The “why” of HR practices: employee attributions regarding HR practices and resulting effects on service climate and employee attitudes in casinos

Abstract

For service businesses, a key goal is the consistent delivery of exceptionally high levels of service quality. A hospitality organisation that emphasises service in everything it says and does is more likely to achieve high levels of service quality, customer satisfaction and competitive advantage. This thesis applies a services management framework to the study of casinos. The research contributes to knowledge by examining the differential effects of employee interpretations of human resources (HR) practices on service climate and job-related attitudes.The research problem has three aspects. First, academics and practitioners need to better understand the internal dynamics that affect the development of an organisational climate for service. A positive service climate encourages desirable service-related behaviours. Second, although it is widely understood why human resource management (HRM) can contribute to positive organisational outcomes, it is not well understood exactly how HRM is connected with such desirable outcomes.In particular, this thesis explores the effect of the differential attributions that employees make regarding why their organisation has implemented its chosen set of HR practices. Third, research that addresses HR and service-related variables in the casino industry is lacking. Some evidence suggests that the casino industry has specific contextual characteristics that may set it apart from other industries in terms of organisational dynamics.The purpose of this thesis is to examine the impact of employee attributions regarding HR practices on perceptions of service climate and important work-related employee attitudes in the context of the casino industry. Further aims are to provide insight into the specific working conditions in the casino industry that have an impact on employee perceptions and attitudes, and to examine what causes these employees to make particular attributions regarding HR practices. The research questions to be addressed are: The study is premised on a post-positivist perspective, with a realist approach to knowledge. The research design included a mix of methods in a sequential explanatory design involving two stages. The study organisations were two Australian casino hotels, "Casino Ace" and "Casino Baccarat". Both participating casino hotels are located in regional and remote locations. Employees of these two casino hotels were participants for each data collection stage.The first stage was quantitative and explored the first two research questions. The data collection instrument was a self-report questionnaire designed to measure each of the variables of interest: employee attributions of HR practices, perceptions of service climate, job satisfaction and organisational commitment. A total of 443 usable surveys were collected across the two data collection sites: 139 completed questionnaires at Casino Ace and 304 at Casino Baccarat (representing a response rate from the sample of 87% and 95% respectively). Data analysis techniques adopted to explore the r...