What makes employees provide quality service? The role of employee customer-oriented perspective taking

Customer-oriented perspective taking (COPT) refers to the ability of employees to actively adopt a customer's viewpoint, understanding their thoughts, motivations, and emotions. Despite the practical advantages of COPT, this concept has received limited attention in hospitality research. Drawing on social information processing theory, this study proposes that team collectivist culture, servant leadership, and coworker exchange can predict employee COPT, thereby enhancing employee service quality. Moreover, this study investigates the moderating role of high service performance work system (HSPWS). Specifically, data from 557 hospitality employees and 121 team leaders representing 121 teams in China was analyzed. The findings indicate that team-related factors, including collectivist culture, servant leadership, and coworker exchange, positively influence employee COPT, which subsequently leads to improved employee service quality. Additionally, the findings reveal that the impact of employee COPT on service quality is amplified when supported by HSPWS. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.