Research On The Relationship Between Customer Participation And Employee Job Satisfaction

In the production and delivery, customers play a positive role. Thus, they become the partial employees of the ernterprise. For example, customers design the style of their shoes by themselves by using the virtual 3D technique. Customers also actively participate in the personal financial plan with the financial planners. Enterprises should also open up more process and system to customers in order to satisfy customers' participationCustomers obtain the various kinds of interests, such as economic interest, social interest, controlling interest and spiritual interest in the course of participation. Finally, the participation leads to the customer satisfaction. However, in the production and delivery, simultaneity of produce and consume is an important feature. That is to say, it is inevitable that employees contact customers. According to the theory of service profit chain, there is influence between customer satisfaction and employee job satisfaction. As the ancient zen said, we know the sound of the left hand gamble with the right hand, but we donot know the sound of one hand gamble. Therefore, since custoler participation leads to customer satisfaction, does it also result in employee satisfaction on the job?Through the literature review, we find that the research on the relationship between customer participation and employee job satisfaction is not much. Moreover, the conclusion is not consistent. For example, the Chinese scholars Wang and wang (2008) had empirical evidence that there was positive correlation betweeen customer participation and employee job satisfaction. However, Chan,Yim and Lam(2010) proved that there was negative correlation betweeen customer participation and employee job satisfaction. Thus, there is uncertainty between customer participation and employee job satisfaction. Therefore, this research will introduce two moderating variables, role orientation and perspective taking, from the standpoint of role theory and further discuss the effect of customer participation on employee job satisfaction in order to make some contribution to the theory and practice.This paper comprises four parts of introduction, theory development, empirical analysis and conclusion. The introduction part includes the 1st chapter which mainly clarifying the background and significance of this research as well as the research purpose and framework. Theory development comprises the 2nd and the 3'chapter, we bring forward a research perspective and theory framework based on the review and analysis of the present literature such as customer participation and the role theory. Chapter 4 and 5 consist of the empirical analysis. We verify our hypotheses and modle through 2 Scenario simulation experiments. Chapter 6 consists of the forth part. We conclude the results and management and practice meaning. We also point out the limit in our research and make some suggestions to future research.The outline of each chapter is as follow:Chapter 1 is introduction. It points out the background and significance of the research. Service economy has become an inevitable trend of a highly developed society. Although the development of Chinese service ecinomy has lagged behind, it also shows that Chinese service economy remains huge space for development. Moreover, the government of China has specifically mentioned to become the service-oriented industry structure. However, customet participation is inevitable in service production and delivery. Significant amount of research had shown conclusively that customers were satisfied because they gained economical benefit and spiritual benefit in participation. However, were employees satisfied while customers were satisfied?Based on above, we present the topics, methods and frame in the study. Based on the theory role, we will put research importance on the influence of customer participation on employee job satisfaction by introducing two moderate variables of role orientation and perspective taking and by a unique method combining criterion study and demonstration study.Chapter 2 is literature review. We reviewd the important literature at home and foreign that was related to the research variables such as customer participation, job stress, role orientation, perspective taking and employee job satisfaction. The key problem is that we introduce three variables, namely, role stress, role orientation, and perspective taking, from Thibaut and Kelley's role definition.Chapter 3 is research model and hypothesis-deduction. In this chapter we introduce the research model and interpret the hypothetical relation among variables. Compared with low customer participation, employees perceive more role stress when they face high customer participation. Compared with low employee role stress, employees perceive lower job satisfaction when they face high role stress. Employees' role orientation moderates the effect of customer participation on employee role stress. For high customer participation, low role orientation brings employees more job stress.Employees'perspective taking moderates the effect of customer participation on employee role stress. For high customer participation, low perspective taking brings employees more job stress.Chapter 4 is the first study. By manipulating experimental scenario of MBA students'participation in classroom teaching, the first study checked the effect of customer participation on employee role stress, the effect of employee role stress on employee job satisfaction and the moderate effect of employee role orientation on the relationship between customer participation and employee role stress. The study proves three points. Firstly, compared with low customer participation, employees perceive more role stress when they face high customer participation. Secondly, compared with low employee role stress, employees perceive lower job satisfaction when they face high role stress. Lastly, employees'role orientation moderates the effect of customer participation on employee role stress, namely, for high customer participation, low role orientation brings employees more job stress.Chapter 5 is the second study. By manipulating experimental scenario of MBA students'participation in classroom teaching, the second study checked the effect of customer participation on employee role stress, the effect of employee role stress on employee job satisfaction and the moderate effect of employee perspective taking on the relationship between customer participation and employee role stress. The study proves three points. Firstly, compared with low customer participation, employees perceive more role stress when they face high customer participation. Secondly, compared with low employee role stress, employees perceive lower job satisfaction when they face high role stress. Lastly, employees' perspective taking moderates the effect of customer participation on employee role stress, namely, for high customer participation, low perspective taking brings employees more job stress.Chapter 6 is research conclusion and prospect. Based on the before-mentioned theories and demonstrations, this chapter concludes the whole research result and and gives discussion. The study makes the following academic contribution:firstly, this research enriches the research of the relationship between customer participation and employee job satisfaction. Secondly, the study introduces three operable variables from the role definition. Thus, this paper not only gets theory support for further research but also enables it feasible. The study makes the following management contribution:firstly, the enterprises should pay more attention to employees, special their role stress when they encourage customer participation. Secondly, the employee must conduct himself in a professional manner. Lastly, customers should be socialized.In brief, in order to systematically discuss the effect of customer participation on employee job satisfaction, with the education industry in the background and with the role theory in perspective this research reviewed the relevant theories and literatures on psychology, consumer behavior, sociology and marketing and applied the method combining criterion research and demonstration research.