New perspective on customer orientation of service employees: a conceptual framework

Abstract

Customer orientation of service employees (COSE) refers to the capacity and skills of employees to (1) identify, understand and satisfy their clients' needs, and (2) act to that end. The COSE model has been used extensively to assess customer orientation of service employees within different settings. However, minimal modifications from the original have been presented so far, and the proposed settings were unrelated to highly relational services such as private banking (PB).PB is defined as the services specifically designed to satisfy the financial needs of high net worth individuals (HNWI); they are usually delivered by only one contact person -the private banker. Thus, PB is based on a personal and long-lasting relationship between the private banker and the client. Drawing on the literature regarding customer orientation and PB, trust, loyalty and word of mouth are identified as the potential consequences of COSE, improving on previous models.These new propositions are accompanied by a conceptual framework of COSE that is able to address the PB particularities by considering some moderating variables that are inherent to the PB service (customer segment and type of banking firm).Further avenues for research are then charted in light of the new conceptual framework developed.

Interfunctional coordination: the role of digitalization

“…Another future area of research is to investigate how digitalization as a strategic driver can enhance IC as a dynamic capability to improve customer orientation (Hennig-Thurau, 2004; Morales Mediano and Ruiz-Alba, 2018; González-Porras et al , 2019).…”

Customer orientation in highly relational services

“…Morgan and Oliver Wyman, 2014). Morales Mediano and Ruiz-Alba (2018) defined PB as the set of services and products offered to people with investible assets over €500,000. According to this study, PB is a front-runner in HRS because of the high involvement of employees and their level of judgement, as well as the personal, long-lasting relationships with the customers.…”

“…Since then, relevant authors have thoroughly studied this construct (Narver and Slater, 1990; Deshpandé et al , 1993; Singh and Koshy, 2012). Although CO is a mature concept in marketing (Kelley, 1992), it has gained recent interest amongst academics (Singh and Koshy, 2012; Morales Mediano and Ruiz-Alba, 2018). However, the current literature about the CO construct still has gaps, and missing is research that examines the most relevant CO models for different needs.…”

“…This paper offers significant opportunities for further investigation, derived from the literature review and the findings made regarding the COSE model. This research avenue would be a series of research propositions (RP) based on this study and the adaptation of the conceptual model proposed by Morales Mediano and Ruiz-Alba (2018) (see Figure 1). These propositions and the corresponding model are a remarkable improvement of previous studies that examine COSE as they consider the new consequences of trust, loyalty, and co-creation, and therefore would be of high interest for the academia in future research.…”

“…(3) What are the outcomes of COSE in HRS? Such research would significantly contribute to the existing literature as it would use a research setting that demands the highest levels of employee engagement and participation (Morales Mediano and Ruiz-Alba, 2018). Moreover, it would also help to explore those consequences of CO that would definitively help to distinguish a service company from its competitors to create a sustainable competitive advantage (Appiah-Adu et al, 2001).…”