Date of Conferral

2016

Degree

Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.)

School

Management

Advisor

Mary Dereshiwsky

Abstract

Organizations incur $83 billion per year in losses because of negative consumer experiences. Leadership behaviors and the various aspects of organizational life affect employee-customer interactions. With psychological empowerment theory as a theoretical framework, the purpose of this correlational study was to investigate the relationship between the independent variables of psychological empowerment (PE), dimensions of PE (e.g., meaning, self-efficacy, influence), tenure, education, and the dependent variable of customer orientation (CO). Employees of a regional grocery retailer in the northeastern United States comprised the population of the study. Data collection involved the use of paper surveys to measure individual worker levels of PE, meaning, self-efficacy, influence, and CO, as well as demographic characteristics. A correlational analysis determined that a statistically significant relationship (p < .05) existed between all independent variables and the dependent variable, with all correlations having an effect greater than .36. A hierarchical linear regression established a moderating effect of education on self-efficacy and CO (F(1,176) = 11.333, R2 = .024, p < .05) and influence and CO (F(1,176) = 25.596, R2 = .017, p < .05). No moderating effect existed for tenure. Managers may benefit from this study by enacting organizational PE initiatives to improve CO in human resources, training, and strategy. The implications for social change include improvements in organizational citizenship behavior leading to positive social outcomes for internal and external stakeholders.

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