Effects of Competitive Psychological Climate, Work-Family Conflict and Role Conflict on Customer Orientation the Case of Call Center Employees in India

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to consider the impact of a competitive psychological climate on the levels of role conflict and work-family conflict in call center employees and their further impact on customer orientation. Design/methodology/approach - The conceptual model is developed through a review of literature and is then validated in the context of call center employees in India. A total of 281 responses were considered. The model is validated using a multi-group analysis in order to consider a possible influence of gender. Findings - The model is found to have a very good fit and four of the five hypothesized relationships are found to be significant. The study thus establishes the impact of a competitive psychological climate on the role conflict and work-life conflict in the case of service employees. Research limitations/implications - The study uses a self-reported measure of customer orientation as well as the sampling methodology is not random. These two aspects could limit the generalizability of the results. Practical implications - The paper gives empirical support against adoption of competition-based practices in service organizations. This is an important implication for practitioners. Originality/value - The study looks at the impact of competitive psychological climate in call centers, a construct hitherto not much analyzed. The analysis of the relationship between competitive psychological climate, role conflict and work- family conflict have also not been looked into in the previous literature.