Impact of Job autonomy on Customer orientation: Mediating role of Affective commitment

This study aims at exploring the effects of work method autonomy (WMA), decision-making autonomy (DMA), and work scheduling autonomy (WSA) on customer orientation through employees’ affective commitment based on self-determination theory. The data was collected from full time front-line service workers in hospitality industry of China by employing cross-sectional design of study. The results show that three types of autonomy (WMA, DMA, WSA) are positively related with affective commitment and affective commitment has a positive effect on employees’ customer-oriented behavior. The results also postulate that affective commitment mediates the relationship between types of autonomy (WMA, DMA, WSA) and employees’ customer-oriented behavior. The study suggests that hospitality managers should shape such an environment in which they can provide employees with autonomy in choosing methods, schedules and making decisions so that they can experience affective commitment and get motivate to exhibit customer-oriented behaviors.