Exploring the impacts of employee advocacy on job satisfaction and organizational commitment: Case of Taiwanese airlines

The accessibility of information through the Internet has enables flight attendants to become more informed, as well as developing more control of their own affairs. Employee advocacy is related to the transparency of airlines' employment offers and the airlines' willingness to do what is best for their employees. After reviewing the relevant literature, this study focuses on how employee advocacy is influenced by the way employees are treated by their airlines. We explored strategies that airline administrations apply to employee advocacy, developed a research setting, analyzed the factors involved, and developed a casual model of the antecedents and consequences of employee advocacy. We formulated 5 hypotheses. Data were collected, using a questionnaire survey of flight attendants in Taiwanese airlines. All hypotheses were verified with data from a sample of the respondents, by using a structural equation model. Our results indicated that employee advocacy is positively related to flight attendants' job satisfaction and commitment to the organization. Organizational innovation, supervisor support, and employee empowerment are positively related to employee advocacy. Finally, this study concludes by discussing managerial implications and providing suggestions for future research.

[1]  Donald W. Jackson,et al.  Examining the Relationship between Work Attitudes and Propensity to Leave among Expatriate Salespeople , 2000 .

[2]  Raymond T. Lee,et al.  Testing a conservation of resources model of the dynamics of emotional labor. , 2002, Journal of occupational health psychology.

[3]  Glen L. Urban,et al.  The Emerging Era of Customer Advocacy , 2004 .

[4]  S. Foreman,et al.  Internal Marketing Role in Organizations , 1999 .

[5]  C. Fornell,et al.  Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. , 1981 .

[6]  S. Foreman,et al.  Internal Marketing Role in Organizations: A Transaction Cost Perspective , 1999 .

[7]  Florence Stinglhamber,et al.  Organizations and supervisors as sources of support and targets of commitment: a longitudinal study , 2003 .

[8]  James Griffith,et al.  Measurement of Group Cohesion in U. S. Army Units , 1988 .

[9]  Ching-Fu Chen,et al.  Job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and flight attendants’ turnover intentions: A note , 2006 .

[10]  A. Pantouvakis.  Internal marketing and the moderating role of employees: An exploratory study , 2012 .

[11]  S. R. Hill,et al.  Promoting employee wellbeing and quality service outcomes: the role of HRM practices [Paper in special issue: Healthcare management: progress, problems and solutions. Shacklock, Kate; Brunetto, Yvonne; Farr-Wharton, Rod and Cooper, Cary L. (eds).] , 2012 .

[12]  Rajnandini Pillai,et al.  Transformational leadership, self‐efficacy, group cohesiveness, commitment, and performance , 2004 .

[13]  María Leticia Santos-Vijande,et al.  Organizational learning, innovation, and performance in KIBS , 2012, Journal of Management & Organization.

[14]  James C. Anderson,et al.  STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING IN PRACTICE: A REVIEW AND RECOMMENDED TWO-STEP APPROACH , 1988 .

[15]  Robert Y. Cavana,et al.  Applied Business research: Qualitative and Quantitative Methods , 2001 .

[16]  B. Wernerfelt,et al.  Defensive Marketing Strategy by Customer Complaint Management: A Theoretical Analysis , 1987 .

[17]  Marjo-Riitta Parzefall,et al.  A Review of Employee Well-Being and Innovativeness: An Opportunity for a Mutual Benefit , 2007 .

[18]  Kimmy Wa Chan,et al.  How Can Stressed Employees Deliver Better Customer Service? The Underlying Self-Regulation Depletion Mechanism , 2012 .

[19]  Raymond T. Sparrowe,et al.  Leader-member exchange theory: The past and potential for the future. , 1997 .

[20]  James M. Sinkula,et al.  Market Orientation, Learning Orientation and Product Innovation: Delving into the Organization's Black Box , 2002 .

[21]  Larry Hatcher,et al.  A Step-by-Step Approach to Using the SAS System for Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling , 1994 .

[22]  Basu Sharma,et al.  The impact of internal marketing activities on external marketing outcomes , 2001 .

[23]  C H Gibson,et al.  A concept analysis of empowerment. , 1991, Journal of advanced nursing.

[24]  Ian Lings,et al.  Internal market orientation: Construct and consequences , 2004 .

[25]  Kathleen Clark,et al.  Explaining nursing turnover intent: job satisfaction, pay satisfaction, or organizational commitment? , 1998 .

[26]  Andre Bussing,et al.  A Dynamic Model of Work Satisfaction: Qualitative Approaches , 1999 .

[27]  R. Eisenberger,et al.  Perceived supervisor support: contributions to perceived organizational support and employee retention. , 2002, The Journal of applied psychology.

[28]  Kyle Lewis,et al.  Integrating Justice and Social Exchange: The Differing Effects of Fair Procedures and Treatment on Work Relationships , 2000 .

[29]  R. Cropanzano,et al.  Social Exchange Theory: An Interdisciplinary Review , 2005 .

[30]  Xiao-ping Chen,et al.  Social Exchange in Work Settings: Content, Process, and Mixed Models , 2009, Management and Organization Review.

[31]  Mohanbir Sawhney,et al.  Beyond Customer Knowledge Management: Customers as Knowledge Co-Creators , 2000 .

[32]  Tom Redman,et al.  HRM Practices, Organizational Citizenship Behaviour, and Performance: A Multi-Level Analysis , 2010 .

[33]  J. Darroch,et al.  Examining the link between knowledge management practices and types of innovation , 2002 .

[34]  Michael Ahearne,et al.  Some Possible Antecedents and Consequences of In-Role and Extra-Role Salesperson Performance , 1998 .

[35]  H. Rainey,et al.  Antecedents, Mediators, and Consequences of Affective, Normative, and Continuance Commitment , 2007 .

[36]  Howard Lightfoot,et al.  Exploring the alignment between service strategy and service innovation , 2011 .

[37]  Denise M. Rousseau,et al.  The ‘problem’ of the psychological contract considered , 1998 .

[38]  Robert B. Burns,et al.  Introduction to Research Methods , 2015, Research Methods for Political Science.

[39]  R. Liden,et al.  Perceived Organizational Support And Leader-Member Exchange: A Social Exchange Perspective , 1997 .

[40]  J M George,et al.  The experience of work and turnover intentions: interactive effects of value attainment, job satisfaction, and positive mood. , 1996, The Journal of applied psychology.

[41]  Lois E. Tetrick,et al.  A Construct Validity Study of the Survey of Perceived Organizational Support , 1991 .

[42]  R. Eisenberger,et al.  Perceived organizational support. , 1986 .

[43]  D. Schweiger,et al.  Building Commitment, Attachment, and Trust in Strategic Decision-Making Teams: The Role of Procedural Justice , 1995 .

[44]  R. Simmons,et al.  Human resource management practices and workers' job satisfaction , 2008 .

[45]  Ching-Fu Chen,et al.  Moderating effects of work engagement and job tenure on burnout–performance among flight attendants , 2012 .

[46]  Randall P. Settoon,et al.  Social Exchange in Organizations: Perceived Organizational Support, Leader-Member Exchange, and Employee Reciprocity , 1996 .

[47]  William C. Black,et al.  A Longitudinal Assessment of the Impact of Selected Organizational Influences on Salespeople's Organizational Commitment during Early Employment , 1990 .