Customer orientation, self -monitoring, role stress, and job performance of contact employees: Implications for retailers

Identifying factors that impact the selection and job performance of contact employees is essential for retailers attempting to compete on the basis of service quality. The purpose of this study was to (a) identify and describe the demographic characteristics and employment attributes of contact employees and (b) assess the relationships between job performance and the variables of customer orientation, self-monitoring, role stress, demographic characteristics, and employment attributes. Contact employees with selling responsibilities (N = 179) at two units of a national U.S. retailer participated in the study. A self-administered questionnaire was constructed to obtain data using the drop-off, pick-up method.;Results indicated the demographic characteristics of age and education were related to customer orientation, and education was related to job performance. Younger employees and those over age 50 tended to be less customer oriented. Participants with a 2-year associate's degree, a 4-year bachelor's degree, graduate work, or a graduate degree tended to be more customer oriented and to demonstrate higher levels of job performance in terms of both sales and service behavior. Male participants more than female participants tended to report higher levels of role conflict. Regarding employment attributes, participants with more than 5 years of experience tended to be more customer oriented, while participants with more than 5 years of tenure tended to be less able to modify their behavior when necessary.;Results indicated that job performance was related to role ambiguity, self-monitoring, and customer orientation. Participants who experienced high levels of role ambiguity tended to be less knowledgeable about products, have lower overall sales volume, and fewer repeat customers. Participants who were able to modify their behavior to accommodate others in a social situation, were more likely to exhibit higher levels of service behavior. Also, participants with high levels of customer orientation tended to have higher average sales per ticket, higher overall sales volume, and more repeat customers. Implications for retailers were drawn from the findings.