The effects of customer contact on conformance quality and productivity in Chinese service firms

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to examine how service enablers such as resource management and human resource management practices, identified in prior research as vital, influence both conformance quality and productivity performance. The paper also aims to study how the level of customer contact, a major service differentiator, could moderate the influence of such practices on performance. Design/methodology/approach – Using sample data from 249 service firms in China, hierarchical a regression analyses is employed to test the research questions. Findings – The results indicate that there are common resource management and human resource management practices that positively affect both conformance quality and productivity. Importantly, besides its direct and positive effect on conformance quality and on productivity performance, the level of customer contact was found to have a contingency effect on the relationships between resource management or human resource management practices, and conformance quality or productivity performance. Research limitations/implications – Future research should consider including other developing countries, more service industries, and a longitudinal study if possible. Practical implications – Implications of the findings on theory in services and managerial practice in the context of China are offered. Originality/value – The theoretical value of the research lies in identifying the factors that simultaneously affect both conformance quality and productivity (which are often seen as competing goals) in service sectors, and their dependency on the level of customer contact.