Customer-Oriented Constructive Deviance as a Reaction to Organizational Injustice Toward Customers

To date, research on the deontic model and third-party reactions to injustice has focused primarily on individuals’ tendency to punish the transgressor. In this study, we seek to extend the extant research by arguing that punishment may not be the only deontic reaction and that third-party observers of injustice should engage in activities that help the victim. More specifically, we explore employee’s customer-oriented constructive deviance as a reaction to organizational injustice toward customers. We also investigate how this deviance influences customer satisfaction. In addition, we explore service climate, driven by servant leadership as a moderator on the relationship between employees’ perceptions of organizational unfairness and customer-oriented constructive deviance. The study collected three-level survey data from 95 hotel managers, 396 employees, and 1,848 customers. We find that servant leadership increases service climate, which in turn strengthens the relationship between organizational injustice toward customers and customer-oriented constructive deviance. The findings also reveal that customer-oriented constructive deviance increases perceived service quality, leading to customer satisfaction. Our study significantly contributes to the emerging theory concerning customer-oriented constructive deviance by explaining the antecedents, consequences, and moderators. The study also helps managers deal with customer-oriented constructive deviance in the workplace.