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Toward a theory of spirals: the dynamic relationship between organizational pride and customer-oriented behavior

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Abstract

While previous studies have demonstrated that organizational pride (OP) enhances frontline employees’ customer-oriented behavior (COB), they have neglected to address the dynamics of the relationship. This research helps close this gap by elaborating on a theory of spirals positing that the extent of COB depends not only on current levels of OP but also on the direction and rate of OP change. In addition, the authors challenge the prevalent view that OP affects COB unidirectionally, instead predicting reciprocal loops. Hence, they propose that increases in OP repeatedly amplify COB and trigger an upward spiral, whereas decreases trigger a downward spiral. The results of a six-wave panel study support these predictions. Furthermore, the authors identify lower and upper boundaries of the spiral: while a certain threshold of OP is required to create momentum, the effects of further increases in the same variables diminish at high levels of OP and COB.

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Notes

  1. All reliability statistics refer to the measurements made in t1.

  2. We would like to thank an anonymous reviewer for this suggestion.

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Acknowledgements

The data, which was used for this manuscript originates from a sub-project of the joint research project “PRIDE – Value-added Transparency and Esteem as Resources for Innovation in the Service Industry”, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in Germany (promotional reference: 01FB08036).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Management, University of Koblenz-Landau, Universitaetsstraße 1, 56070, Koblenz, Germany

    Tobias Kraemer & Matthias H. J. Gouthier

  2. Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Goettingen, Platz der Goettinger Sieben 3, 37073, Goettingen, Germany

    Welf H. Weiger & Maik Hammerschmidt

  3. College of Business, Alfaisal University, P.O. Box 50927, Riyadh, 11533, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Welf H. Weiger

Authors
  1. Tobias Kraemer
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Correspondence to Tobias Kraemer.

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Appendices

Appendix 1

Final sample characteristics used in Stage 2 for testing the proposed spiral

Gender

  Male

179 (56.11%)

  Female

140 (43.89%)

Age (in years)

Average

41.29

Standard deviation

12.26

Organizational tenure (in years)

  <1 year

29 (9.09%)

  1–5 years

109 (34.17%)

  6–10 years

63 (19.75%)

  >10 years

118 (36.99%)

Number of full-time employees in company

  <20 employees

90 (28.21%)

  20–99 employees

59 (18.50%)

  100–500 employees

55 (17.24%)

  >500 employees

115 (36.05%)

Industry sector (classification based on German Federal Statistical Office)

  Agriculture and forestry

1 (0.31%)

  Manufacturing

6 (1.88%)

  Energy and water supply

3 (0.94%)

  Construction

11 (3.45%)

  Retail

49 (15.36%)

  Repair and maintenance of vehicles

1 (0.31%)

  Transport and warehousing

10 (3.13%)

  Hospitality

9 (2.82%)

  Information and communication

20 (6.27%)

  Finance and insurance

32 (10.03%)

  Real estate

3 (0.94%)

  Scientific and technical services

15 (4.70%)

  Other business services

15 (4.70%)

  Public services and defense

32 (10.03%)

  Education

13 (4.08%)

  Healthcare and social services

27 (8.46%)

  Art and entertainment

8 (2.51%)

  Other (not mentioned) services

64 (20.06%)

Appendix 2

Item formulations and indicator loadings

Items

Stand. loadings

α

CR

AVE

Organizational pride (Gouthier and Rhein 2011)

1. I am proud to work for my company.

.91***

.89

.89

.73

2. I am proud to contribute to my company’s success.

.86***

3. I am proud to tell others for which company I am working.

.79***

Customer-oriented behavior (Peccei and Rosenthal 1997)

1. I am always working to improve the quality of service I give to customers.

.73***

.88

.88

.64

2. I put a lot of effort into my job to try to satisfy customers.

.79***

3. No matter how I feel, I always put myself out for every customer I serve.

.84***

4. I often go out of my way to help customers.

.82***

Self-efficacy (adapted from Schwarzer et al. 1997)

1. I can always manage to solve difficult work problems if I try hard enough.

.79***

.91

.91

.66

2. I am confident that I could deal efficiently with unexpected events at work.

.82***

3. I can solve most problems at work, if I invest the necessary effort.

.77***

4. I can remain calm when facing difficulties at work, because I can rely on my coping abilities.

.84***

5. When I am confronted with a problem at work, I can usually find several solutions.

.84***

Intrinsic motivation (adapted from Tierney et al. 1999)

1. I enjoy engaging in analytical thinking.

.68***

.81

.82

.61

2. I enjoy creating new procedures for work tasks.

.86***

3. I enjoy improving existing processes, products, and services.

.78***

Perceived organizational success (based on Walsh et al. 2009)

1. My company tends to outperform competitors.

.74***

.83

.84

.63

2. My company looks like it has strong prospects for future growth.

.79***

3. My company is a strong, reliable company.

.85***

Job satisfaction (adapted from Bowling and Hammond 2008)

1. All in all, I am satisfied with my job.

.82***

.80

.80

.67

2. In general, I like working here.

.82***

  1. All items are measured on five-point scales ranging from 1 = “totally disagree” to 5 = “totally agree”; CR = composite reliability; AVE = average variance extracted

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Kraemer, T., Weiger, W.H., Gouthier, M.H.J. et al. Toward a theory of spirals: the dynamic relationship between organizational pride and customer-oriented behavior. J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. 48, 1095–1115 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-019-00715-0

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