A Meta-Analysis of Relationship between Service Teamwork Mechanisms and Customer Service Outcomes

In many contemporary service organizations, service teams or service units are the main engine in delivering key services to customers, client or patients. However, it remains unclear how teamwork mechanisms (i.e., the ways team members work together) influence customer service outcomes, and whether these relationships vary across different service context. To advance knowledge on the nature of teamwork in service teams and to set an agenda for further work in this area, there is a need to integrate and synthesize findings across the diverse literature in service teamwork.

We found that cognitive teamwork mechanisms were more strongly positively associated than other mechanisms on customer evaluative outcomes, whereas motivational and perceptual teamwork mechanisms had stronger associations with financial outcomes. Further, four of the five teamwork mechanisms demonstrate stronger correlations under conditions of high service climate. The strength of correlation between teamwork mechanisms and customer service outcome also exhibit different patterns when being considered under different service types.