Download - 02642069%2E2010%2E545391
-
7/27/2019 02642069%2E2010%2E545391
1/16
This article was downloaded by: [INASP - Pakistan (PERI)]On: 28 September 2013, At: 22:50Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registeredoffice: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK
The Service Industries JournalPublication details, including instructions for authors and
subscription information:
http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/fsij20
The effects of inter-role conflicts on
turnover intention among frontline
service providers: does gender matter?Min-Hsin Huang
a& Zhao-Hong Cheng
a
a Department of Business Management, National Sun Yat-SenUniversity, 70, Lien-Hai Road, Kaohsiung, 80424, Taiwan
Published online: 31 Jan 2011.
To cite this article: Min-Hsin Huang & Zhao-Hong Cheng (2012) The effects of inter-role conflicts on
turnover intention among frontline service providers: does gender matter?, The Service Industries
Journal, 32:3, 367-381, DOI: 10.1080/02642069.2010.545391
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2010.545391
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE
Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (theContent) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis,our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as tothe accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinionsand views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors,and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content
should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sourcesof information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims,proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever orhowsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arisingout of the use of the Content.
This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Anysubstantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing,systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms &Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions
http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditionshttp://www.tandfonline.com/loi/fsij20http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditionshttp://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditionshttp://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2010.545391http://www.tandfonline.com/action/showCitFormats?doi=10.1080/02642069.2010.545391http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/fsij20 -
7/27/2019 02642069%2E2010%2E545391
2/16
The effects of inter-role conflicts on turnover intention among frontline
service providers: does gender matter?Min-Hsin Huang and Zhao-Hong Cheng
Department of Business Management, National Sun Yat-Sen University, 70, Lien-Hai Road,Kaohsiung 80424, Taiwan
(Received 22 January 2010; Revised 18 October 2010; final version received 20 October 2010)
This study contrasts the different levels of the work and family conflict on turnoverintention between male and female service employees. A conceptual model of therelationship between work-family conflicts (WFCs), family-work conflicts (FWCs),
job stress, job satisfaction, and turnover intention is proposed and empirically testedacross male and female service providers. The moderated multiple regression modelsare applied to data collected from frontline employees within two service industriesin Taiwan to test the hypotheses. Results of this study indicate that WFC affectsfemale employees job stress more strongly than it does in males; more importantly,FWC and job stress have stronger effects on turnover intention among femaleservice employees.
Keywords: turnover intention; role conflict; job stress; work-family conflict; employeesatisfaction
Introduction
Among many managerial issues, employees turnover intention is one of the topics that is
widely discussed and examined by scholars in marketing, organization, and psychology
literature (e.g. Fishbein & Ajzen, 1974; Netemeyer, Brashear-Alejandro, & Boles,
2004; Schwepker, 2001). Minimizing the turnover of skilled employees is desirable
because the experienced and knowledgeable employees help the organization in develop-
ing mutually beneficial customeremployee relationships and building customer satisfac-
tion and loyalty (Gremler & Gwinner, 2000). In addition, employee turnover is costly as
expenses due to recruiting, training, lost productivity, and administrative efforts devoted to
substandard employees can be excessive.
An area in which research on turnover is particularly important is frontline service pro-
vider. This is because the job environment of a frontline service provider is characterized by
long hours, irregular work schedules (e.g. hotels, restaurants, and retail stores), and com-
paratively low pay (Good, Page, & Young, 1996). Conflict between work and family is a
form of inter-role conflict (RC) arising when the employee cannot simultaneously
perform the responsibilities of work and family well (Greenhaus & Beutell, 1985). Research
on the impact of work and family conflicts on employees turnover intension has been dis-
cussed in previous literature. For example, Netemeyer, Boles, and McMurrian (1996) devel-
oped and validated a short, self-report scale of work-family conflict (WFC) and family-work
conflict (FWC), and predicted that intension to leave an organization and search for another
job would be positively correlated with the WFC and FWC scales. Netemeyer et al. (2004)
ISSN 0264-2069 print/ISSN 1743-9507 online
# 2012 Taylor & Francis
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2010.545391
http://www.tandfonline.com
Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
The Service Industries Journal
Vol. 32, No. 3, February 2012, 367381
-
7/27/2019 02642069%2E2010%2E545391
3/16
proposed a model of job-related outcomes of WFC, FWC, work RC, and work-role ambi-
guity (RA) with three cross-national samples; the results revealed that WFC and FWC
have greater effects than RC and RA on the job-related outcomes. Karatepe and Kilic
(2009) investigated the effects of two directions of conflict and facilitation simultaneously
on job performance, job satisfaction, and affective organizational commitment and found
that FWC dismissed job performance, while family-work facilitation enhanced job per-
formance. However, little research focused on comparing the difference in relationships
across gender among work and family conflicts.
The literature indicated that male and female employees may well have different
perceptions of their roles between work and family (e.g. Bird, Lynch, & Ingram, 2002;
Wiersma, 1990). Consequently, there may be difference in the determinants of turnover
between male and female service providers due to the different levels of work and
family conflicts they face. As typical frontline service providers are occupied by both
men and women, it is critical for service managers to understand the difference and
adopt various strategies to reduce turnover among male and female service employees.
The objective of this study presented here is (i) to examine the direct effects of the conflictsbetween work and family as distinguished into two constructs, WFC and FWC, on
turnover intension of service providers, (ii) to predict the indirect effects of these two con-
structs on turnover intension as moderated by employees job stress and job satisfaction,
and (iii) to contrast the difference level of these relationships across male and female
service providers within two service industries in Taiwan.
This study differs from previous works in two critical points. First, despite the recog-
nition that the effects of inter-role conflicts on turnover intension have been examined in
prior studies, few studies focus on the service settings. Extension of the research to service
industries is important because frontline service employees are often underpaid, carry
heavy workloads, work long hours and irregular schedules (Boles & Babin, 1996;Singh, 2000). These associated with todays social conditions (e.g. rise in the number
of dual-career couples) give rise to strengthened conflicts between work and family
roles. Furthermore, frontline service employees are main actors in the delivery of
service quality (Bettencourt & Brown, 2003). Retention of motivated and committed
frontline service employees who can consistently deliver high-quality service is important
to service business success. Second, previous research on the topics of FWC and WFC has
been conducted in developed countries such as the USA (Boles, Wood, & Johnson, 2003;
Netemeyer, Maxham Iii, & Pullig, 2005) and Europe (Kinnunen & Mauno, 1998; Mauno
& Kinnunen, 1999). As Barnett and Hyde (2001) indicate, much of what we know on the
issue is based on studies of western society. Because topics of family and work conflicts
are closely coupled with a societys gender roles and culture (Zeynep & Mehmet, 2005),
extension of the research stream to other societies is critical for providing informed
judgments regarding the generalizability of western findings.
We briefly review the literature in the following section. Then, a model of relationships
between previously identified constructs is proposed, followed by the methodology of this
study. Finally, empirical results are provided and discussed as per their implications for
service industry management theory and practice.
Conceptual background
Turnover intentionTurnover intention is defined as an employees willingness to leave his (or her) present job
(Tett & Meyer, 1993). Researchers have investigated the importance of turnover intention
368 M. Huang and Z. Cheng
-
7/27/2019 02642069%2E2010%2E545391
4/16
to organizations for several decades, because previous research has found that turnover
intention is an antecedent with a significant effect on employees actual turnover (Fishbein
& Ajzen, 1974; Mowday, Koberg, & McArthur, 1984). Employees turnover behavior is
viewed as an organizations cost, including recruitment, training, low productivity, and
increased time for managers to devote to new employees (Netemeyer et al. 2004). Accord-
ingly, researchers have focused on employees turnover intention to lower their turnover
rate. Previous studies have found that certain organizational variables have significant
effects on workers propensity to leave, such as job satisfaction and job stress (Netemeyer
et al. (2004); Rahim & Psenicka, 1996; Schwepker, 2001). Previous research also
suggested that the motivation to quit is associated with increased work and family conflicts
(Greenhaus, Parasuraman, & Collins, 2001).
Work and family conflicts
The issue of inter-role conflicts raised between work and family has been highlighted in
organization and marketing literature for more than two decades (Duxbury & Higgins,1991; Frone, Russell, & Cooper, 1992; Greenhaus & Beutell, 1985; Netemeyer, et al.,
2005). Previous research in the 1980s conceptualized work and family conflicts as a
one-dimensional construct (Bedeian, Burke, & Moffett, 1988). In recent years, more
studies distinguish the construct into two facets, that is, WFCs and FWCs (Frone, et al.,
1992; Netemeyer, et al., 2005). The former is defined as demands from work that interfere
with family responsibilities (e.g. long periods of time spent working prevents the perform-
ance of family duties), and the latter is defined as family demands that interfere with work
responsibilities (e.g. baby care preventing attention at work).
Job satisfaction and job stress
Job satisfaction is a positive emotional state related to employees appraisals of their job
situations, including the supervisor, salary, characteristics of work, coworkers, and oppor-
tunities for promotion (Brown & Peterson, 1993; Churchill, Ford, & Walker, 1974).
Previous research suggests that job satisfaction has stable and significant effects on
organizational factors such as performance and turnover intention (Netemeyer et al. 2004).
Although there have been different definitions of job stress in past studies, most
researchers generally agree that job stress is defined as an unpleasant emotional experi-
ences, including nervousness, depression, sadness, fear, and anxiety that employees
experience at work (Bolino & Turnley, 2005). A great deal of research reported that job
stress is an important predictor of job satisfaction and turnover intention (Good, Sisler,
& Gentry, 1988; Netemeyer et al. 2004).
There are five constructs, i.e. WFC, FWC, job stress, job satisfaction, and turnover
intention included in our study. These constructs are widely applied in literatures
(Netemeyer et al., 2004, 2005; Ugur, Emin, & Osman, 2008). More importantly, our
hypothesized relationship is supported by three theoretical rationales: (i) inter-role conflict
theory (Kahn & Byosiere, 1992), (ii) identity theory (Thoits, 1991), and (iii) conservation
of resources (COR) theory (Hobfoll, 2002).
The inter-role conflict theory suggests that individuals are likely to experience job
stress when they try to fulfill both work and family roles. The job stress results in the com-
peting demands that WFC and FWC place necessarily on resources of time, cognition, and
emotion to meet the responsibilities from work and family (Frone et al., 1992). The iden-
tity theory indicates that individuals devote resources to maintain the multiple role
The Service Industries Journal 369
-
7/27/2019 02642069%2E2010%2E545391
5/16
identities which are salient to them. A job stress is experienced when individuals encounter
the conflict between work and family and fail to maintain their identities (Thoits, 1995).
The COR theory (Hobfoll, 2002) contends that people strive to acquire, maintain, and
preserve their resources, such as energy, cognition, and so forth. Psychological stress
occurs when individuals lose these resources after significant investment. Thus, people
are likely to experience job stress when the conflicts arise from work/family interface
and their resources lost while juggling work/family roles. In addition, prior empirical
research supports the view that both WFC and FWC lead to employees job stress
(Frone, 2000; Netemeyer et al., 2005; Parasuraman & Simmers, 2001).
We further propose that both WFC and FWC positively affect employees turnover
intentions. As the COR theory states, employees attempt to leave their current job to main-
tain their finite resources while they may not cope with the WFCs well (Grandey &
Cropanzano, 1999). This argument is empirically supported by a great deal of research.
For example, in Allen, Herst, Bruck, and Sutton (2000) meta-analytic inquiry, they
found a strong relationship between WFC and turnover intention. The relationship
between FWC and turnover intention is also supported in previous empirical research.For instance, Ugur et al. (2008) suggested that people who are more sensitive to family
needs are apt to lose their role in the organization to fulfill the family demands.
Job satisfaction and job stress are considered to be important predictors of turnover
intention. The relationships among job stress, job satisfaction, and turnover intention
have been evidenced by a great deal of research (Good et al., 1988; Netemeyer et al.
2004; Rahim & Psenicka, 1996). Netemeyer et al. (2004) found direct and negative
relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention. Rahim and Psenicka (1996)
indicated positive and direct relationship between job stress and propensity to leave. In
addition, researchers suggested that job stress increases employees turnover intention
through the influence of job satisfaction (Netemeyer et al. 2004). The inter-role conflicttheory (Kahn & Byosiere, 1992) supports the view that job stress results in anxiety and
nervousness, and produce employee dissatisfaction. When employees feel unsatisfied,
they will have negative affective appraisals and increase their motivations to quit
(Brown & Leigh, 1996). Therefore, job satisfactions effect on turnover intention is
direct, whereas the impact of job stress on turnover intention is mediated by job
satisfaction.
Hypotheses development
Differences in sex role
The potential rationale of sexual inconsistency is related to the expectation of sex role.
Reifman, Biernat, and Lang (1991) suggested that women report higher levels of family
responsibilities compared with men. Several studies found gender-based difference with
respect to the conflicts that occurred in the WFC and relative consequences (Duxbury
& Higgins, 1991; Gutek, Searle, & Klepa, 1991). Previous research also found that
females report higher levels of WFCs in some dimensions (Gutek et al., 1991).
Effects of WFC and FWC on job stress
Plecks (1979) sensitization theory supported a gender difference in the relationship
between work and family conflicts. Previous empirical research indicated that women
report higher levels of family-related responsibilities (Reifman et al., 1991), whereas
men attach higher priorities to their work roles than family roles (Martins, Eddleston, &
370 M. Huang and Z. Cheng
-
7/27/2019 02642069%2E2010%2E545391
6/16
Veiga, 2002). Female employees experience greater FWC while meeting excessive job
demands (e.g. irregular, incompatible, and long work hours) because of the higher priority
placed on their family roles (Wayne, Musisca, & Fleeson, 2004). Based on the above
discussions, our hypotheses are as follows:
H1a: The positive relationship between WFC and job stress is moderated by gender, such thatthe effect is stronger among female employees than male employees.H1b: The positive relationship between FWC and job stress is moderated by gender, such thatthe effect is stronger among female employees than male employees.
Effects of WFC and FWC on turnover intention
The strategies that women use to deal with inter-role conflicts differ from the strategies
that men use. Previous studies found that women will take reactive strategies to cope
with inter-role conflicts (i.e. tried to respond to all role senders expectations), thus they
experience a relatively high extent of conflicts between work and family (Beutell & Green-
haus, 1983; Duxbury & Higgins, 1991; Frankenhaeuser et al., 1989). This result causeswomen to have a lower quality of work life and higher negative affective appraisal on
their work than men, which increases their quitting motivation (Brown & Leigh, 1996;
Duxbury & Higgins, 1991). Babin and Boles (1998) further indicated that women may
leave their work because of family factors. In addition, although the number of working
women is increasing in todays global work environment, working wives and husbands
share unequal portions of family duties (McElwain, Korabik, & Rosin, 2005). Female
employees are expected to face higher levels of family demands (Reifman et al., 1991),
and are susceptible to higher levels of FWCs (Boles et al., 2003; Reifman et al., 1991).
Therefore, a number of working wives prefer to leave current jobs and seek new jobs
that allow them to spend more time in fulfilling family duties (Eagle, Miles, & Icenogle,1997). The above discussions lead to the following hypotheses:
H2a: The positive relationship between WFC and turnover intention is moderated by gender,such that the effect is stronger among female employees than male employees.
H2b: The positive relationship between FWC and turnover intention is moderated by gender,such that the effect is stronger among female employees than male employees.
Effects of job stress and job satisfaction on turnover intention
The empirical evidence supports that female employees experience relatively high stress
in the workplace (Babin & Boles, 1998). The phenomenon leads women to be apt to lack
necessary resources in performing their multiple roles well and they are forced to make
tough choices to maintain these resources lost to work responsibilities. Consequently,
women are more likely to exhibit quitting motivations by seeking new jobs or by consid-
ering leaving current jobs altogether in order to better fulfill their role demands (Eagle
et al., 1997). This argument is consistent with the finding that women experience a
greater amount of work changes associated with stress than men (Levenson, Hirschfeld,
Hirschfeld, & Dzubay, 1983).
H3: The positive relationship between job stress and turnover intention is moderated bygender, such that the effect is stronger among female employees than male employees.
H4: The negative relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention is moderated by
gender, such that the effect is stronger among male employees than female employees.H5: The negative relationship between job stress and job satisfaction is moderated by gender,such that the effect is stronger among male employees than female employees.
The Service Industries Journal 371
-
7/27/2019 02642069%2E2010%2E545391
7/16
Methodology
Sample
To examine the above hypotheses, the sample was drawn from two service industries: full-
service restaurants and retail stores in Taiwan. The reason for choosing these two service
industries is that these two industries represent the largest two service industries in termsof number of employees in Taiwan. More importantly, we chose these two service indus-
tries to represent broad categories of services because these two services are tangibly the
same in nature, but different in people processing (full-service restaurants) and possession
processing (retail stores) as categorized by Lovelock and Wirtz (2007, p. 34).
Consistent with previous studies (e.g. Babin & Boles, 1998), the convenience sampling
procedure is adopted to collect data used in this study. With the restaurants sample, a total
of 250 questionnaires were sent to frontline employees who were not working at manage-
ment levels; 201 completed responses were returned, which represents an 80.4% usable
response rate. With the retail stores sample, 250 questionnaires were sent to frontline
employees and 170 completed responses were returned (68% response rate). The highresponse rate was due, in part, to the firms helping distribute and manage the surveys.
Table 1 reports the general demographic composition of the sample, which adequately
mirrored that of these two service industries.
Measures
The survey asked employees about their perceptions of the focal constructs; i.e. WFC,
FWC, job stress, job satisfaction, and turnover intention. Appendix 1 presents the items
and their sources. These scales have been used extensively in marketing and organiz-
ational research (e.g. Babin & Boles, 1998; Boles et al., 2003; Netemeyer et al. 2004,
2005). All items were rated on a five-point scale, ranging from 1 strongly disagreeto 5 strongly agree. The questionnaire was drafted in English first and translated
into Chinese by a bilingual expert fluent both in English and Chinese. The pre-survey
interview was conducted by asking six specialists (i.e. one services marketing professor
and five service employees) to check the clarity of questionnaires. The questionnaire
was then back-translated into English and checked for consistency with the original trans-
lated versions to ensure translation equivalence (Van de Vijver & Leung, 1997).
Table 1. Demographics of service industry and samples.
Item CategoriesWhole serviceindustry (%)a
Restaurantssample (%)
Retail storessample (%)
Gender Male 49.5 39.8 41.2Female 50.5 60.2 58.8
Education Junior high school 11.9 5.5 1.8Senior high school 35.9 31.3 26.5College 43.9 57.7 70.0Others 8.3 5.5 1.7
Family size 3 or less 27.8 13.54 21.9 29.45 23.4 19.4
6 or more 26.9 37.7Sample size (n) 201 170
aSource: Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting, and Statistics, Executive Yuan, Taiwan.
372 M. Huang and Z. Cheng
-
7/27/2019 02642069%2E2010%2E545391
8/16
Analytical results
Measurement results: validity and reliability
We assessed measurement quality by confirmatory factor analysis. The fit indices
suggested that the full model fits the data well (x2 273.50, df 160; comparative fit
index
0.98; non-normed fit index
0.98; and root mean square error of approxi-mation 0.044) (Hu & Bentler, 1995). Tables 24 show summary statistics, internal con-
sistency, and correlations for full male and female samples. All coefficient alpha (from
0.86 to 0.94) and composite reliability (C.R.) estimates (from 0.89 to 0.97) exceed 0.7.
Thus, reliability for measurement model is supported (Nunnally, 1978). All factor loadings
exceed 0.7, t-values were significant (p , 0.01), and average variance extracted exceed
0.5. Therefore, convergent validity is supported (Fornell & Larcker, 1981). Finally, we
examined the discriminant validity following the criterion that the square of parameter
estimate between two constructs is less than the average variance extracted (AVE)
(Fornell & Larcker, 1981). The relationships among the constructs ranged from 20.83
to 0.84, and AVE ranged from 0.67 to 0.94. All possible pairs of constructs met this
criterion in Tables 24. Thus, discriminant validity is supported.
Invariance test
This study combines two different samples (restaurant and convenience stores) to test the
theoretical model. The invariance test, which examined the factor structures across two
industry samples by comparing results of a confirmatory model, was conducted. The
factor structure (i.e. factor loadings, factor variances, covariances, and item error loadings)
are equal across two service industries, and it is suitable for us to combine these two
samples to examine our hypothesized model.
Results of moderated multiple regression
Three hierarchical multiple regressions were conducted to examine the gender as modera-
tor of the relationships among all variables. For all three multiple regressions, all indepen-
dent variables (i.e. WFCs and FWCs) and moderator variable (i.e. gender) were entered on
Table 2. Summary statistics, internal consistency estimates, and correlations among constructs(full sample).
Construct WFC FWC JSAT JSTR TURNWFC 1.00FWC 0.41 1.00JSAT 20.28 20.54 1.00JSTR 0.39 0.61 20.78 1.00TURN 0.34 0.68 20.70 0.79 1.00Mean 3.39 2.93 2.94 3.26 3.08Standard deviation 0.85 0.97 0.90 0.90 0.95Cronbach a 0.93 0.87 0.94 0.91 0.90C.R. 0.92 0.90 0.94 0.90 0.90AVE 0.68 0.70 0.84 0.74 0.68C.R. (Sloading)2/((Sloading)2 + (Var))
AVE (Sloading2
)/((Sloading2
) + (Var))
Note: JSTR, job stress; JSAT, job satisfaction; TURN, turnover intention. All correlations are significant at the0.01 level or better.
The Service Industries Journal 373
-
7/27/2019 02642069%2E2010%2E545391
9/16
the first step. On the second step, the interaction items (i.e. WFCs gender; FWCs
gender) were entered. The dependent variables in this study were job stress, job satisfac-
tion, and turnover intention.
Table 5 shows the results of moderated multiple regressions. For the model predict-
ing job stress, 46.4% of the variance was found on the first step. Higher levels of WFCs
and FWCs were related to more job stress. The results report a significant interaction
effect between WFCs and gender (b 0.138, p , 0.05). For the model predicting job
satisfaction, the variables entered on step one accounted for 49.7% of the variance.
Female employees report more job satisfaction, and job stress negatively affected job
satisfaction. The interaction item (job stress gender) was entered on step two, and
the findings support a significant additional portion of the variance (DR2 0.009, p ,
0.05). The results suggest a significant interaction effect between job stress and gender
(b 0.501, p , 0.05). For the model predicting turnover intention, the results show
Table 3. Summary statistics, internal consistency estimates, and correlations among constructs(male sample).
Construct WFC FWC JSAT JSTR TURN
WFC 1.00
FWC 0.34 1.00JSAT 20.16 20.55 1.00JSTR 0.24 0.52 20.83 1.00TURN 0.25 0.57 20.78 0.77 1.00Mean 3.35 2.94 2.90 3.09 3.05Standard deviation 0.83 0.94 0.93 0.93 0.92Cronbach a 0.92 0.89 0.93 0.92 0.89C.R. 0.93 0.90 0.97 0.96 0.92AVE 0.69 0.68 0.91 0.89 0.74C.R. (Sloading)
2 / ((Sloading)2 + (Var))AVE (Sloading2) / ((Sloading2) + (Var))
Note: JSTR, job stress; JSAT, job satisfaction; TURN, turnover intention. All correlations are significant at the0.01 level or better.
Table 4. Summary statistics, internal consistency estimates, and correlations among constructs(female sample).
Construct WFC FWC JSAT JSTR TURN
WFC 1.00FWC 0.46 1.00JSAT 20.28 20.53 1.00JSTR 0.47 0.71 20.74 1.00
TURN 0.42 0.76 20.63 0.84 1.00Mean 3.42 2.92 2.97 3.34 3.11Standard deviation 0.87 0.99 0.87 0.97 0.97Cronbach a 0.93 0.86 0.94 0.90 0.91C.R. 0.95 0.89 0.98 0.92 0.94AVE 0.74 0.67 0.94 0.79 0.79C.R. (Sloading)2 / ((Sloading)2 + (Var))AVE (Sloading2) / ((Sloading2) + (Var))
JSTR, job stress; JSAT, job satisfaction; TURN, turnover intention. All correlations are significant at the 0.01level or better.
374 M. Huang and Z. Cheng
-
7/27/2019 02642069%2E2010%2E545391
10/16
58.6% of the variance. On the first step, both FWCs and job stress positively affect
turnover intention, whereas job satisfaction has negative effect on turnover intention.
Similarly, our analyses found a significant additional portion of the variance (DR2
0.013, p , 0.05) on step two. The results of analyses suggest significant interaction
items, including WFCs gender (b 0.238, p , 0.05), job stress gender (b
0.441, p , 0.05), and job satisfaction gender (b 0.386, p , 0.05).
To advance further interpretations, we plotted the interaction effects among thesevariables and conducted simple slope analyses to test whether each slope was significantly
different from zero (Aiken & West, 1991). Because our predictors (i.e. WFC, FWC, job
stress, and job satisfaction) are continuous, we choose two levels of values for each
predictor to be used in plotting lines. The value of low level is the mean 2 1 standard
deviation, while the value of high level is the mean + 1 standard deviation. We presented
the results in Figure 1.
As shown in Figure 1a, the relationship between WFC and job stress was positive for
women (b 0.310, p , 0.01). However, WFC and job stress were not significantly
related for men (b 0.112, n.s.). To further probe the interaction effect, we performed
a slope difference test that examined whether the slopes of a pair of simple regression
lines differ from one another (Aiken & West, 1991). The significant slope difference
(Db 0.310, p , 0.01) indicated that the relationship between WFC and job stress
was stronger for female employees. Thus, H1a was supported. Figure 1b shows that
FWC and turnover intention were positively related for women (b 0.460, p , 0.01)
and men (b 0.222, p , 0.05). The slope difference test also supported that women
had more intention to leave the current company when they experience FWC (Db
0.238, p , 0.05). Thus, H2b received support. Figure 1c reveals positive relationship
between job stress and turnover intention for both female (b 0.926, p , 0.01) and
male employees (b 0.485, p , 0.01). The significant slope difference (Db 0.441,
p , 0.01) indicated a stronger positive relationship between job stress and turnover inten-
tion for female employees than for male employees. Thus, H3 was supported. Figure 1dindicates that, for men, higher levels of job satisfaction were related to less turnover inten-
tion (b 20.288, p , 0.01). However, job satisfaction and turnover intention were not
Table 5. Results of moderated multiple regression analyses.
Variables
Job stress Job satisfaction Turnover intention
R2
DR2
b R2
DR2
b R2
DR2
b
Step1 (main effects) 0.464 0.497 0.586 Gender 0.121 0.133 20.021WFC 0.172 20.002FWC 0.586 0.222
JSTR 20.709 0.485
JSAT 20.188
Step2 (interactions) 0.475 0.011 0.506 0.009 0.599 0.013
WFC gender 0.138 20.197FWC gender 0.069 0.238
JSTR gender 0.501 0.441
JSAT gender 0.386
Note: JSTR, job stress; JSAT, job satisfaction; TURN, turnover intention. Gender: 0 male, 1 female.p , 0.05.p , 0.01.
The Service Industries Journal 375
-
7/27/2019 02642069%2E2010%2E545391
11/16
significantly related for women (b 20.098, n.s.). Further slope analysis suggested that
the negative effect of job satisfaction on turnover intention was stronger among men than
women (Db 0.288, p , 0.01). Thus, H4 received support. Figure 1e also shows that
there was a negative relationship between job stress and job satisfaction for male
employees (b 20.709, p , 0.01), and job stress was unrelated to job satisfaction forfemale employees (b 20.118, n.s.). Examination of slope difference supported that
the negative relationship was stronger between job stress and job satisfaction among
Figure 1. Moderating effects of gender on the relationship between WFC, FWC, job stress, jobsatisfaction, and turnover intention.
376 M. Huang and Z. Cheng
-
7/27/2019 02642069%2E2010%2E545391
12/16
male employees than among female employees (Db 0.709, p , 0.01). Thus, H5 was
supported.
Implication and conclusions
The long working hours and irregular working schedules of the frontline service providers
increase their role conflicts between work and family. This study developed and tested a
model to investigate the effects of work and family conflicts on three job-related out-
comes: job stress, job satisfaction, and turnover intention. More importantly, the current
study contrasts the different levels of the WFC on turnover intention between male and
female service employees.
Of the seven hypotheses we examined, five received support for data received from
frontline service employees in Taiwan. Similar to the results indicated by previous
research (Ugur et al. (2008), the findings explain that FWC is an important predictor of
service employees turnover intentions. Our results also mirror the research of Netemeyer
et al.s (2004) cross-national study and Good et al.s (1988) findings, which report thatboth job stress and job satisfaction are at the root of frontline service employees quitting
intentions. More importantly, our results show that gender acts as a moderator in the
relationships among FWCs, job stress, job satisfaction, and turnover intention.
Nevertheless, an insignificant effect is found in the WFCs turnover intention path.
One possible explanation for this unexpected finding may be that employees who experi-
ence WFCs tend to revise their family responsibilities to meet job demands rather than
quitting (turnover) because unemployment rates have increased recently. Thus, the
employees fear that another job may be difficult to get after leaving his/her current
work tends to encourage them to fulfill job demands and retain their job. Contrary to
our predictions, the relationship between FWC and job stress was not stronger amongwomen than men. A potential explanation for this unexpected result may be based on
Chou, Fosh, and Fosters (2005) argument that Taiwanese female employees feel that
their promotional opportunities had contemporarily improved significantly. These findings
may inspire the female service employees in Taiwan and reduce the effect of FWC on
job stress.
Managerial implications
The findings of this study provide some important managerial implications for service
managers. First, service employees do not work without family problems. Managers
should encourage employees to balance the demands from work and family. Some pro-
grams can help managers to achieve this purpose; for example, child care, flextime, and
on-site job counseling. Many studies indicate that these programs are helpful for service
managers to effectively reduce employees conflicts in the work-family interface
(Lobel, 1999). In addition, service organizations should train managers to regard their
employees as family members. Managers need to take at least some ownership of pro-
blems that occur between work and family. Although training programs may bring high
costs to organizations, these implementations may be effective for the organization to
minimize the turnover of skilled service employees.
Second, our findings indicate that job stress is at the root of frontline service employ-
ees job satisfaction and quitting intentions. Results of the current study suggest that it is
essential for service organizations to reduce employees job stress. Managers should take
actions to help employees feel less stressed. For example, managers can offer workshops
The Service Industries Journal 377
-
7/27/2019 02642069%2E2010%2E545391
13/16
for discussions. Based on employee feedback, managers may know how to help employees
to solve their problems. Some evidence indicates that workshops can create a welcoming
forum to lead employees to freely provide suggestions, and these suggestions can effec-
tively reduce their anxiety, irritability, and depression (Kossek, Colquitt, & Noe, 2001).
Finally, the differences between men and women are found in relationships among
FWC, job stress, job satisfaction, and turnover intention. Results indicate that female
employees are affected more severely by increased WFC, and job stress. Therefore,
service managers need to consider differential effects when managing employees
WFC, and job stress among female and male service employees. For example, female
employees have higher levels of turnover intention when they experience WFCs.
Mangers need to provide more organizational supports and concerns to help them elimin-
ate the conflicts or stress.
Further research and limitationsThe research limitations were based on the nature of the data and sample characteristics.
Although the sample may be representative of the important service industries in Taiwan
in general, it is possible that results may vary for specific service industries and countries.
Also, while the most important two service industries are covered by the data, a transfer of
the findings to other service types would be largely speculative and could vary on the key
characteristics of the service types. Thus, future research might be conducted in a variety
of industries and countries. The current study applying cross-sectional research design
does not allow us to make causal inferences. Future studies using longitudinal designs
would be very helpful in examining causal relationship. Furthermore, some unsupported
hypotheses (e.g. the effects of FWC on job stress) in this study highlight the need forqualitative studies to gain richer insights into how male and female frontline service
providers experience and deal with conflicts between family and work interface.
References
Aiken, L.S., & West, S.G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Allen, T.D., Herst, D.E.L., Bruck, C.S., & Sutton, M. (2000). Consequences associated with work-to-family conflict: A review and agenda for future research. Journal of Occupational Health
Psychology, 5(2), 278308.Babin, B.J., & Boles, J.S. (1998). Employee behavior in a service environment: A model and test of
potential differences between men and women. Journal of Marketing, 62(2), 7791.Barnett, R.C., & Hyde, J.S. (2001). Women, men, work, and family. American Psychologist,
56(10), 781.Bedeian, A.G., Burke, B.G., & Moffett, R.G. (1988). Outcomes of work-family conflict among
married male and female professionals. Journal of Management, 14(3), 475491.Bettencourt, L.A., & Brown, S.W. (2003). Role stressors and customer-oriented boundary-spanning
behaviors in service organizations. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 31(4),394408.
Beutell, N.J., & Greenhaus, J.H. (1983). Integration of home and nonhome roles: Womens conflictand coping behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology, 68(1), 4348.
Bird, E., Lynch, P.A., & Ingram, A. (2002). Gender and employment flexibility within hotel frontoffices. The Service Industries Journal, 22(3), 99116.Boles, J.S., & Babin, B.J. (1996). On the front lines: Stress, conflict, and the customer service pro-
vider. Journal of Business Research, 37(1), 4150.
378 M. Huang and Z. Cheng
-
7/27/2019 02642069%2E2010%2E545391
14/16
Boles, J.S., Wood, J.A., & Johnson, J. (2003). Interrelationships of role conflict, role ambiguity, andwork-family conflict with different facets of job satisfaction and the moderating effects ofgender. Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 23(2), 99113.
Bolino, M.C., & Turnley, W.H. (2005). The personal costs of citizenship behavior: The relationshipbetween individual initiative and role overload, job stress, and work-family conflict. Journalof Applied Psychology, 90(4), 740748.
Brown, S.P., & Leigh, T.W. (1996). A new look at psychological climate and its relationship to jobinvolvement, effort, and performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81(4), 358368.
Brown, S.P., & Peterson, R.A. (1993). Antecedents and consequences of salesperson job satisfaction:Meta-analysis and assessment of causal effects. Journal of Marketing Research, 30(1), 6377.
Chou, W.-C.G., Fosh, P.F., & Foster, D. (2005). Female managers in Taiwan: Opportunities andbarriers in changing times. Asia Pacific Business Review, 11(2), 251266.
Churchill, G.A., Ford, N.M., & Walker, O.C., Jr. (1974). Measuring the job satisfaction of industrialsalesmen. Journal of Marketing Research, 11(3), 254260.
Duxbury, L.E., & Higgins, C.A. (1991). Gender differences in work-family conflict. Journal ofApplied Psychology, 76(1), 6074.
Eagle, B.W., Miles, E.W., & Icenogle, M.L. (1997). Interrole conflicts and the permeability of workand family domains: Are there gender differences? Journal of Vocational Behavior, 50(2),
168184.Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1974). Attitudes toward objects as predictors of single and multiple
behavioral criteria. Psychological Review, 81, 5974.Fornell, C., & Larcker, D.F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable
variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 3950.Frankenhaeuser, M., Lundberg, U., Fredrikson, M., Melin, B., Tuomisto, M., Myrsten, A.-L., et al.
(1989). Stress on and off the job as related to sex and occupational status in white-collarworkers. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 10(4), 321346.
Frone, M.R. (2000). Work-family conflict and employee psychiatric disorders: The nationalcomorbidity survey. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(6), 888895.
Frone, M.R., Russell, M., & Cooper, M.L. (1992). Antecedents and outcomes of work-familyconflict: Testing a model of the work-family interface. Journal of Applied Psychology,
77(1), 6578.Good, L.K., Page, T.J., Jr., & Young, C.E. (1996). Assessing hierarchical differences in job-relatedattitudes and turnover among retail managers. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science,24(2), 148156.
Good, L.K., Sisler, G.F., & Gentry, J.W. (1988). Antecedents of turnover intentions among retailmanagement personnel. Journal of Retailing, 64(3), 295314.
Grandey, A.A., & Cropanzano, R. (1999). The conservation of resources model applied to work-family conflict and strain. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 54(2), 350370.
Greenhaus, J.H., & Beutell, N.J. (1985). Sources of conflict between work and family roles. Academyof Management Review, 10(1), 7688.
Greenhaus, J.H., Parasuraman, S., & Collins, K.M. (2001). Career involvement and family involve-ment as moderators of relationships between work-family conflict and withdrawal from aprofession. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 6(2), 91100.
Gremler, D.D., & Gwinner, K.P. (2000). Customer-employee rapport in service relationships.Journal of Service Research, 3(1), 82105.
Gutek, B.A., Searle, S., & Klepa, L. (1991). Rational versus gender role explanations for work-family conflict. Journal of Applied Psychology, 76(4), 560568.
Hobfoll, S.E. (2002). Social and psychological resources and adaptation. Review of GeneralPsychology, 6(4), 307324.
Hu, L.T., & Bentler, P.M. (1995). Evaluating model fit. In R.H. Hoyle (Ed.), Structural equationmodeling concepts, issues, and applications (pp. 7699). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Kahn, R.L., & Byosiere, P. (1992). Stress in organizations. In M.D. Dunnette & L.M. Hough (Eds.),Handbook of industrial and organizational (Vol. 3, pp. 571650). Palo Alto, CA: ConsultingPsychologists Press.
Karatepe, O.M., & Kilic, H. (2009). The effects of two directions of conflict and facilitation on
frontline employees job outcomes. The Service Industries Journal, 29(7), 977993.Kinnunen, U., & Mauno, S. (1998). Antecedents and outcomes of work-family conflict among
employed women and men in Finland. Human Relations, 51(2), 157177.
The Service Industries Journal 379
-
7/27/2019 02642069%2E2010%2E545391
15/16
Kossek, E.E., Colquitt, J.A., & Noe, R.A. (2001). Care-giving decisions, well-being, and perform-ance: The effects of place and provider as a function of dependent type and work-familyclimates. Academy of Management Journal, 44(1), 2944.
Levenson, H., Hirschfeld, M.L., Hirschfeld, A., & Dzubay, B. (1983). Recent life events andaccidents: The role of sex difference. Journal of Human Stress, 9(1), 411.
Lobel, S.A. (1999). Impacts of diversity and work-life initiatives in organizations. In G.N. Powell(Ed.), Handbook of gender and work (pp. 453476). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Lovelock, C., & Wirtz, J. (2007). Service marketing: People, technology, strategy (6th ed.). UpperSaddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Martins, L.L., Eddleston, K.A., & Veiga, J.F. (2002). Moderators of the relationship between work-family conflict and career satisfaction. Academy of Management Journal, 45(2), 399409.
Mauno, S., & Kinnunen, U. (1999). The effects of job stressors on marital satisfaction in Finnishdual-earner couples. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 20(6), 879.
McElwain, A.K., Korabik, K., & Rosin, H.M. (2005). An examination of gender differences inwork-family conflict. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 37(4), 283298.
Mowday, R.T., Koberg, C.S., & McArthur, A.W. (1984). The psychology of the withdrawal process:A cross-validation test of Mobleys intermediate linkages model of turnover in two samples.
Academy of Management Journal, 27(1), 7994.
Netemeyer, R.G., Boles, J.S., & McMurrian, R. (1996). Development and validation of work-familyconflict and family-work conflict scales. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81(4), 400410.
Netemeyer, R.G., Brashear-Alejandro, T., & Boles, J.S. (2004). A cross-national model of job-related outcomes of work role and family role variables: A retail sales context. Journal ofthe Academy of Marketing Science, 32(1), 4960.
Netemeyer, R.G., Maxham Iii, J.G., & Pullig, C. (2005). Conflicts in the work-family interface:Links to job stress, customer service employee performance, and customer purchase intent.
Journal of Marketing, 69(2), 130143.Nunnally, J.C. (1978). Psychometric theory (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.Parasuraman, S., & Simmers, C.A. (2001). Type of employment, work-family conflict and well-
being: A comparative study. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 22(5), 551568.Pleck, J.H. (1979). Work-family conflict: A national assessment. Paper presented at the Annual
meeting of the Society for the Study of Social Problem. Boston, MA.Rahim, M.A., & Psenicka, C. (1996). A structural equations model of stress, locus of control, socialsupport, psychiatric symptoms, and propensity to leave a job. Journal of Social Psychology,136(1), 6984.
Reifman, A., Biernat, M., & Lang, E.L. (1991). Stress, social support, and health in marriedprofessional women with small children. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 15, 431445.
Schwepker, C.H., Jr. (2001). Ethical climates relationship to job satisfaction, organizational commit-ment, and turnover intention in the sales force. Journal of Business Research, 54(1), 3952.
Singh, J. (2000). Performance productivity and quality of frontline employees in service organiz-ations. Journal of Marketing, 64(2), 1534.
Tett, R.P., & Meyer, J.P. (1993). Job satisfaction, organizational commitment, turnover intention,and turnover: Path analyses based on meta-analytic findings. Personnel Psychology, 46(2),259293.
Thoits, P.A. (1991). On merging identity theory and stress research. Social Psychology Quarterly,54(2), 101112.
Thoits, P.A. (1995). Stress, coping, and social support processes: Where are we? What next? Journalof Health and Social Behavior, 36(5), 5379.
Ugur, Y., Emin, B., & Osman, M.K. (2008). Attitudinal and behavioral consequences of work-familyconflict and family-work conflict. International Journal of Service Industry Management,19(1), 731.
Van de Vijver, F.J.R., & Leung, K. (1997). Methods and data analysis of comparative research.In J.W. Berry, Y.P. Poortinga, & J. Pandey (Eds.), Handbook of cross-cultural psychology(Vol. 1, pp. 247300). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Wayne, J.H., Musisca, N., & Fleeson, W. (2004). Considering the role of personality in the work-family experience: Relationships of the big five to work-family conflict and facilitation.
Journal of Vocational Behavior, 64(1), 108130.Wiersma, U.J. (1990). Gender differences in job attribute preferences: Work-home role conflict and
job level as mediating variables. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 63(3), 231243.
380 M. Huang and Z. Cheng
-
7/27/2019 02642069%2E2010%2E545391
16/16
Zeynep, A., & Mehmet, E. (2005). Relative contributions of childcare, spousal support, and organ-izational support in reducing work-family conflict for men and women: The case of Turkey.Sex Roles, 53(78), 453.
AppendixMeasures of constructs
Constructs Source
WFC (1 Strongly Disagree to 5 Strongly Agree) Netemeyer et al. (1996)1. Due to work-related duties, I have to make changes to my
plans for family activities.2. The amount of time my job takes up makes it difficult to
fulfill family responsibilities.3. The demands of my work interfere with my home and family
life.
4. Because of my job, I cannot involve myself as much as Iwould like in maintaining close relations with my family (orspouse/partner).
5. Things I want to do at home do not get done because of thedemands that my job puts on me.
6. I often have to miss important family activities because ofmy job.
FWC (1 Strongly Disagree to 5 Strongly Agree) Netemeyer et al. (1996)1. The demands of my family or spouse/partner interfere with
work-related activities.2. Things I want to do at work do not get done because of the
demands of my family or spouse/partner.
3. My home life interferes with my responsibilities at work,such as getting to work on time, accomplishing daily tasks,and working overtime.
4. I sometimes have to miss work so that my familyresponsibilities are met.
Job stress (1 Strongly Disagree to 5 Strongly Agree) Netemeyer et al. (2005) and Huuseand Rizzo (1972)
1. My job tends to directly affect my health.2. At the end of the day, my job leaves me stressed-out.3. Problems associated with work have kept me awake at night.4. I feel fidgety or nervous because of my job.
Job satisfaction (1 Strongly Disagree to 5 StronglyAgree)
Netemeyer et al. (1996) and Babinand Bole (1998)
1. All in all, I am satisfied with my present line of work.2. I feel a great sense of personal satisfaction from my line of
work.3. I am happy that I took this job.
Turnover intention (1 Strongly Disagree to 5 StronglyAgree)
Netemeyer et al. (1996)
1. I often think about quitting my present job.2. I intend to quit my present job.3. During the next 12 months, I intend to search for an
alternative role (another job, full-time student, etc.) to my
present job.4. I have searched for a new job.
The Service Industries Journal 381