Published: 2008-12-09
ISBN:
ISSN: 1650-3686 (print), 1650-3740 (online)
Purpose: There is an attempt to evaluate the state of organizational service orientation in service industry in Poland; also the influence of service orientation on key service performance; especially the quality of service; is examined. The cross-sector approach is employed and the problem of the differences of the organizational service orientation in different service trades is assessed.
Methodology: I the research process the survey method was employed. The research population enclosed 230 service enterprises operating in the three regions of Poland; the units were chosen randomly. The Serv*Or questions battery designed by Lytle et al. (1998) was employed to assess the organizational service orientation. There were taken the advantage of correlations analyses and ANOVA.
Findings: The weakest element regarding organizational service orientation in researched organizations is employee empowerment; which origins partly from national inclination to individualism; and partly from the central planning system that existed in Polish economy in communism age. The main conclusion of this study is that organizational service orientation affects service performance. Its influence on service quality and clients loyalty is substantial; therefore the organizational service orientation concept might be used as a useful tool in management process.
It is not proved that general indicator of organizational service orientation varied in service sectors. But it is possible to point out five service orientation dimensions that differ across sectors: customer treatment; employee empowerment; service standards communication; service vision; service training. There are two main factors that in an appreciable way differ the service orientation between service sectors: the structural factor and the service characteristics factor.
Originality of paper: The study takes cross-sector approach. Wide cross-sector studies did not used before in an organizational service orientation investigation.
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