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How and when customer feedback influences organizational health

Petra Kipfelsberger (Institute for Leadership and Human Resource Management, University of St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland)
Dennis Herhausen (Institute of Marketing, University of St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland)
Heike Bruch (Institute for Leadership and Human Resource Management, University of St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland)

Journal of Managerial Psychology

ISSN: 0268-3946

Article publication date: 14 March 2016

2174

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how and when customers influence organizational climate and organizational health through their feedback. Based on affective events theory, the authors classify both positive and negative customer feedback (PCF and NCF) as affective work events. The authors expect that these events influence the positive affective climate of an organization and ultimately organizational health, and that the relationships are moderated by empowerment climate.

Design/methodology/approach

Structural equation modeling was utilized to analyze survey data obtained from a sample of 178 board members, 80 HR representatives, and 10,953 employees from 80 independent organizations.

Findings

The findings support the expected indirect effects. Furthermore, empowerment climate strengthened the impact of PCF on organizational health but does not affect the relationship between NCF and organizational health.

Research limitations/implications

The cross-sectional design is a potential limitation of the study.

Practical implications

Managers should be aware that customer feedback influences an organization’s emotional climate and organizational health. Based on the results organizations might actively disseminate PCF and establish an empowerment climate. With regard to NCF, managers might consider the potential affective and health-related consequences for employees and organizations.

Social implications

Customers are able to contribute to an organization’s positive affective climate and to organizational health if they provide positive feedback to organizations.

Originality/value

By providing first insights into the consequences of both PCF and NCF on organizational health, this study opens a new avenue for scientific inquiry of customer influences on employees at the organizational level.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This paper was part of the INBAM 2014 conference. The authors thank the two reviewers and all participants of the INBAM conference 2014 in Barcelona for their constructive and helpful comments. The authors also acknowledge the feedback and support from Hendrik Hüttermann during the development of this paper. An earlier version of this paper has been presented at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management in Philadelphia, 2014.

Citation

Kipfelsberger, P., Herhausen, D. and Bruch, H. (2016), "How and when customer feedback influences organizational health", Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 31 No. 2, pp. 624-640. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-09-2014-0262

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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