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Group & Organization Management
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Service Leader Interaction Behaviors

Comparing Employee and Manager Perspectives

Mark R. Testa

San Diego State University

Mark G. Ehrhart

San Diego State University

A key dynamic in satisfying customers is effective leadership of customer contact employees. In spite of decades of leadership study, little research has investigated effective leadership interaction behaviors specific to the service environment. The purpose of this investigation is to compare positive and negative interaction behaviors as reported by both managers and employees. Using the Critical Incident Technique (CIT), 305 positive and 234 negative incidents of service leader interaction behavior were collected from 120 managers and 231 employees drawn from73 service organizations. Using Yukl’s (2002) framework of leadership behaviors, the incidents were categorized to identify the most relevant behaviors for the service environment. The findings revealed 14 positive and 16 negative specific subcategories of interaction behavior, with significant disparities in perceptions between employees and managers. The implications of these findings are discussed and hypotheses are provided to guide future inquiry.

Key Words: service leadership • management • leader behavior • critical incidents

Group & Organization Management, Vol. 30, No. 5, 456-486 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/1059601104269109
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