Attitudes and behaviors as predictors of service quality in the telecommunications sector context

Purpose: Service quality (SQ) is considered an organizational performance indicator that largely depends on employees’ attitudes and behaviors. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating effect of employees’ citizenship behavior (OCB) on the relationship between affective commitment (AC) and SQ. Design/methodology/approach: The current study has relied on two questionnaire surveys to gather cross-sectional data from 800 employees and 400 customers of telecommunications companies in Kuwait. Structural equation modeling via AMOS22 was used to build and test the hypothesized model. Findings: The results show that OCB significantly and positively affects SQ dimensions except empathy which demonstrates insignificant association. Also, AC was found to be a strong predictor of OCB. More interestingly, the results show that AC does not show any effect on either responsiveness or empathy, while a partial mediation was found between AC and tangibles, reliability, and assurance. Practical implications: The findings of the current study provide managers and practitioners with empirically validated model of how SQ can be achieved. The model indicates that managers need to increase the level of citizenship behavior through leveraging their employees’ AC, which in turn can result in a positive perception of SQ. Originality/value: This study is considered among the first to investigate the causal effect of both OCB and AC on achieving high SQ. Also, the findings of this study further support the indirect relationship of AC and SQ. Moreover, this study is unique in its attempt to link both AC and OCB to the dimensions of SQ. Finally, this study is considered the first empirical investigation of SQ in the telecommunication sector in Kuwait.