FRONTLINE EMPLOYEE COMPETENCE DEVELOPMENT AND RESPONSIVENESS OF QUICK SERVICE RESTAURANTS

Chinyere Stella Nwulu, Brown Walter Ateke

Abstract


The aim of this study was to determine the nexus between frontline employee competence development and responsiveness of QSRs, using training, coaching and mentoring as dimensions of competence development. Responsiveness was treated unidimensionally. The study adopted an explanatory research design and used a questionnaire to collect primary data; while the Spearman’s rank order correlation served as the test statistic, relying on SPSS version 20.0. The study observed that frontline employee competence development associates strongly with responsiveness of QSRs as all the dimensions of competence development posted strong, positive and statistically significant relationship with responsiveness. The study concludes that frontline employee competence development informs responsiveness of QSRs, or that responsiveness of QSRs depends on mentoring, training and coaching of frontline employees. The study recommends that QSRs that seek to be responsive to changes in their operating environments must continually update the competencies of their frontline employees through mentoring, training and coaching. 

 

Article visualizations:

Hit counter

DOI

Keywords


competence development, coaching, frontline employees, mentoring, training, responsiveness

Full Text:

PDF

References


Agha, S., Alrubaiee, L., & Jamhour, M. (2012). Effect of core competence on competitive advantage and organizational performance. International Journal of Business and Management, 7(1), 192-204.

Ainsworth, M. D. S. (1989). Attachments beyond infancy. American Psychologist, 44.709 716.

Andrews, R. K. (1987). The concept of corporate strategy. 3rd Edition. Homewood, Illinois: Irwin.

Asiegbu, I. F., Awa, H. O., Akpotu, C., & Ogbonna, U. B. (2011). Salesforce competence development and marketing performance of industrial and domestic products firms in Nigeria. Far East Journal of Psychology and Business, 2(3), 43-59.

Asree, S., Zain, M., & Razalli, M. R. (2010). Influence of leadership competency and organizational culture on responsiveness and performance of firms. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 22(4), 500- 516

Ateke, B. W., & Didia, J. U. D. (2017). Agile supply chain management practices for efficient service delivery. International Journal of Social Policy, Management and Administration, 5(2), 31-50. 11.

Ateke, B. W., & Nadube, P. M. (2007). Agile marketing for organizational resilience in a dynamic business environment: A theoretical reflection. Rhema University Journal of Management and Social Science, 5(2), 133-143.

Ateke, B. W., & Kalu, S. E. (2016). Managing the salesforce for competitiveness: Experience from insurance firms in Port Harcourt. Ilorin Journal of Marketing, 3(2)1-15.

Austin, A. E. (2002). Preparing the next generation of faculty. The Journal of Higher Education, 73, 94-122.

Barki, H., & Pinsonneault, A. (2005). A model of organizational integration, implementation effort, and performance. Organization Science, 16(2), 165-179.

Bani-Hani, J. S., and AL-Hawary, F. (2009). The impact of core competences on competitive advantage: strategic challenge. International Bulletin of Business Administration, 6, 93-104.

Barney, J. (1991). Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage. Journal of Management, 17, 99-120.

Bhatt, G., Emdad, A., Roberts, N., & Grover, V. (2010). Building and leveraging information in dynamic environments: The role of IT infrastructure flexibility as enabler of organizational responsiveness and competitive advantage. Information & Management, 47, 341–349

Bontis, N. (1999). Managing organizational knowledge by diagnosing intellectual capital: Framing and advancing the state of the field. International Journal of Technology Management, 18, 433-462.

Bowen, D. E., & Hallowell, R. (2002). Suppose we took service seriously? Academy of Management Executive, 16, 69-72.

Brannen, M. Y., & Doz, Y. L (2012). Corporate languages and strategic agility: trapped in your jargon or lost in translation? California Management Review, 54, 77-97.

Brueller, N. N., Carmeli, A., & Drori, I. (2014). How do different types of mergers and acquisitions facilitate strategic agility? California Management Review, 56, 39-57.

Bryman A., & Bell, E. (2007). Business research methods. 2nd Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Byrne, M. W., & Keefe, M. R. (2002). Building research competence in nursing through mentoring. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 34(4), 391-396.

Calantone, R. J., Cavusgil, S. T., & Zhao, Y. (2002). Learning orientation, firm innovation capability, and firm performance. Industrial Marketing Management, 31(6), 515-24.

Cepeda, G., & Vera, D. (2007). Dynamic capabilities and operational capabilities: A knowledge management perspective. Journal of Business Research, 60(5), 426-437.

Chandler, A. D. (1962). Strategy and structure: Chapters in the history of the industrial enterprise. Cambridge: MIT Press

Chen, E. L., Katila, R., McDonald, R., & Eisenhardt K. M. (2010). Life in the fast lane: Origins of competitive interaction in new vs. established markets. Strategic Management Journal, 31, 1527-1547.

Collins, J. D., & Hitt, M. A. (2006). Leveraging tacit knowledge in alliances: The importance of using relational capabilities to build and leverage relational capital. Journal of Engineering and Technology Management, 23(3), 147-167.

Crosby, L. A., Evans, K. R. & Cowles, D. (1990). Relationship quality in services selling: An interpersonal influence perspective. Journal of Marketing, 54, 68-81.

Czepiel, J. A. (1990). Service encounters and service relationships: implications for research. Journal of Business Research, 20(1), 13-21

Dyer, L., & Ericksen, J. (2005). In pursuit of marketplace agility: Applying precepts of self‐organizing systems to optimize human resource scalability. Human Resource Management, 44(2), 183-188.

Fine, L. & Pullins, E. (1998). Peer Mentoring Dyads in the Industrial Salesforce: Does Gender Matter? Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 18(4), 89-103.

Ghorbani, M., & Ahmadi, S. (2011). Relationship between employee's empowerment dimensions and creativity improvement in educational organizations. Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research, 10 (2): 213-217.

Gillis, M., & Beauchemin, K. (2000). Sales training: The ideal rep. Pharmaceutical Executive, December, 1-5.

Grant, R. M. (1991). The resource-based theory of competitive advantage: Implications for strategy formulation. California Management Review, 33(3), 114-135.

Gunn, E. (1995). Mentoring: The democratic version. Training, 32(8), 64-67.

Hamel, G., & Prahalad, C. K. (1990). The core competence of the corporation. Harvard Business Review, 68(3), 79-92.

Hamid, S., & Behrad, M. N. (2014). Employees’ empowerment through in-service training. International Journal of Educational Research and Technology, 5(2), 23-32.

Harcourt, H., & Ateke, B. W. (2017). Customer-contact employee empowerment and resilience of quick service restaurants. Upcoming.

Holweg, M. (2005). The three dimensions of responsiveness. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 257(7), 603-622.

Hoyt, J., Huq, F. and Kreiser, P. (2007). Measuring organizational responsiveness: The development of a validated survey instrument. Management Decisions, 45(10), 1573-1594.

Hult, G. T., Ketchen, D. J., & Slater, S. F. (2005). Marketing orientation and performance: An integration of disparate approaches. Strategic Management Journal, 26, 1173-1181.

Judge, W. Q., & Miller, A. (1991). Antecedents and outcomes of decision speed in different environmental contexts. Academy of Management Journal, 34, 449-463.

Inthiyaz, K. (2017). Impact of employee skill development on organizational performance in banking industries with special reference to Y.S.R. district. International Journal of Engineering and Management Research, 7(3), 62-65.

Jacobi M. (1991). Mentoring and undergraduate academic success. A review of the literature. Review of Educational Research, 61, 505-532.

Kram, K. E., & Isabella, L. A. (1985). Mentoring alternatives: the role of peer relationships in career development. Academy of Management Journal, 28(1), 110-132.

Kram, K. E. (1985). Mentoring at work: Developmental relationships in organizational life. Glenview, Scott: Foresman.

Kuye, O. L., & Sulaimon, A. A. (2011). Employee involvement in decision making and firms performance in the manufacturing sector in Nigeria. Serbian Journal of Management, 6(1), 1-15.

Leonard-Barton, D. (1992). Core capabilities and core rigidities: A paradox in managing new product development. Strategic Management Journal, 13, 111-125.

Lu, Y., & Ramamurthy, K. (2011). Understanding the link between information technology capability and organizational agility: An empirical examination. MIS Quarterly, 35(4), 931-954.

Mansour, J. (1998). Core competence: What does it mean in practice? Long Range Planning, 31(1), 60-70.

Makadok, R. (2001). Toward a synthesis of the resource-based and dynamic-capability views of rent creation. Strategic Management Journal, 22(5), 387-402.

Minter, R. L., & Thomas, E. G. (2000). Employee development through coaching, mentoring and counselling: A multidimensional approach. Review of Business, 21(1/2), 43-47.

Morgan, R. E., & Page, K. (2008). Managing business transformation to deliver strategic agility. Strategic Change, 17, 155-168.

Noe, R. A. (2002). Employee training and development. 2nd Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Nunally, J. C. (1978). Psychometric theory. 2nd Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Palmer, A. (2001). Principles of service marketing, 3rd Edition. London: McGraw-Hill.

Payne, S. C., & Webber, S. S. (2006). Effects of service provider attitudes and employment status on citizenship behaviours and customers’ attitudes and loyalty behaviour. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(2), 365-378.

Pfeffer, J. (1994). Competitive advantage through people. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

Phillips-Jones, L. L. (1982). Mentors and protégés. New York: Arbor House.

Rathore, P. S. (2017). Significance of training and hospitality skills for hotel employees. International Journal of Engineering and Management Research, 7(3), 53-56

Rhodes, J. E. (2002). Stand by me: The risks and rewards of mentoring today’s youth. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press;

Rhodes, J. E., Spencer, R., Keller, T. E., Liang, B., & Noam, G. (2006). A model for the influence of mentoring relationships on youth development. Journal of Community Psychology, 34(6), 691-707

Salters, L. (1997). Coaching and counselling for peak performance. Business and Economic Review, 44(1), 26-28.

Sambamurthy, V., Bharadwaj, A., & Grover, V. (2003). Shaping agility through digital options: Reconceptualizing the role of information technology in contemporary firms. MIS Quarterly, 35(4), 237-263.

Shiu, E., Hair, J., Bush, R., & Ortinau, D. (2009). Marketing research. European Edition. Berkshire: McGraw Hill Higher Education.

Srivastava, Shirish. (2005). Managing core competence of the organization. Vikalpa, 30(4), 49-68.

Stewart, T. A. (2001). The wealth of knowledge: Intellectual capital and the twenty-first century organisation. New York: Doubleday.

Tallon, P. P., & Pinsonneault, A. (2011). Competing perspectives on the link between strategic information technology alignment and organizational agility: insights from a mediation model. MIS Quarterly, 35(2), 463-474.

Teece, D. J. (2007). Explicating dynamic capabilities: The nature and micro-foundations of (sustainable) enterprise performance. Strategic Management Journal, 28(13), 1319-1350.

Van de Ven, A. H. (1986). Central problems in the management of innovation. Management

Science, 32(5), 590-607.

Williams, S. (n.d). Coaching: Increasing employees’ competence. Retrieved December 2017 from http://www.wright.edu/~scott.williams/LeaderLetter/coach.htm

Winter, S. G. (2003). Understanding dynamic capabilities. Strategic Management Journal, 24(10), 991-995.

Zaim, H., Yaşar, M. F., & Ünal, Ö. F. (2013). Analyzing the effects of individual competencies on performance: A field study in services industries in Turkey. Journal of Global Strategic Management, 7(2), 67-77.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejsss.v0i0.296

Copyright (c) 2018 Chinyere Stella Nwulu, Brown Walter Ateke

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The research works published in this journal are free to be accessed. They can be shared (copied and redistributed in any medium or format) and\or adapted (remixed, transformed, and built upon the material for any purpose, commercially and\or not commercially) under the following terms: attribution (appropriate credit must be given indicating original authors, research work name and publication name mentioning if changes were made) and without adding additional restrictions (without restricting others from doing anything the actual license permits). Authors retain the full copyright of their published research works and cannot revoke these freedoms as long as the license terms are followed.

Copyright © 2016 - 2023. European Journal Of Social Sciences Studies (ISSN 2501-8590) is a registered trademark of Open Access Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

This journal is a serial publication uniquely identified by an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) serial number certificate issued by Romanian National Library. All the research works are uniquely identified by a CrossRef DOI digital object identifier supplied by indexing and repository platforms. All the research works published on this journal are meeting the Open Access Publishing requirements and standards formulated by Budapest Open Access Initiative (2002), the Bethesda Statement on Open Access Publishing (2003) and  Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities (2003) and can be freely accessed, shared, modified, distributed and used in educational, commercial and non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Copyrights of the published research works are retained by authors.


 

Hit counter