STRUCTURAL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN WORK ENVIRONMENT AND SERVICE QUALITY PERCEPTIONS AS A FUNCTION OF CUSTOMER CONTACT INTENSITY: IMPLICATIONS FOR HUMAN SERVICE STRATEGY

• Published in: Journal of health and human services administration Vol. 32; no. 2; pp. 195 - 234
• Main Authors: SCOTTI, DENNIS J., HARMON, JOEL, BEHSON, SCOTT J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Southern Public Administration Education Foundation 2009; Southern Public Administration Education Foundation, Inc
• Subjects: Consumer Behavior; Consumer surveys; Customer satisfaction; Customer service; Customers; Data Collection; Government services; Health administration; Health care industry; Human resources; Humans; Insurance Claim Review; Laws, regulations and rules; Marketing; Marketing strategies; Perception; Perceptual orientation; Psychological aspects; Quality management; Social service; Social Work - organization & administration; United States; United States Department of Veterans Affairs; Work environment; Workplace; United States
• ISSN: 1079-3739; 2168-5509

This study assesses the importance of customer-contact intensity at the service encounter level as a determinant of service quality assessments. Using data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, it shows that performance-driven human resources practices play an important role as determinants of employee customer orientation and service capability in both high-contact (outpatient healthcare) and low-contact (benefits claim processing) human service contexts. However, there existed significant differences across service delivery settings in the salience of customer orientation and the congruence between employee and customer perceptions of service quality, depending on the intensity of customer contact. In both contexts, managerial attention to high-performance work systems and customer-orientation has the potential to favorably impact perceptions of service quality, amplify consumer satisfaction, and enhance operational efficiency.