Service Quality, Resistance to Change, Employees? Engagement, and Outsourcing in Telecom Enterprise Organizations

  IJCOT-book-cover
 
International Journal of Computer & Organization Trends  (IJCOT)          
 
© 2016 by IJCOT Journal
Volume - 6 Issue - 5
Year of Publication : 2016
Authors :  Samuel Ogbonnaya. Ude
DOI : 10.14445/22492593/IJCOT-V36P307

Citation

Samuel Ogbonnaya. Ude"Service Quality, Resistance to Change, Employees? Engagement, and Outsourcing in Telecom Enterprise Organizations", International Journal of Computer & organization Trends (IJCOT), V6(5):34-42 Sep - Oct 2016, ISSN:2249-2593, www.ijcotjournal.org. Published by Seventh Sense Research Group.

AbstractThe purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between service quality, employees resistant to change, employees’ engagement, and outsourcing in a telecom environment. While managers adopt outsourcing as a strategy that benefits organization, engagement of employees to achieve efficiency results to resistance to outsourcing. Porter`s theory of competitive advantage complimented the relational explanation of the variables. A random sample of 95 information technology employees from telecom service companies in the United States participated in an online survey. The results from a multiple linear regression model were significant in predicting the outsourcing behavior of the employees. Service quality and resistant to change were significant contributors to outsourcing behavior; the findings indicated moderate R2 as the p-value was significant. The introduction of other organizational related variables by future researchers might enhance the effectiveness of the model. The practical implications for change includes the potential to enhance telecom managers appreciate factors that influence employee behavior during outsourcing.

References

[1] Jain, S., & Swarup, K. (2011). Offshore outsourcing: a strategic approach towards maximizing organization value. Synergy, 9(2), 59-71.
[2] Sohail, M. S. (2012). Outsourcing the information technology function: Perspectives from employees. South African Journal of Business Management, 43(2), 51-59.
[3] Grover, V., Cheon, M. J., & Teng, T.C.J. (1996). The effect of service quality and partnership on the outsourcing of information systems functions. Journal of Management Information Systems, 12(4), 89-116.
[4] Drayse, M. H. (2008). Globalization and regional change in the U.S. furniture industry. Growth & Change, 39(2), 252- 282.
[5] Kumar, S., Muddada, R., Pandey, M., Mahanty, B., & Tiwari, M. (2013). Logistics planning and inventory optimization using swarm intelligence: a third party perspective. International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 65,9-12; 1535-1551.
[6] Roberts, V. (2001). Managing strategic outsourcing in the healthcare industry. Journal of Healthcare Management, 46, 4, 239
[7] Brown, S. P., & Slegel, L. B. (2005). Mass layoff data indicate outsourcing and offshoring work. Monthly Labor Review, 128(8), 3-10.
[8] Bhagwatwar, A., Bala, H., & Ramesh, V. (2014). IT service management employee compensation: Determinants and outcomes. E-Service Journal, 9(3), 1-18.
[9] Cong, G., & Chen, T. (2015). A novel dynamic algorithm for it outsourcing risk assessment based on transaction cost theory. Discrete Dynamics in Nature & Society, 20(15), 1- 10.
[10] Lioliou, E., Zimmermann, A., Willcocks, L., & Gao, L. (2014). Formal and relational governance in IT outsourcing: substitution, complementarity and the role of the psychological contract. Information Systems Journal, 24(6), 503-535.
[11] Ünver, L., & Gündem, T. ?. (2016). Authentication of uncertain data based on k-means clustering. Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences, 24(4), 2910-2928.
[12] Friginal, E. (2007). Outsourced call centers and English in the Philippines. World Englishes, 26(3), 331-345.
[13] Madon, S., & Sharanappa, S. (2013). Social IT outsourcing and development: theorising the linkage. Information Systems Journal, 23(5), 381-399.
[14] Roy, S., & Sivakumar, K. (2012). Global outsourcing relationships and innovation: A conceptual framework and research propositions. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 29(4), 513-530.
[15] Dou, W., Qi, L., Zhang, X., & Chen, J. (2013). An evaluation method of outsourcing services for developing an elastic cloud platform. Journal of Supercomputing, 63(1), 1-23.
[16] Beerepoot, N., & Lambregts, B. (2015). Competition in online job marketplaces: towards a global labour market for outsourcing services. Global Networks, 15(2), 236-255
[17] Doellgast, V., Sarmiento-Mirwaldt, K., & Benassi, C. (2016). Contesting Firm Boundaries. Industrial & Labor Relations Review, 69(3), 551-578
[18] Rangnekar, R. (2016). Language training for business: to what extent should we focus on accent? IUP Journal of Soft Skills, 10(2), 44-55.
[19] Elia, S., Caniato, F., Luzzini, D., & Piscitello, L. (2014). Governance choice in global sourcing of services: The impact on service quality and cost saving performance. Global Strategy Journal, 4(3), 181-199.
[20] Agrawal, S., Goswami, K., & Chatterjee, B. (2014). Factors influencing entry of ites firms into high value services. Journal of Management Research, 14(1), 41-56.
[21] Vukovic, m., & Natarajan, A. (2013). Enhancing quality of it services delivery using enterprise crowdsourcing. International Journal of Cooperative Information Systems, 22(3), 1-21.
[22] Subramony, M., Beehr, T. A., & Johnson, C. M. (2004). Employee and customer perceptions of service quality in an Indian firm. applied psychology: An International Review, 53(2), 311-327.
[23] Czajkowska, A., & Stasiak-Betlejewska, R. (2015). Quality management tools applying in the strategy of logistics services quality improvement. Serbian Journal of Management, 10(2), 225-234.
[24] Gountas, S., Gountas, J., Soutar, G., & Mavondo, F. (2014). Delivering good service: personal resources, job satisfaction and nurses` `customer` (patient) orientation. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 70(7), 1553-1563.
[25] Beynon, M. J., Jones, P., Pickernell, D., & Packham, G. (2015). Investigating the impact of training influence on employee retention in small and medium enterprises: a regression-type classification and ranking believe simplex analysis on sparse data. Expert Systems, 32(1), 141-154
[26] Johnson, J. W. (1996). Linking employee perceptions of service climate to customer satisfaction. Personnel Psychology, 49(4), 831-851.
[27] Böckerman, P., & Maliranta, M. (2013). Outsourcing, occupational restructuring, and employee well-being: Is there a silver lining?. Industrial Relations, 52(4), 878-914.
[28] Elmuti, D., Grunewald, J., & Abebe, D. (2010). Consequences of outsourcing strategies on employee quality of work life, attitudes, and performance. Journal of Business Strategies, 27(2), 177-203
[29] Kostopoulos, K., & Bozionelos, N. (2010). Employee reactions to forms of downsizing: are there any lesser evils? Academy of Management Perspectives, 24(4), 95-96
[30] Bhuvanaiah, T., & Raya, R. P. (2015). Mechanism of improved performance: Intrinsic motivation and employee engagement. SCMS Journal of Indian Management, 12(4), 92-97.
[31] Cohen, D. (2014). Employment engagement. People & Strategy, 36(4), 12-14.
[32] Haymes, R. (2015). Should employees be incentivised for leading a healthy lifestyle. Occupational Health, 67(5), 11- 11.
[33] Lavigna, B. (2015). Commentary: Public service motivation and employee engagement. Public Administration Review, 75(5), 732-733.
[34] Sinha, K., & Trivedi, S. (2014). Employee engagement with special reference to Herzberg two factor and LMX theories: A study of I.T sector. SIES Journal of Management, 10(1), 22-35.
[35] Antràs, P., & Staiger, R. W. (2012). Offshoring and the role of trade agreements. American Economic Review, 102(7), 3140-3183.
[36] Brecher, R. A., & Chen, Z. (2014). Unemployment and welfare consequences of international outsourcing under monopolistic competition. Canadian Journal of Economics, 47(2), 540-554.
[37] Rocha-Akis, S., & Schöb, R. (2011). Welfare policy in the presence of unionised labour and internationally mobile firms. Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 113(1), 93-119.
[38] Bandyopadhyay, S., Marjit, S., & Yang, L. (2014). International oligopoly, barriers to outsourcing and domestic employment. Canadian Journal of Economics, 47(4), 1372-1386.
[39] Soundarapandiyan, K., & Ganesh, M. (2015). Employee retention strategy with reference to Chennai based ITES industry- an empirical study. Global Management Review, 9(2), 1-13.
[40] Oldenski, L. (2014). Offshoring and the polarization of the U.S. labor market. Industrial & Labor Relations Review, 734-761.
[41] Betz, S., Oberweis, A., & Stephan, R. (2014). Knowledge transfer in offshore outsourcing software development projects: an analysis of the challenges and solutions from German clients. Expert Systems, 31(3), 282-297
[42] Kristjánsson, B., Helms, R., & Brinkkemper, S. (2014). Integration by communication: knowledge exchange in global outsourcing of product software development. Expert Systems, 31(3), 267-281.
[43] Martinez-Noya, A., Garcia-Canal, E., & Guillen, M. F. (2013). R& D outsourcing and the effectiveness of intangible investments: Is proprietary core knowledge walking out of the door? Journal of Management Studies, 50(1), 67-91.
[44] Fraher, A. L., & Gabriel, Y. (2016). Meeting and resisting the corporate body snatchers: The us piloting profession in times of downsizing and restructuring. Tamara Journal for Critical Organization Inquiry, 14(1), 35-51.
[45] Meier, R., Ben, E. R., & Schuppan, T. (2013). ICT-enabled public sector organisational transformation: Factors constituting resistance to change. Information Polity: The International Journal of Government & Democracy in The Information Age, 18(4), 315-329.
[46] Sasikala, S., & Victor Anthonyraj, S. (2015). Self-efficacy, emotional intelligence and organizational commitment in relation to resistance to change among employees. Annamalai International Journal of Business Studies & Research, 30-35.
[47] Ganesh, A. (2016). Understanding the relationship between employee motivation and customer retention. Vilakshan: The XIMB Journal of Management, 13(1), 101-114.
[48] De Gieter, S., & Hofmans, J. (2015). How reward satisfaction affects employees` turnover intentions and performance: an individual differences approach. Human Resource Management Journal, 25(2), 200-216.
[49] Lavanya, T., & Kalliath, N. M. (2015). Work motivation and leadership styles in relation to organizational citizenship behavior. Annamalai International Journal of Business Studies & Research, 11-18.
[50] Padmanaban, G., & Shakeel-Ul-Rehman. (2013). Comparative analysis of employee training practices for sustainability in telecom industry. Global Management Review, 8(1), 29-35.
[51] Zumrah, A. R., Boyle, S., & Fein, E. C. (2013). The consequences of transfer of training for service quality and job satisfaction: an empirical study in the Malaysian public sector. International Journal of Training & Development, 17(4), 279-294.
[52] Kahouei, M., Farrokhi, M., Abadi, Z. N., & Karimi, A. (2016). Concerns and hopes about outsourcing decisions regarding health information management services at two teaching hospitals in Semnan, Iran. Health Information Management Journal, 45(1), 36-44.
[53] Bloodgood, J. (2013). Crowdsourcing: Useful for problem solving, but what about value capture? Academy of Management Review, 38(3), 455-457.
[54] Harrison, J. S., Bosse, D., & Phillips, R. A. (2007). Stakeholder theory and competitive advantage. Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings, 1-6.
[55] Prasad, A., & Warrier, L. (2016). Mr. porter and the new world of increasing returns to scale. Journal of Management Research, 16(1), 3-15.
[56] Dickinson, V., & Sommers, G. A. (2012). Which competitive efforts lead to future abnormal economic rents? using accounting ratios to assess competitive advantage. Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, 39(3/4), 360- 398.
[57] Rai, A., & Xinlin, T. (2010). Leveraging IT capabilities and competitive process capabilities for the management of interorganizational relationship portfolios. Information Systems Research, 21(3), 516-542.
[58] Allred, C. R., Fawcett, S. E., Wallin, C., & Magnan, G. M. (2011). A dynamic collaboration capability as a source of competitive advantage. Decision Sciences, 42(1), 129-161.
[59] Coff, R., & Raffiee, J. (2015). Toward a theory of perceived firm-specific human capital. Academy of Management Perspectives, 29(3), 326-341.
[60] Magdalena, P. (2015). Innovation generation process and its determinants. Contemporary Management Quarterly, 14(1), 51-66.
[61] Grant, R. M. (1991). The resource-based theory of competitive advantage: Implications for strategy formulation. California Management Review, 33(3), 114- 135.
[62] Hyatali, N., & Fai Pun, K. (2016). Aligning project quality and risks into business processes: A Review of Challenges and Strategies. West Indian Journal of Engineering, 38(2), 81-92.
[63] Cukrowski, J., & Fischer, M. M. (2000). Theory of comparative advantage: Do transportation costs matter? Journal of Regional Science, 40(2), 311.
[64] Hickman, D. C., & Olney, W. W. (2011). Globalization and investment in human capital. Industrial & Labor Relations Review, 64(4), 654-672.
[65] Magnani, E., & Prentice, D. (2010). Outsourcing and unionization: a tale of misallocated (resistance) resources. Economic Inquiry, 48(2), 460-482.
[66] Ottaviano, G. P., Peri, G., & Wright, G. C. (2013). Immigration, offshoring, and American jobs. American Economic Review, 103(5), 1925-1959.
[67] Eisenberger, R., Huntington, R., Hutchison, S., & Sowa, D. (1986). Perceived organizational support. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71, 500 –507
[68] Conway, N., & Coyle-Shapiro, J. A. (2012). The reciprocal relationship between psychological contract fulfilment and employee performance and the moderating role of perceived organizational support and tenure. Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology, 85(2), 277- 299.
[69] Duffy, J. A., & Lilly, J. (2013). Do individual needs moderate the relationships between organizational citizenship behavior, organizational trust and perceived organizational support? Journal of Behavioral & Applied Management, 14(3), 185-197.
[70] Fatima, M., Shafique, M., Qadeer, F., & Ahmad, R. (2015). HR practices and employee performance relationship in higher education: mediating role of job embeddedness, perceived organizational support and trust. Pakistan Journal of Statistics & Operation Research, 11(3), 421-439.
[71] Kasalak, g., & Aksu, M. B. (2014). The relationship between perceived organizational support and organizational cynicism of research assistants. Educational sciences: Theory & Practice, 14(1), 125-133.
[72] Urbonas, G., Kubilien?, L., Kubilius, R., & Urbonien?, A. (2015). Assessing the effects of pharmacists` perceived organizational support, organizational commitment and turnover intention on provision of medication information at community pharmacies in Lithuania: a structural equation modeling approach. BMC Health Services Research, 15(1), 1-10
[73] Havaei, F., Dahinten, V. S., & MacPhee, M. (2015). The effects of perceived organizational support and span of control on the organizational commitment of novice leaders. Journal of Nursing Management, 23(3), 307-314.
[74] Wu, T., Hu, C., & Jiang, D. (2012). Is subordinate`s loyalty a precondition of supervisor`s benevolent leadership? The moderating effects of supervisor`s altruistic personality and perceived organizational support. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 15(3), 145-155.
[75] Vaughan, L., & Shiu, E. (2001). ARCHSECRET: A multiitem scale to measure service quality within the voluntary sector. International Journal of Nonprofit & Voluntary Sector Marketing, 6(2), 131.
[76] Headley, D. E., & Miller, S. J. (1993). Measuring service quality and its relationship to future consumer behavior. Journal of Health Care Marketing, 13(4), 32-41.
[77] Parikh, D. (2006). Measuring retail service quality: an empirical assessment of the instrument. Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers, 31(2), 45-55.
[78] Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A. and Berry, L.L. (1988), "SERVQUAL: a multi-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of the service quality", Journal of Retailing, 64(1),1240
[79] Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A. and Berry, L.L. (1985), "A conceptual model of service quality and its implication", Journal of Marketing, 49, 41-50.
[80] Seth, I., Shivali, & Garg, A. (2015). Service quality at Punjab national bank: using SERVQUAL Instrument. Global Journal of Enterprise Information System, 7(1), 72- 79
[81] Sharma, S. K., Anand, V. K., & Sharma, G. (2010). Quality of services rendered by university libraries: An empirical investigation. Trends in Information Management, 6(1), 1-16.
[82] Tate, M., & Evermann, J. (2010). The end of Servqual in online services research: Where to from here. E-Service Journal, 7(1), 60-85.
[83] Mbise, E. R., & Tuninga, R. J. (2016). Measuring business schools` service quality in an emerging market using an extended SERVQUAL instrument. South African Journal of Business Management, 47(1), 61-74.
[84] Ruiqi, Z., & Adrian, P. (2009). Using servqual to measure the service quality of travel agents in Guangzhou, South China. Journal of Services Research, 9(1), 87-107.
[85] Nerstad, C. L., Richardsen, A. M., & Martinussen, M. (2010). Factorial validity of the utrecht work engagement scale (uwes) across occupational groups in Norway. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 51(4), 326-333.
[86] Seppälä, P., Mauno, S., Feldt, T., Hakanen, J., Kinnunen, U., Schaufeli, W., & Tolvanen, A. (2009). The construct validity of the utrecht work engagement scale: Multisample and longitudinal evidence. Journal of Happiness Studies, 10(4), 459-481.
[87] Strijk, J. E., Proper, K. I., Klaver, L., van der Beek, A. J., & van Mechelen, W. (2010). Associations between VO2max and vitality in older workers: A cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health, 10, 684-689.
[88] Extremera, N., Sánchez-García, M., Durán, M. A., & Rey, L. (2012). Examining the psychometric properties of the utrecht work engagement scale in two Spanish multioccupational samples. International Journal of Selection & Assessment, 20(1), 105-110.
[89] Mills, M., Culbertson, S., & Fullagar, C. (2012). Conceptualizing and measuring engagement: An analysis of the utrecht work engagement scale. Journal of Happiness Studies, 13(3), 519-545.
[90] Schaufeli, W. B., Mart?nez, I. M., Marques-Pinto, M. A., Salanova, M., & Bakker, A. B. (2002a). Burnout and engagement in university students: A cross-national study. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 33, 464–481.
[91] Schaufeli, W. B., Salanova, M., Gonzalez-Roma ´, V., & Bakker, A. B. (2002b). The measurement of engagement and burnout: A confirmative analytic approach. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3, 71–92.
[92] Oreg, S. (2003). Resistance to change: Developing an individual differences measure. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 680-693.
[93] Oreg, S., & Berson, Y. (2009). Leaders` characteristics and behaviors and employees` resistance to organizational change. Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings, 1-6.
[94] van Dam, K., Oreg, S., & Schyns, B. (2008). Daily work contexts and resistance to organizational change: The role of leader–member exchange, development climate, and change process characteristics. Applied psychology: An International Review, 57(2), 313-334.
[95] Cobb, S. C. (2001). Globalization in a small island context: creating and marketing competitive advantage for offshore financial services. Geografiska Annaler Series B: Human Geography, 83(4), 161.
[96] Hartshorn, J., & Wheeler, D. (2002). Facilities Strategic Business Responses to Sustainability. Greener Management International, (40), 107-119.
[97] Dou, W., Qi, L., Zhang, X., & Chen, J. (2013). An evaluation method of outsourcing services for developing an elastic cloud platform. Journal of Supercomputing, 63(1), 1-23.
[98] Fawcett, S. E., & Vellenga, D. B. (1992). Transportation characteristics and performance in maquiladora operations. Transportation Journal, 31(4), 5-16.
[99] Sari, B., Sen, T., & Kilic, S. E. (2008). Ahp model for the selection of partner companies in virtual enterprises. International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 38(3/4), 367-376.
[100] Arslan, B. (2015). Factors affecting the private label attitudes of consumers in Turkey. Electronic Journal of Social Sciences, 14(55), 125-138.
[101] Rodine-Hardy, K. (2015). Globalization, international organizations, and telecommunications. Review of Policy Research, 32(5), 517-537.
[102] Costinot, A., Donaldson, D., Vogel, J., & Werning, I. (2015). Comparative advantage and optimal trade policy. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 130(2), 659-702.
[103] Costinot, A., & Donaldson, D. (2012). Ricardo`s theory of comparative advantage: Old idea, new evidence. American Economic Review, 102(3), 453-458.
[104] Yarbrough, B. V., & Yarbrough, R. M. (1985). Free trade, hegemony, and the theory of agency. Kyklos, 38(3), 348.
[105] Goo, J., Huang, C. D., & Hart, P. (2008). A path to successful it outsourcing: Interaction between service-level agreements and commitment. Decision Sciences, 39(3), 469-506.
[106] Aydin, K., & Yildirim, S. (2012). The measurement of service quality with Servqual for different domestic airline firms in Turkey. Serbian Journal of Management, 7(2), 219-230.
[107] Mishra, A., Kumar, B. R., & Bir Singh, D. (2013). A study of gaps in service quality at a leading private sector commercial bank in Greater Noida. IUP Journal of Bank Management, 12(1), 43-62.
[108] Burnes, B. (2004). Kurt Lewin and the planned approach to change: A re-appraisal. Journal of Management Studies, 41(6), 977-1002.
[109] Burnes, B., & Cooke, B. (2013). Kurt Lewin`s field theory: A review and re-evaluation. International Journal of Management Reviews, 15(4), 408-425.
[110] Dubé-Rioux, L., Schmitt, B. H., & Leclerc, F. (1989). Consumers` reactions to waiting: When delays affect the perception of service quality. Advances in Consumer Research, 16(1), 59-63
[111] Levasseur, R. E. (2001). People skills: Change management tools-Lewin`s change model. Interfaces, 31(4), 71
[112] Costinot, A., Donaldson, D., Vogel, J., & Werning, I. (2015). Comparative advantage and optimal trade policy. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 130(2), 659-702.
[113] Cypher, J. M., & Dietz, J. L. (1998). Static and dynamic comparative advantage: A multi-period analysis with declining terms of trade. Journal of Economic Issues, 32(2), 305-314.
[114] Golub, S. S., & Hsieh, C. (2000). Classical Ricardian theory of comparative advantage revisited. Review of International Economics, 8(2), 221.
[115] Bernhofen, D. M., & Brown, J. C. (2004). A direct test of the theory of comparative advantage: The Case of Japan. Journal of Political Economy, 112(1), 48-67.
[116] Garcilazo Lagunes, S., Del Valle, I. D., & Sastre Castillo, M. A. (2016). Moderating effects of the relationship between offshore outsourcing and the export capability of firms. South African Journal of Business Management, 47(2), 33-42.
[117] Palley, T. I. (2008). Institutionalism and new trade theory: Rethinking comparative advantage and trade policy. Journal of Economic Issues, 42(1), 195-208.
[118] Went, R. (2000). Game, set, and match for Mr. Ricardo? The surprising comeback of protectionism in the era of globalizing free trade. Journal of Economic Issues, 34(3), 655-677.
[119] Feenstra, R. C., & Hanson, G. H. (1999). The impact of outsourcing and high-technology capital on wages estimates for the United States. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 114(3), 907.
[120] Klaas, B. S., Clendon, J. M., & Gainey, T. W. (1999). HR outsourcing and its impact: The role of transaction costs. Personnel Psychology, 52(1), 113-136.
[121] Calantone, R. J., & Stanko, M. A. (2007). Drivers of outsourced innovation: An exploratory study. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 24(3), 230-241.

Keywords
Outsourcing, employee engagement, comparative advantage, globalization, service quality.