INSTALACIÓN DE REGLETAS A LA ENTRADA DE LOS

The hypothesized relationships between cognition (i.e., perceived warmth and competence), employee affective responses (i.e., job satisfaction and organizational commitment), behavioral intentions (i.e., turnover intentions), and behaviors come from the tripartite view of Bagozzi’s (1992) attitude theory. This theory posits that cognitive evaluations of events, outcomes, and situations preceed affective reactions, which in turn influence individual’s intentions and behaviors. Therefore, if employees perceive that

they work with competent and warm co-workers and restaurant general managers, employees should have increased job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Subsequently, employees’ job satisfaction and organizational commitment should negatively influence their turnover intentions, as prior studies demonstrate the negative relationships between positive job attitudes and turnover intentions.

A similar study by Alexandrov, Babakus, and Yavas (2007) in the retail sector examined the effects of management’s perceived concern for frontline employees and customers on turnover intentions, as mediated by job satisfaction and affective

organizational commitment. The results indicated that management’s perceived concern for employees and customers had significant positive effects on employees’ job

satisfaction and organizational commitment, which in turn had significant negative effects on employees’ turnover intentions. Burke, Borucki and Hurley (1992) first introduced the concept of management’s perceived concern for employees, as they covered the so-called psychological climate of the work environment, as well as employees’ cognitive evaluations of management decisions and behaviors. The latter concept included variables such as listening to what employees have to say, caring about the personal growth and achievements of employees, motivating employees without using fear and intimidation, and promoting teamwork throughout the company.

Lastly, another study from DiPietro and Bufquin (2014) also used Bagozzi’s (1992) attitude theory in order to analyze the influence of management’s perceived concern for employees and work status congruence on employee turnover intentions, as mediated by job satisfaction and organizational commitment. The results from the study demonstrated that management’s concern for employees and ability to match employees’

preferred work schedule and status have some positive effects on their job satisfaction and organizational commitment, which in turn had negative influences on employees’ turnover intentions. Interestingly enough, management’s perceived concern for employees is a construct that is very similar to the warmth construct that Fiske et al. (2002) describe, as it relates to management’s capacity to communicate, listen, inspire, and motivate their employees. On the other hand, work status congruence is a construct that is much more related to management’s capacity to organize, schedule, and listen to employees’ preferences about specific job characteristics, and such construct is thus more similar to the competence construct.

Having reviewed the theoretical framework that was used to develop the proposed hypotheses and model, namely the social exchange theory, the social identity theory and Bagozzi’s (1992) attitude theory, the following section summarizes all of the proposed hypotheses of the study.

2.13SUMMARY

In order to answer the first research question (i.e., how do warmth and competence perceptions of restaurant general managers and co-workers affect

employees’ attitudes, as measured in job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and turnover intentions?), the current study proposes that the social evaluations or perceptions of co-workers and general managers’ perceived warmth and competence will have

positive relationships with employees’ job satisfaction and organizational commitment (i.e., Hypotheses 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4a, and 4b). It is also hypothesized that satisfied and committed employees will have lower turnover intentions than employees who are dissatisfied with their jobs and uncommitted to their organization (i.e., Hypotheses 6 and

7). Satisfied employees will also have higher levels of organizational commitment than unsatisfied employees (i.e., Hypothesis 5).

Additionally, in order to answer the second research question (i.e., can employees’ attitudinal and behavioral outcomes differ based on the warmth and competence perceptions that they hold with regard to their co-workers and restaurant general managers?), it is hypothesized that employees who perceive that they work with warm and competent co-workers and general managers will have higher levels of job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and lower turnover intentions than employees who believe that they work with cold and/or incompetent co-workers and general managers (i.e., Hypotheses 11a, 11b, 12a, and 12b).

Moreover, in order to answer the third research question (i.e., are employees’ job satisfaction and organizational commitment related to restaurants’ performance?), it is hypothesized that casual dining restaurants that work with employees who have low turnover intentions will benefit from lower turnover rates than those restaurants who work with employees that have higher turnover intentions (i.e., Hypothesis 8). Along these lines, it is also hypothesized that restaurants with satisfied and committed employees will also benefit from high performance measures, as measured by

restaurants’ sales, cost of sales and customer satisfaction scores (i.e., Hypotheses 9 and 10).

Lastly, in order to answer the fourth research question (i.e., does the primacy of warmth over competence still apply in a corporate business setting, such as in casual dining restaurants?), it is hypothesized that it will be more important for employees to

work with competent co-workers and general managers than with warm co-workers and general managers (i.e., Hypotheses 13 and 14).

In sum, all of the following hypotheses are proposed in the current study:

Hypothesis 1a: The perceived warmth of restaurant co-workers is positively related to employee job satisfaction.

Hypothesis 1b: The perceived warmth of restaurant general managers is positively related to employee job satisfaction.

Hypothesis 2a: The perceived warmth of restaurant co-workers is positively related to employee organizational commitment.

Hypothesis 2b: The perceived warmth of restaurant general managers is positively related to employee organizational commitment.

Hypothesis 3a: The perceived competence of restaurant co-workers is positively related to employee job satisfaction.

Hypothesis 3b: The perceived competence of restaurant general managers is positively related to employee job satisfaction.

Hypothesis 4a: The perceived competence of restaurant co-workers is positively related to employee organizational commitment.

Hypothesis 4b: The perceived competence of restaurant general managers is positively related to employee organizational commitment.

Hypothesis 5: Job satisfaction is positively related to organizational commitment.

Hypothesis 6: Job satisfaction is negatively related to turnover intentions.

Hypothesis 8: Turnover intentions are positively related to casual dining restaurants’

turnover rates.

Hypothesis 9: Employees’ job satisfaction is positively related to restaurants’

performance (i.e., as measured by their sales, cost of sales, and customer satisfaction scores).

Hypothesis 10: Employees’ organizational commitment is positively related to

restaurants’ performance (i.e., as measured by their sales, cost of sales, and customer satisfaction scores).

Hypothesis 11a: Employees who perceive that they work with warm and competent restaurant co-workers will experience higher levels of job satisfaction and organizational commitment than employees who perceive that they work with cold and/or incompetent restaurant co-workers.

Hypothesis 11b: Employees who perceive that they work with a warm and competent restaurant general manager will experience higher levels of job satisfaction and organizational commitment than employees who perceive that they work with a cold and/or incompetent restaurant general manager.

Hypothesis 12a: Employees who perceive that they work with warm and competent restaurant co-workers will have lower turnover intentions than employees who perceive that they work with cold and/or incompetent restaurant co-workers/general managers.

Hypothesis 12b: Employees who perceive that they work with a warm and competent restaurant general manager will have lower turnover intentions than employees who perceive that they work with a cold and/or incompetent restaurant general manager.

Hypothesis 13: Restaurant co-workers’ perceived competence will be more important to employees than their perceived warmth in a casual dining restaurant setting.

Hypothesis 14: Restaurant general managers’ perceived competence will be more

important to employees than their perceived warmth in a casual dining restaurant setting. Having presented all of the study’s hypotheses, the following chapter describes the methodology that was used in order to verify them.

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