| The purpose of this research was to develop and test a model of the relationship between contact-employees and customers in a sport organization based on the balanced scorecard framework (Kaplan & Norton, 1992, 1993) and the Sears' model (Rucci, Kim, & Quinn, 1998). Specifically, the model proposed that employee attitudes (self-efficacy, organizational commitment and job satisfaction) and behaviors (in-role job performance and organizational citizenship behaviors) impact customer level outcomes (perceived service quality, customer satisfaction and loyalty).;Data were collected from contact-employees (n = 112) and customers (n = 303) representing 20 fitness clubs in South Florida. Linear hierarchical regressions followed by Structural Equation Modeling analysis were performed to evaluate the fit of the model to the data.;The results provided support for the proposed model as employee attitudes predicted employee behaviors, and customer perceived service quality predicted customer satisfaction and loyalty. Moreover, employee variables account for 54% of the customer perceived service quality variance, and 83% of the customer loyalty total variance. Managerial implications and directions for further research are discussed. |
