TOURISM AND JOB INVOLVEMENT AS CRITICAL FACTORS OF EMPLOYEES' CUSTOMER ORIENTATION AND ITS SERVICE OUTCOMES - THE EVIDENCE FROM HOTEL INDUSTRY IN POLAND

This study examines potential antecedents of employees' customer orientation, both job and non-job related, and its critical behavioral consequences, which are crucial for effective functioning of service organizations. More specifically, this study tested a relationships between hotel employees' tourism and job involvement and their customer orientation. Moreover relationships between customer orientation and both role-prescribed and extra-role customer service were also examined. The study was conducted in hotels located in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, which is a tourist destination in Northern Poland with extensive accommodation infrastructure. The research hypotheses were tested using data from employees who deal directly with hotel guests. The study results revealed that a higher level of employees' job involvement may strengthen their customer orientation, and similarly, the more hotel employees are interested in tourism and receive pleasure from it, the higher customer-orientation they display. Additionally, customer orientation may have positive consequences for employees' customer service, both prescribed and extra role. The research value of this study may result from the fact that so far few studies have examined the impact of non-job related factors on service employees' attitudes and behaviors at work. Specifically tourism involvement has not been widely explored in the management literature. This study is among the first that examine the relationships between tourism and job involvement and employees' customer orientation and its consequences for service performance in the context of hospitality industry in Poland.