ISSN 0439-755X
CN 11-1911/B

Acta Psychologica Sinica ›› 2021, Vol. 53 ›› Issue (2): 215-228.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2021.00215

• Reports of Empirical Studies • Previous Articles    

Effects of customer empowering behaviors on employees’ career growth: Perspective of self-determination theory

GUO Gongxing1, CHENG Bao2()   

  1. 1School of Business, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, China
    2School of Business Administration, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu 611130, China
  • Received:2020-03-02 Published:2021-02-25 Online:2020-12-29
  • Contact: CHENG Bao E-mail:chengbao@swufe.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation(2019A1515011464);Guangdong Science and Technology Special Fund Project(2019ST002)

Abstract:

Focusing on the concept of customer empowering behaviors, based on the self-determination theory, and introducing organization-based self-esteem as a mediating variable and career centrality as a moderating variable, this study investigates the mechanism and the boundary of the influence of customer empowering behaviors on career growth of the front-line service employees. Through a three-stage time-lag research design, 245 valid samples were obtained, the results showed that: (1) customer empowering behaviors have a significant positive impact on employees’ career growth; (2) organization-based self-esteem plays a partial mediating role in the relationship between customer empowering behaviors and employees’ career growth; (3) career centrality plays a moderating role in the relationship between customer empowering behaviors and organization-based self-esteem: the positive effect of customer empowering behaviors on organization-based self-esteem is stronger when the level of employee career centrality is higher; (4) career centrality further moderates the indirect effect of customer empowering behaviors on employees’ career growth via organization-based self-esteem: the positive effect of customer empowering behaviors on career growth through organization-based self-esteem is enhanced when the level of employee career centrality is higher.

Key words: customer empowering behaviors, organization-based self-esteem, career centrality, career growth