The role of organizational justice and job satisfaction in mitigating turnover intention of emotionally exhausted employees: evidence from Vietnam
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/EBHRM-06-2021-0115 |
| Published date | 23 August 2022 |
| Date | 23 August 2022 |
| Pages | 215-232 |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Global HRM |
| Author | Phong Dong Nguyen,Nguyen Phong Nguyen,Lam D. Nguyen,Thu Ha Le |
The role of organizational justice
and job satisfaction in mitigating
turnover intention of emotionally
exhausted employees:
evidence from Vietnam
Phong Dong Nguyen
University Council, University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City,
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Nguyen Phong Nguyen
School of Accounting, University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City,
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Lam D. Nguyen
Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, USA and
Department of Research Administration and International Relations,
University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and
Thu Ha Le
International School of Business, University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City,
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Abstract
Purpose –This study examines employee emotional exhaustion and turnover intention as the consequences
of problematic customer behaviors and tests the role of perceived organizational justice and job satisfaction in
mitigating these consequences.
Design/methodology/approach–A four-hypothesis model was tested using partial least squares structural
equation modeling (PLS-SEM) based on a two-phase survey of 369 frontline services employees in Vietnam
with a three-month time lag.
Findings –The study shows that abusive and unreasonably demanding customer behaviors have positive
effects on emotional exhaustion, which, in turn, reduces job satisfaction and, subsequently, turnover intention.
It also reveals that organizational justice mechanisms attenuate the positive association between emotional
exhaustion and turnover intention. Job satisfaction indirectly mitigated the turnover intention of emotionally
exhausted employees who had to deal with problematic customer behaviors, especially in the service sector in
Vietnam, an emerging market.
Originality/value –Buildingupon the social exchange theory (SET)and the conservation of resources theory
(COR), this study extendedthe research on organizational justice with respectto emotional exhaustion in the
customerservice sector that received less attentionpreviously. Rather than merely focusingon the interpersonal
factors (e.g. respect and sensitivity) as organizational support does, organizational justice encompasses
employees’perceptionof fairness of outcome and the whole process in an organization to reachdecisions.
Keywords Emotional exhaustion, Employee turnover, Organizational justice, Satisfaction, Vietnam
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Since 1909, the famous motto of Harry Gordon Selfridge about customer satisfaction
“Customer is always right”has been widely used by every business in the customer service
The role of
organizational
justice
215
Funding: This study was funded by the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City,
Vietnam under Grant number 2021-03-01-0224.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/2049-3983.htm
Received 1 June 2021
Revised 3 July 2022
26 July 2022
Accepted 12 August 2022
Evidence-based HRM: a Global
Forum for Empirical Scholarship
Vol. 11 No. 2, 2023
pp. 215-232
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2049-3983
DOI10.1108/EBHRM-06-2021-0115
sector or department. There is a call for firms to actively manage and handle customers’
complaints effectively, focusing on continuously improving the authenticity, competence,
and active listening skills of service employees (Gruber, 2011). From the basic idea that
customer complaints should be taken seriously, customer satisfaction has become a critical
element of a successful organization (Patterson, 1993). Many studies have confirmed the well-
established link between customer satisfaction and performance outcomes in both firm-level
and macro-level analysis (e.g. Otto et al., 2019;Williams and Naumann, 2011). This link
strongly guides practices in service firms in transitional economies where customer service
employees are coached and trained to be fully aware of how to meet customers’requirements.
However, meeting customers’requirements can have a dark side because not every
demand can be met immediately, giving rise to unpleasant or problematic customers
(Grandey et al., 2004;Bamfo et al., 2018). There is a claim that the bigger the customers are, the
more demanding they become, and sometimes, the more unreasonable they can be. This
problem occurs due to the unequal power between customers and employees and can cause
aggression in some customers (Allan and Gilbert, 2002). The pressure of satisfying these
unreasonable needs can sometimes be stressful. This problem can be exaggerated when
stressed customer service employees become emotionally exhausted and then depersonalize
and devaluate with adverse consequences such as negative emotional reactions (Madupalli
and Poddar, 2014), and decreased job performance (Janssen et al., 2010).
Unfortunately, previous studies in transitional economies on a customer–employee
relationship, such as Hau and Thuy (2012), have disregarded employees’mental aspect while
overestimating customers’behaviors and opinions. Therefore, these factors can cause
emotional exhaustion for customer service officers, who have to deal with this problem daily.
Employee commitment to customer-oriented activities can be negatively affected, potentially
leading to increased employee turnover. Although employees may want to stay in the
company, will they still be willing to undertake customer-related tasks, or will they leave and
find another less stressful career path? In such cases, the role of companies in handling
emotional exhaustion issues is extremely critical. Previous studies have widely examined the
moderating effects of perceived organizational support on emotional exhaustion and
employees’work-related attitudes (e.g. Hur et al., 2014;Marchand and Vandenberghe, 2016;
Zacher et al., 2019). However, there is another possibility that organizational considerations
can manage these problems by perceived organizational justice, which has been
demonstrated in various studies about perceived organizational justice and work-related
attitudes (e.g. Bergami and Morandin, 2019;Elamin, 2012).
Several studies have investigated the negative impacts of customer mistreatment on the
service employees’well-being, work attitudes and behaviors (e.g. Baranik et al., 2017;Chi
et al., 2018). However, there is still a lack of understanding about whether and how perceived
organizational justice changes these quitting intentions of emotionally exhausted employees
in the service sector of transitional economies.
Our study aims to bridge this gap and add to existing studies on the problematic
customers –emotional exhaustion –work-related attitudes (CEW) link (e.g. Poddar and
Madupalli, 2012). Based on combined rationales of the conservation of resources (COR) theory
and the social exchange theory (SET), we develop and empirically test a model that integrates
organizational justice, which is the degree to which employees believe the outcomes they
receive and how they are treated by an organization fairly, equitable and following
employees’expected moral and ethical standards (Cropanzano et al., 2003), as a potential
moderator in the CEW link.
The theoretical rationales are as follows: First, according to the COR theory, emotionally
exhaustedemployees tend to protect their depletingresources (e.g. emotional energy and socio-
emotional support) due to problematic customers by reducing their work commitment or
leaving theorganization. They are likely to examine thecauses of their resource loss and try to
EBHRM
11,2
216
To continue reading
Request your trial