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The services literature extols the importance of the link between satisfied customers and satisfied employees. In this study, the authors develop and test a job satisfaction model that examines the role of rewarding professionalism. Specifically, they examine whether rewards for professional behavior foster professionalism and esprit de corps (a set of enthusiastically shared feelings, beliefs, and values about group membership and performance) in order to further understanding of job satisfaction for professional service providers. Using surveys from marketing researchers, the authors assess the importance of rewarding professional service providers for professional behavior by examining the links between reward structures, esprit de corps, and job satisfaction. Research findings indicate that as organizations reward professional behavior they help foster the development of key aspects of professionalism. The findings are that a reward structure favoring professional behavior directly leads to higher esprit de corps and employee job satisfaction.
Over the past 100 years, society has witnessed a rapid growth in professions (Derber, Schwartz, and Magrass 1990). Much of this can be traced to the rise of the division of labor in society. As the end of the 19th century neared, Durkheim (1893/1984) theorized about the increased division of labor in society and its influence on the social fabric. Today, having entered the 21st century, another dramatic development in specialization is occurring, a division of knowledge in society instead of a division of physical labor. More recently, Derber, Schwartz, and Magrass (1990) argued that "if everyone had expertise to sell, separate knowledge classes could not exist. To finish the job of making knowledge into property, experts must keep secrets and create a division of mental and manual labor" (p. 16). In effect, professional services (knowledge providers) represent valuable property that significantly contributes to the economy.
The growth in professional services opens a field that is important for service marketers to study. Providing quality service within a professional context is crucial. Ultimately, all service firms care about delivering quality service to ensure repeat business. An important link in the chain from the firm to repeat business is the link between satisfied employees and satisfied customers (Heskett, Sasser, and Schlesinger 1997). Job satisfaction has been shown to influence customers' perceptions of the quality of service (Rafaeli 1989; Schneider and...