Service Team and Service Performance: Examining Direct and Indirect Member Contributions through Field Experiment
The Tourism Sciences Society Of Korea, Unji Baek, Seulki Lee · 2016
Many hospitality firms strive to improve service performance through teams, in order to respond to rapidly changing circumstances. However, team efficiency may be impaired when evaluation and compensation of respective team members’ contributions is deemed unfair. Despite their importance, the contributions of individuals to team service performance have lacked attention in academia. This study introduced a service team performance model, in which direct and team contributions by the individual to service performance are identified. The service team construct was manipulated using all possible combinations in a field setting. Through weighted least squares (WLS) analysis of data collected from 186 respondents, we found that individual performance in service teams differ significantly in terms of direct and indirect contributions. Therefore, the need to consider interaction effects among team members when evaluating service performance was motivated. Furthermore, the learning effects, rest effects, and frequency of customer visits were found to affect service quality. This study contributed to the dynamics in service team formulation and service performance, and also provided a meaningful implication for human resource managers in hospitality and tourism industries. This was done by suggesting a holistic approach to employee evaluation.