Measuring Service Orientation With Biodata.

In the U.S. economy the service sector is growing and the goods producing sector is declining. Currently, 80% of the U.S. work force, or 97.3 million people, are employed in the service sector compared with 60% in 1950 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1997). More importantly, between 1994 and 2005, the economy is expected to add 16.2 million service jobs while losing 1.3 million manufacturing jobs (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1995).

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between a biodata measure and service orientation. We are interested in ascertaining whether a biodata instrument developed by McBride et al. (1997) may be predictive of service-oriented behavior. We begin by summarizing the literature related to the changing workplace and the increasing need for useful screening devices for selecting service-oriented personnel (McBride et al., 1997). A description of the methods is then followed by the results and a discussion of some of the implications of the current research. We conclude the article with several suggestions for future research on service orientation.

LITERATURE

The change in the workplace from an industrial production orientation to a service orientation has stimulated research and theory development aimed at understanding the factors contributing to quality service (e.g., Czepiel et al., 1985a; Fulford and Enz, 1995). Understanding the service processes is obviously important to companies that provide services, especially when it may require a change in the culture of the organization and a shift in the interests of the customers (Arbaugh and Sexton, 1997; Bennett et at., 1994). As Bowen and Schneider (1985) explain, a service is produced and consumed at the same time, and there is no opportunity to rework the "product." They also point out that, for the customer, the quality of the company is often judged by the quality of the service. Manufacturing companies have even begun using service orientation strategically (Bowen et al., 1989), and they too have a stake in successful implementation of a strategy for enhancing customer satisfaction. One theoretical approac h is to view the service encounter as an interactive process in which the service provider or agent plays an important role (Klaus, 1985; Czepiel et al,, 1985b; Bowen and Schneider, 1985; George and Jones, 1991). This perspective is reinforced by research which studied the service encounter from an inter-actionist perspective (e.g., Rafeli, 1989).

Taking this viewpoint a step further, some writers assert that quality service depends, in part, on the skills, attitudes and personality traits of the service provider. Klaus (1985) refers to the agent's friendliness and warmth as contributing to clients' perception of quality service. Bowen and Schneider (1985) suggest that personal qualities such as flexibility, adaptiveness and empathy on the part of the agent are related to a quality service experience. In a study of Citibank, Fiebelkorn (1985) found that satisfaction with teller and telephone service was associated with agent qualities that included friendliness, interest in helping, and competence. This line of reasoning has led to the suggestion (Bowen and Schneider, 1985; Bowen et al., 1989; George and Jones, 1991) that the quality of service can be enhanced if the employer selects individuals for service positions who have the requisite personal characteristics. Because some of these characteristics are not readily amenable to training, the implication for management is that companies may want to include some form of personality testing as part of the process of selecting individuals for service positions (George and Jones, 1991).

At the same time, evidence was accumulating that personality testing may appropriately be used in the personnel selection process. Barrick and Mount (1991), using a meta-analysis technique, studied the relationship between personality factors and performance outcomes in five different types of jobs. The personality factors they used were Extroversion (sociable, gregarious), Emotional Stability (anxious, depressed, angry), Agreeableness (flexible, good natured, cooperative), Conscientiousness (responsible, organized, hardworking), and Openness to Experience (curious, original, broad-minded). These are commonly referred to as the "big five personality factors." In their analysis, Barrick and Mount found that Conscientiousness and Extroversion were valid predictors of job performance in the job category of sales, which is a service occupation. In a study in which managers and supervisors were asked to evaluate packets representing hypothetical applicants, Dunn et at. (1995) found that ratings of hireability for insurance sales (a service job) were also related to Conscientiousness and Extroversion.

While general personality traits may be used in selecting service providers, an instrument that is more narrowly focused on characteristics related to service occupations might be more helpful. Hogan et al. (1984) defined a personality construct they called "service orientation" and developed a personality test to measure that construct. They associated Service Orientation with traits such as being cooperative, self-controlled, dependable, and well-adjusted, and behaviors such as courtesy, consideration and tact. In their view, higher degrees of Service Orientation should be predictive of an employee's success in any job involving public contact and requiring smooth and cordial interaction. Starting with the Hogan Personality Inventory, they developed an 87-item Service Orientation Index (SOI). In four validation studies, using service-related occupations, Hogan et al. (1984) found correlations between scores on the SOI and job performance in a range from .25 to .41 (p [less than] .05 for all correlations).

Taking a somewhat different approach, McBride et al. (1997) developed a multiple-choice 39-item biodata instrument to measure the service-orientation construct. The majority of the items are experiential, attitudinal and behaviorally-based in nature. Taking a rational approach, seven subscales were identified in the biodata instrument: Satisfaction, Sociability, Agreeableness, Resistance to Stress, Responsibility, Need for Achievement, and Need to Make a Good Impression. Using a simulated customer-service situation, they found a correlation of .65 (p [less than] .001) between the biodata composite and criterion ratings of service orientation. Additionally, they found the SOI correlated significantly with the "Sociability" (r =.35) and "Good Impression" (r =.36) subscales of the biodata instrument. Using three samples of students and job applicants, Carraher et al. (1998) attempted to validate a slightly modified version of the McBride et al. (1997) biodata instrument. They found significant correlations betw een the criterion ratings of service orientation in all three samples and the Good Impressions, Helpfulness, Responsibility and Sociability subscales (ranging from .18 to .32) of the biodata instrument. The Helpfulness subscale was developed as a result of a limited-information factor analysis conducted by Carraher et al. (1998).

In the current study we reexamine the relationship between the biodata measure and service orientation using both the biodata scales as hypothesized by McBride et al. (1997) and factor scales developed from the present sample. Given that we know that Conscientiousness and Extroversion may be predictive of job performance in service-related jobs (Barrick and Mount, 1991; Dunn et al., 1995), we would expect to find the biodata subscales and factors related to service-orientation.

METHOD

The study used 605 subjects who were applicants for customer service positions with a large financial services organization (banking) in the Midwest. The organization is located in the largest metropolitan area in the Midwest. The specific job involves handling calls from customers who contact the organization via telephone. The sample was divided almost evenly on the basis of gender (311 males and 294 females) and had a mean age of 24.85 (SD = 5.54). Race was not examined as the organization involved in the study would not allow information on race to be collected as part of the screening process.

Subjects were asked to complete the modified form of the service-orientation biodata instrument developed by McBride et a. (1997), used by Carraher et al. (1998). They were also asked to provide information regarding their age and gender. Carraher et al. (1998) found that the median one-month test-retest reliability coefficient for the modified scales was .79 with a range of .70 to .91. All biodata items were modified so that they had five choices and, as recommended by McBride et al. (1997), a different version of a Need for Achievement scale (the one used by Carraher et al., 1998) was used. Participants were placed individually in a role-play situation in which they were to handle customer complaints regarding financial services products. In the simulation, the complaints were made over the telephone. The "customers" were confederates who read from several possible scripts. Each applicant was rated on service orientation by three trained raters who reviewed the taped telephone conversations. The raters wer e practicing industrial/organizational psychologists who held at least a masters degree. Each participant was assigned a service orientation score which was the pooled ratings of the three assessors.

The methodology used in this study deals with a concern raised by Schmit et al. (1995) that personality test results are influenced by the frame of reference of the test taker. Using students, they found differences in responses between those given general instructions compared with those given work-related instructions. Interestingly, the work-related instructions they used involved a service job. In the present study, the participants were actual applicants for a customer service job. In fact, this study goes beyond McBride et al.'s (1997) validation study which used students in a simulated task.

Print Get the Mag Weekly Updates