Service Employee Performance: Its Components and Antecedents

Service employees are brand champions when their frontline performance supports the brand message. Conversely, employees are brand saboteurs when their performance detracts from the brand. This article explores frontline employees' attitudes about their service performance. Findings from a study of 956 employees in Irish retail banking and grocery firms indicate that employee performance has multiple components. We reveal employee attitudes about sabotage, and surface reasons for sabotage. Furthermore, the literature has advocated leadership, commitment, and shared values as prerequisites for brand championship. Our study traces the influence of these antecedents to provide a conceptual framework of service employee performance.