Review about the article: Wafaaaa Satisfaction

Introduction
The Journal of Service Research (JBS) is worldwide read journal ranked 40 out of 103 as reported by Reuters in Business-based journals. It provides the updates necessary for improving the delivery of services.The authors of the article: “How Employer and Employee Satisfaction Affect Customer Satisfaction: An Application to Franchise Services”, Prof. Heiner Evanschitzky is a professor of marketing having obtained the PhD from the University of Muenster. He is as well Chair of Marketing at Aston Business School having moved from University of Strathclyde still serving as professor of marketing. He also serves as an affiliate professor to two other Universities. He has over 100 articles published in leading business journal and has won several Best Paper awards which altogether makes an article written by him worth consideration. He lectures at MBA level. He is a member of the editorial board of JBS and Industrial Marketing Management. His interest in research are adherent to service and retail marketing (Evanschitzky). Christopher J. Groening completed his PhD from Trulaske College of Business and is engaged with teaching at the University of Missouri as assistant professor of Marketing. Vikas Mittal is Professor of Marketing at the Jones Graduate School of Business (Mittal). Prof. Mittal was awarded the William O’Dell Award for the most significant long-term contribution to theory in 2006; moreover he had previous awards (2003-best professor) and recognitions (FedEx Excellence in service research).
The purpose of the article was to trail the mutual benefit of having satisfied employees and where the satisfaction can be triggered from. The writers have analyzed the title using qualitative and quantitative data/material to verify the points that are significant to the reciprocating process between the three participants; the franchisee-owner, the employee and the customer. The writer seems to identify the owner of franchise as the initiator of the satisfaction stream. It examines what options would franchise-owners take given choices that require sacrifices if “owner-managers maximize their own satisfaction at the expense of employee and/or customer satisfaction”.
Analysis
How the employer and employee satisfaction affect customer satisfaction has been identified and followed with quantitative analysis on a survey carried out on a medium-sized European franchise system, the number of employees and that of customers make it suitable for the examination of the identified characteristic. There is recognition of front-line employees as the main group who tackle employee satisfaction after themselves is being motivated by the franchisee-owner “the owner-franchisee must manage both employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction to optimize business performance” (Heiner et al, 2011). Thus the owner has no need to be directly involved in customer satisfaction. Employees’ satisfaction is linked with good consumer-franchise relationship and establishment of repurchase intentions. There is the identification that among the three correlated points of satisfaction, the employee satisfaction is likely to be considered last “an owner-franchisee may maximize his satisfaction at the expense of employee satisfaction (through low pay and benefits)” (Heiner et al, 2011) yet they complement each other with consumer satisfaction. Franchise owners may also consider themselves before the two other parties. The author also identifies that employee satisfaction is not measured on the employees themselves rather on their working environment. Employee satisfaction doubles positively the effect on consumer satisfaction (Heiner et al, 2011).
Theoretical background
On theoretical background, the merits and demerits of franchise are put on scale. Both sides have been evaluated which makes the context satisfactorily useful. With the owner of franchise satisfied, the employees are satisfied to serve enthusiastically; through a boost in morale, cooperation and efficiency. With the owner’s dissatisfaction, strife emerges to satisfy themselves at the expense of the employees “Low owner-franchisee satisfaction results in suboptimal financial and nonfinancial outcomes due to opportunistic behavior” (Heiner et al, 2011). Franchising may also involve retention of a quality workforce. Employee satisfaction is rated using relationship with immediate superiors, work organization and experiences with team. On the other hand customer satisfaction is rated using variety of offers so that they enjoy wide range of choices, service quality and prices. The author almost exhausts the main points into consideration about factors that compose satisfaction.
When analyzing Generalized Exchange Theory (GET), the author is keen to state that it was only applied to social marketing when it comes to business however he recognizes its importance in understanding the concept of franchise operations with the trail of complements through the owners, employees and customers as exchange partners “actors having expectations of equality of reciprocity” (Heiner et al, 2011). Reciprocation is identified through the indirect satisfaction of the customer because the owners have motivated the frontline employee and the owner may gain through increased revenues because the employee service to the customer was satisfactory. The author identifies areas in which GET is directly applicable; the kinship in African led by council of elders etc (Heiner et al, 2011).
In the hypotheses of the Generalized Social Exchange in a franchise network, reciprocating benefits are identified to be moving in two mutual but opposite directions. The author mentions the reason as to why the reciprocation process sometimes fails to yield benefits to the franchisee even though the customer is satisfied; because of “mediating mechanism”.
Employee satisfaction is the approved way to ensure customer satisfaction and customer purchase intentions. However the owner may ensure this through guidelines that are strictly directed to the employee to follow which would fall under the fore-mentioned opportunistic behavior. The author also recognizes the impact of the employee satisfaction to customer satisfaction as guided by the moderating factor which is more than the direct effect of employees’ satisfaction on customers. Vigilant customers can as well evaluate the franchisee treatment of the employees summarized under the organizational support theory (OST) which states that employees will feel an obligation of meeting the company’s objectives if the company shows concern about their well-being too (Heiner et al, 2011). The difference of reciprocating effect will be visible in the outlets of the franchise which bear varying employee satisfaction.
Conclusion
The writer has given the necessary information to warrant credibility to the sample survey exercise. A franchise system with a turnover of 5 billion Euros, 300 outlets and an average of 50 around employees per outlet and similar business environment provides a good sample (Heiner et al, 2011). There is assurance of use of conventional statistical such as randomness and anonymous labeling to ensure that respondents fill in their honest opinion without fear of being identified.
In data aggregation, the writer concludes that there is a close link between employees and owner-franchisee. The reasons given for not correlating the customer satisfaction to employee satisfaction using the data is identified as the fact that customers just as employees do not stick to the same customer or employee. The first hypothesis states that owner-franchise satisfaction and customer satisfaction is mediated through overall employee satisfaction. The second hypothesis states that overall customer intentions are moderated by employee satisfaction through employee satisfaction (Heiner et al, 2011).
Owners who are satisfied are more likely to have a positive impact on customers through reciprocating operations ‘‘double- positive effect” through “repurchase intentions and financial optimality”. Without the mediating effort of employees then the owners have limited means of sustaining customers with strong behavioral purchase intentions. The effect of the mediator are limited to the medium-sized to large franchise in which the owner has no direct contact with customers while in the small businesses the owners are in contact with customers (Heiner et al, 2011).
The implication of the article may take managers to task by changing the long-standing perception of considering the satisfaction of customers as the most relevant while giving employee satisfaction little relevance, managers will identify that satisfying employees as the simpler, easier and sure way of satisfying the franchise owners in the long-run.
Reference
Heiner, E, et al, 2011, How employer and employee satisfaction affect customer satisfaction, Journal of Service Research. Vol. 14 Issue 2 p136-148, 13p.
Evanschitzky, H, Atson Business School: Professor Heiner Evanschitzky, retrieved 17th November from http://www1.aston.ac.uk/aston-business-school/staff/academic/marketing/professor-heiner evanschitzky/
Mittal, V,Faculty Directory, Jones Graduate School of Business, retrieved 17th November from http://business.rice.edu/Vikas_Mittal/