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

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1041.2021.00215

Abstract

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

GUO Gongxing, CHENG Bao. (2021). Effects of customer empowering behaviors on employees’ career growth: Perspective of self-determination theory. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 53(2), 215-228.

Figures/Tables 7

References 74

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Model	χ²	df	χ²/df	IFI	TLI	CFI	RMSEA
Four-factor model	428.92	269	1.60	0.92	0.91	0.92	0.05
Three-factor model ^a	572.17	272	2.10	0.85	0.83	0.85	0.07
Three-factor model ^b	796.11	272	2.93	0.74	0.71	0.74	0.09
Three-factor model ^c	785.83	272	2.90	0.75	0.72	0.74	0.09
Three-factor model ^d	803.24	272	2.95	0.74	0.71	0.73	0.09
Single factor model ^e	1293.71	275	4.70	0.49	0.44	0.49	0.12

Model	χ²	df	χ²/df	IFI	TLI	CFI	RMSEA
Four-factor model	428.92	269	1.60	0.92	0.91	0.92	0.05
Three-factor model ^a	572.17	272	2.10	0.85	0.83	0.85	0.07
Three-factor model ^b	796.11	272	2.93	0.74	0.71	0.74	0.09
Three-factor model ^c	785.83	272	2.90	0.75	0.72	0.74	0.09
Three-factor model ^d	803.24	272	2.95	0.74	0.71	0.73	0.09
Single factor model ^e	1293.71	275	4.70	0.49	0.44	0.49	0.12

Variable	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
1. Sex
2. Age	0.16*
3. Education	0.05	0.04
4. Tenure	-0.03	0.39**	0.20**
5. Proactive personality	0.03	0.06	0.08	0.09
6. Customer empowering behaviors	-0.10	0.07	0.04	0.05	0.01	(0.72)
7. Career centrality	0.10	-0.03	0.01	0.02	-0.06	0.07	(0.82)
8. Organization-based self-esteem	0.00	-0.04	0.08	-0.04	-0.01	0.31**	0.15*	(0.76)
9. Career growth	0.00	-0.02	-0.06	-0.07	0.03	0.30**	0.01	0.26**	(0.96)
Mean value	1.63	3.01	1.34	2.25	3.67	3.65	3.97	3.70	-
Standard deviation	0.48	1.40	0.55	1.16	0.56	0.50	0.71	0.50	-

Variable	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
1. Sex
2. Age	0.16*
3. Education	0.05	0.04
4. Tenure	-0.03	0.39**	0.20**
5. Proactive personality	0.03	0.06	0.08	0.09
6. Customer empowering behaviors	-0.10	0.07	0.04	0.05	0.01	(0.72)
7. Career centrality	0.10	-0.03	0.01	0.02	-0.06	0.07	(0.82)
8. Organization-based self-esteem	0.00	-0.04	0.08	-0.04	-0.01	0.31**	0.15*	(0.76)
9. Career growth	0.00	-0.02	-0.06	-0.07	0.03	0.30**	0.01	0.26**	(0.96)
Mean value	1.63	3.01	1.34	2.25	3.67	3.65	3.97	3.70	-
Standard deviation	0.48	1.40	0.55	1.16	0.56	0.50	0.71	0.50	-

Explanatory variables	Organization-based self-esteem				Career growth
Explanatory variables	M1	M2	M3	M4	M5	M6	M7	M8
Control variable
Sex	-0.00	0.04	0.02	0.00	-0.00	0.03	-0.00	0.03
Age	-0.02	-0.05	-0.04	-0.03	0.01	-0.02	0.02	-0.01
Education	0.09	0.08	0.08	0.08	-0.05	-0.06	-0.07	-0.07
Tenure	-0.05	-0.05	-0.06	-0.05	-0.07	-0.07	-0.06	-0.06
Proactive personality	-0.01	-0.01	0.00	0.01	0.04	0.04	0.04	0.04
Independent variable
Customer empowering behaviors		0.32**	0.31**	0.27**		0.31**		0.25**
Mediator
Organization-based self-esteem							0.27**	0.19**
Moderator
Career centrality			0.13*	0.14*
Interaction
Customer empowering behaviors × Career centrality				0.14*
F	0.49	4.96	4.93	4.98	0.42	4.58	3.39	5.25
ΔF	0.49	27.01**	4.31*	4.83*	0.42	25.17**	18.10**	8.44**
R²	0.01	0.11	0.13	0.15	0.01	0.10	0.08	0.13
ΔR²	0.01	0.10**	0.02*	0.02*	0.01	0.10**	0.07**	0.03**