Literature and Recommendations for Future Research," Journal of Business Ethics, 7 (May), 381-87.
45. Mowday, Richard T., Richard M. Steers, and Lyman W. Porter (1979), "The Measurement of Organizational Commitment," Journal of Vocational Behavior, 14 (April), 224-47.
46. Nielsen, Richard P. (2000), "Do Internal Due Process Systems Permit Adequate Political and Moral Space for Ethics Voice, Praxis, and Community?" Journal of Business Ethics, 24 (March), 1-27.
47. O'Reilly, Charles A., Jennifer Chatman, and David F. Caldwell (1991), "People and Organizational Culture: A Profile Comparison Approach to Assessing Person-Organization Fit," Academy of Management Journal, 34 (September), 487-516.
48. Ouchi, William G. (1979), "A Conceptual Framework for the Design of Organizational Control Mechanisms," Management Science, 25 (September), 833-47.
49. Podsakoff, Philip M. (1982), "Determinants of a Supervisor's Use of Rewards and Punishments: A Literature Review and Suggestions for Further Research," Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 29 (February), 58-83.
50. _, Scott B. MacKenzie, Jeong-Yeon Lee, and Nathan P. Podsakoff (2003), "Common Methods Biases in Behavioral Research: A Critical Review of the Literature and Recommended Remedies," Journal of Applied Psychology, 88 (October), 879-903.
51. Posner, Barry Z. and Warren H. Schmidt (1987), "Ethics in American Companies: A Managerial Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, 6 (July), 383-91.
52. Qualls, William J. and Christopher P. Puto (1989), "Organizational Climate and Decision Framing: An Integrated Approach to Analyzing Industrial Buying Decisions," Journal of Marketing Research, 26 (May), 179-92.
53. Randall, Donna M. and Maria F. Fernandes (1991), "The Social Desirability Response Bias in Ethics Research," Journal of Business Ethics, 10 (November), 805-17.
54. Robin, Donald P. and R. Eric Reidenbach (1987), "Social Responsibility, Ethics, and Marketing Strategy," Journal of Marketing, 39 (April), 20-27.
55. Saxe, Robert and Barton A. Weitz (1982), "The SOCO Scale: A Measure of the Customer Orientation of Salespeople," Journal of Marketing Research, 19 (August), 343-51.
56. Schneider, Benjamin and Arnon Reichers (1983), "On the Etiology of Climates," Personnel Psychology, 36 (Spring), 19-39.
57. _ and J. Rentsch (1988), "Managing Climates and Cultures: A Futures Perspective," in Futures of Organizations, J. Hage, ed. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
58. Schwepker, Charles H., Jr. (1999), "The Relationship between Ethical Conflict, Organizational Commitment and Turnover Intentions in the Salesforce," Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 19 (Winter), 43-49.
59. _ (2001), "Ethical Climate's Relationship to Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment and Turnover Intention in the Salesforce," Journal of Business Research, 54 (September), 39-52.
60. _, O. C. Ferrell, and Thomas N. Ingram (1997), "The Influence of Ethical Climate and Ethical Conflict on Role Stress in the Sales Force," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 25 (Spring), 99-108.
61. _ and Thomas N. Ingram (1996), "Improving Sales Performance Through Ethics: The Relationship between Salesperson Moral Judgment and Job Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, 15 (November), 1151-60.
62. Sims, Randi L. and K. Galen Kroeck (1994), "The Influence of Ethical Fit on Employee Satisfaction, Commitment and Turnover," Journal of Business Ethics, 13 (December), 939-47.
63. Sims, Ronald R. (1994), Ethics and Organizational Decision Making: A Call for Renewal. Westport, CT: Quorum Books.
64. Singh, Jagdip (2000), "Performance Productivity and Quality of Frontline Employees in Service Organizations," Journal of Marketing, 64 (April), 15-34.
65. _, Willem Verbeke, and Gary K. Rhoads (1996), "Do Organizational Practices Matter in Role Stress Processes? A Study of Direct and Moderating Effects for Marketing-Oriented Boundary Spanners," Journal of Marketing, 60 (July), 69-86.
66. Skinner, B. F. (1969), Contingencies of Reinforcement. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
67. Thomas, J. C., W. A. Kellogg, and T. Erickson (2001), "The Knowledge Management Puzzle: Human and Social Factors in Knowledge Management," IBM Systems Journal, 40 (December), 863-84.
68. Trevino, Linda K. (1986), "Ethical Decision Making in Organizations: A Person-Situation Interactionist Model," Academy of Management Review, 11 (July), 601-17.
69. _ and Gail A. Ball (1992), "The Social Implications of Punishing Unethical Behavior: Observers' Cognitive and Affective Reactions," Journal of Management, 18 (December), 751-68.
70. _, Kenneth D. Butterfield, and Donald L. McCabe (1998), "The Ethical Context in Organizations: Influences on Employee Attitudes and Behaviors," Business Ethics Quarterly, 8 (July), 447-76.
71. _, Gary R. Weaver, David G. Gibson, and Barbara Ley Toffler (1999), "Managing Ethics and Legal Compliance: What Works and What Hurts," California Management Review, 41 (Winter), 131-51.
72. Tsalikis, John and David J. Fritzsche (1989), "Business Ethics: A Literature Review with a Focus on Marketing Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, 8 (September), 695-743.
73. United States Sentencing Commission (2004), United States Sentencing Commission Guidelines Manual, chap. 8. Washington, DC: United States Sentencing Commission, http://www.ussc.gov/2004guid/TABCON04.htm.
74. Vardi, Yoav (2001), "The Effects of Organizational and Ethical Climates on Misconduct at Work," Journal of Business Ethics, 29 (February), 325-37.
75. Verschoor, Curtis C. (1999), "Corporate Performance Is Closely Linked to a Strong Ethical Commitment," Business & Society Review (1974), 104 (Winter), 407-15.
76. _ (2003), "Ethical Corporations Are Still More Profitable," Strategic Finance, 84 (June), 22-23.
77. Victor, Bart and John B. Cullen (1988), "The Organizational Bases of Ethical Work Climates," Administrative Science Quarterly, 33 (March), 101-25.
78. Vitell, Scott J. and David L. Davis (1990), "The Relationship between Ethics and Job Satisfaction: An Empirical Investigation," Journal of Business Ethics, 9 (June), 489-94.
79. Wanous, John P., Arnon E. Reichers, and Michael J. Hudy (1997), "Over-all Job Satisfaction: How Good are Single-Item Measures?" Journal of Applied Psychology, 82 (2), 247-252.
80. Weatherly, Kristopher A. and David A. Tansik (1993), "Tactics Used by Customer-Contact Workers: Effects of Role Stress, Boundary Spanning and Control," International Journal of Service Industry Management, 4 (3), 4-17.
81. Weaver, Gary R. (1993), "Corporate Codes of Ethics: Purpose, Process and Content Issues," Business and Society, 32 (Spring), 44-58.
82. _, Linda K. Trevino, and Philip L. Cochran (1999), "Corporate Ethics Programs as Control Systems: Influences of Executive Commitment and Environmental Factors,'' Academy of Management Journal, 42 (February), 41-57.
83. Weeks. William A. and Jacques Nantel (1992), "Corporate Codes of Ethics and Sales Force Behavior: A Case Study," Journal of Business Ethics, 11 (October), 753-60.
84. West, G. Page, III and G. Dale Meyer (1997), "Communicated Knowledge as a Learning Foundation," International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 5 (January), 25-58.
85. Williams, Larry J. and John T. Hazer (1986), "Antecedents and Consequences of Satisfaction and Commitment in Turnover Models: A Reanalysis Using Latent Variable Structural Equation Methods," Journal of Applied Psychology, 71 (May), 819-31.
86. Wimbush, James C. and Jon M. Shepard (1994), "Toward an Understanding of Ethical Climate: Its Relationship to Ethical Behavior and Supervisory Influence." Journal of Business Ethics, 13 (August), 637-47.