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Picking Sides: Relational Identification as a Moderator of Service Employee Reactions to Unfair Customer Treatment

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Abstract

We explored the question of how employees react to the perceived fairness of their manager’s treatment of customers. Current models of third-party justice reactions produce two tenable but mutually exclusive responses to observed manager-customer treatment: Relational affirmation, in which service employees engage customers in ways perceived to be congruent with manager-customer treatment, and relational restoration, in which they attempt to rebalance or restore their perceived relationship with customers to counteract observed treatment. Hypothesizing both effects, we explore the role of service employees’ relational identification with customers as a moderator of these two employee reactions. Across a field study of nursing assistants (n = 107) and their supervisors (n = 7), and a laboratory study with a simulated customer service help desk (n = 100), employee-customer identification was found to interact with supervisor-customer interpersonal justice such that the relationship between perceived justice and pro-customer behavior was positive when employee-customer identification was low (consistent with relational affirmation) and negative when employee-customer identification was high (consistent with relational restoration) (Study 1: β = −.22; Study 2: η2 = .07).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mohammed Bin Salman College of Business and Entrepreneurship, 7082 Bay la Sun – Juman, King Abdullah Economic City, 23964-2522, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Joel M. Evans

  2. Claremont Graduate University, 150 E. Tenth Street, Claremont, CA, 91711, USA

    Stephen W. Gilliland

  3. Goddard School of Business and Economics, Weber State University, Ogden, UT, 84408, USA

    Jennifer S. Anderson

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Appendix

Appendix

Manipulation of Supervisor-Customer Interpersonal Justice (Study 2)

Important: Please read before participating in the mentoring program

As a mentor, you represent the [business college name]. To maintain the applicants’ positive image of the college, therefore, it is imperative that you not say anything negative or anything that could reflect poorly on [business college]—even if those things represent your own [business college] experience. In this way, you will help to ensure that [business college] continues to receive the highest possible number of applications.

In addition, you may sometimes get questions about course scheduling or admission that you don’t know how to answer. If that happens, refer them to the pre-business advisors.

Hi All,

I have also provided an example email exchange I had with a [business college] applicant. Scroll to the bottom to read their inquiry, then read my response.

Josh

[Unfair Condition]

Sarah,

Where did you get your information? You are completely wrong—you absolutely have to do an admissions interview, regardless of GPA.

It is your responsibility to make sure you are getting accurate information, and we cannot be held responsible for something the admissions office may or may not have told you.

You can try talking to an advisor or apply again next semester.

Josh

Student Mentor Program

[signature detail]

  Quoting sjn37@[university domain]:

  Please help! Admissions told me if I have a pre-business GPA of at least 3.2

  I wouldn’t need to do an admissions interview to get into [business college]. But now > that the deadline has passed, I’ve been told that I have not been accepted because

  I didn’t do the interview (!). I have to reapply next semester! So please

  tell me—is the admissions interview required, even though I have a 3.66 GPA??

  Sarah

[Fair Condition]

Dear Sarah,

I am very, very sorry we provided you inaccurate information. To set the record straight—you absolutely have to do an admissions interview, regardless of GPA.

A number of years ago, [business college] was considering a proposal to let students with a certain GPA bypass the interview. But it has never been put into effect. Admissions clearly was wrong in what they told you.

Again, I’m so sorry for the misinformation we provided. Please try talking to an advisor. Good luck and let me know if you have any more questions.

Josh

Student Mentor Program

[signature detail]

  Quoting sjn37@[university domain]:

  Please help! Admissions told me if I have a pre-business GPA of at least 3.2

  I wouldn’t need to do an admissions interview to get into [business college]. But now > that the deadline has passed, I’ve been told that I have not been accepted because

  I didn’t do the interview (!). I have to reapply next semester! So please

  tell me—is the admissions interview required, even though I have a 3.66 GPA??

  Sarah

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Evans, J.M., Gilliland, S.W. & Anderson, J.S. Picking Sides: Relational Identification as a Moderator of Service Employee Reactions to Unfair Customer Treatment. J Bus Psychol 38, 743–761 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-022-09833-z

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