Journal of Sport Management, 2012, 26, 143-158

© 2012 Human Kinetics, Inc.

HRM Practices, Organizational Citizenship Behaviors,

and Perceived Service Quality in Golf Courses
Solha Husin
University of Malaya

Packianathan Chelladurai
The Ohio State University

Ghazali Musa
University of Malaya

Three hundred and twenty five employees of 68 golf courses in Malaysia participated in this study investigating
the proposed model wherein selected HRM practices (Support at Work, Training, Reward System, Supervisory
Assistance, and Performance Appraisal) were seen as influencing organizational citizenship behavior (OCB)
which, in turn, was associated with Perceived Service Quality. The results showed that the measurement model
and the structural model fit the data very well. Further, all of the paths specified in the model except the one
linking Training to OCB were significant with OCB explaining more than 50% of the variance in Perceived
Service Quality. Increased support at work, Reward System, Supervisory Assistance, and Performance Appraisal
resulted in higher levels of Perceived Service Quality.

There are indications that the golf industry is in
decline in the United States. Aylward (2009) reports that
more golf courses have closed in the previous three years
and that there are fewer golfers in 2009 (n = 28.6 mil-
lion) than in 2005 (n = 30 million). Further, the number
of rounds played has also decreased from 518 million in
2000–489 million in 2008 (Aylward, 2009). While these
figures relate to the United States, they do point to the
dilemma the golf industry and the golf clubs face around
the world. Industry analysts suggest that the state of affairs
in the golf industry in Malaysia is not much different.
Randolph’s World (2008) reports that the Malaysian golf
industry (including the golf courses and equipment retail-
ers) is in dire straits as the number of golfers and number
of rounds played have decreased over the years. As another
indication, the Prime Minister of Malaysia announced in
March 2010 the abolition of the 50% import duty on golf
buggies with a view to help the struggling golf industry
(The Star, 2010). The reasons for the decline include the
cost of playing golf, the time it takes to play a round of
golf, and the difficulty of learning the game (USA Today,
Husin is with the Dept. of Sport Management, University of
Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Chelladurai is with the Dept.
of Physical Activity and Education Services, The Ohio State
University, Columbus, OH. Musa is with the Faculty of Busi-
ness and Accountancy, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia.
2010). Even as these reasons explain the shrinkage of the
market, they do not provide any relief to the clubs and
golf courses which are struggling to keep their current
customers and recruit new ones in a competitive market.
Given that the location and design of golf courses
are fixed elements, the managers of golf courses do not
have much leeway in altering those elements. However,
they have considerable flexibility in how they manage
the daily operations associated with the services offered
by the club. The primary services offered by a club
include the ‘renting’ of the playing course itself, the
reservation process, the services of caddies, and the
services of professionals, if any. The secondary seg-
ment includes all those complementary services that do
not directly relate to golfing per se but important in the
enhancement of customer experiences (e.g., food and
beverages at the restaurants, cleanliness of the changing
rooms, adequacy of locker rooms and safety at parking
facilities). The service-profit chain theory would suggest
that, if the consumers feel that these services are pleas-
ant and fruitful, they are more likely to return to the club
to have similar experiences (Heskett, Jones, Loveman,
Sasser, & Schlesinger, 1994). Managing the quality of
the services is much less expensive than redesigning the
course or finding a new location. However, the quality
of services is largely dependent on the human resources
(e.g., employees) who deliver those services.
The notion that human resources are the levers of
competitive advantage (Bowen & Ostroff, 2004) is more

143
144   Husin, Chelladurai, and Musa
germane to service operations where the employee-
customer interface is the stage for formation of customer
attitudes and judgments (Bowen & Ford, 2002). The cus-
tomers rely on their interactions with the service provider
in making judgments about the organization. As such,
the service provider is the major source of cultivating a
relationship between the customer and the organization.
Formation of such a relationship is the central thrust of
the emergent field of relationship marketing (Beatson,
Lings, & Gudergan, 2008).
From a different perspective, the literature on
service-profit chain also underscores the importance
of the employee in the chain. That is, profit and growth
are driven by customer loyalty which is a function of
customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction, in turn, is
enhanced by the value of the services provided by the
satisfied and loyal employees (Heskett et al., 1994). In
sum, service provider’s attitudes and performance is the
strongest link in the profit chain of service operations.
The basic premise of this research is based on the notion
that “employee satisfaction…results primarily from high-
quality support services and policies that enable employ-
ees to deliver to customers” (Heskett et al., 1994, p.165).
While service providers are expected to conform to
specifications for service delivery (i.e., in-role behavior),
recent research emphasizes that employees’ extrarole
behaviors are the major influence on customer percep-
tions of quality and resultant satisfaction and commitment
(Yi & Gong, 2008). That is, those service providers who
would extend themselves beyond the minimal require-
ments of the job to satisfy the customers would indeed
be a valuable resource. These extrarole behaviors such as
taking short or skipping coffee or lunch breaks (to enter-
tain customers or assisting colleagues), spreading good
word-of-mouth about their companies, and abiding by the
rules to help maintain smooth operation of the company’s
business, have been labeled Organizational Citizenship
Behavior (OCB) by Organ (1988), its original proponent.
Much of the literature on OCB relates to the manu-
facturing sector, and more so in the context of work
groups (e.g., workers helping each other and the orga-
nization with their extrarole behaviors). The customers
are not part of this discourse. In the context of service
operations though, the employee-customer interface
may call for, and is amenable to OCB. That is, if one is
inclined to engage in OCB within one’s own work group,
we can expect that the OCB tendency would spill over to
employee-customer interface where the employee may
go beyond the prescriptions (i.e., in extra role behaviors)
to meet or exceed the varying expectations of customers.
In fact, existing research shows that such OCB in meet-
ing individual needs is likely to have a greater impact on
customer attitudes toward the employee, the service, and
the organization (e.g., Piercy, Cravens, Lane, & Vohies,
2006; Yi & Gong, 2008).
The literature also shows that employee OCB is a
positive reaction to favorable conditions in the workplace
(e.g., Leung, 2008). Social exchange theory would sug-
gest that the support from the organization and/or its
supervisors, for example, would be reciprocated by the
employees working harder and more diligently in support
of the organization (Blau, 1964). Based on this effect, it
has been recommended that organizations should focus
more on facilitating employee OCB which, in turn, would
build the relationships with the customers which is essen-
tial for profitability (Morrison, 1996). The central thrust
of this paper is on organizational practices that facilitate
employee OCB which, in turn, leads to higher perceptions
of quality of the service.
Conceptual Framework
and Hypotheses
The purpose of this study is to propose and test an empiri-
cal model linking selected HRM practices, employee
Organizational Citizenship Behaviors, and Perceived
Service Quality. As shown in Figure 1, the central variable
of the model is OCB whose antecedents are HRM prac-
tices (i.e., Support at Work, Training, Reward System,
Supervisor Assistance, and Performance Appraisal) of
the organization and its consequence is Perceived Service
Quality. These variables, their interrelationships, and the
hypotheses thereof are explicated below.
Organizational Citizenship
Behaviors
OCB is defined as “individual behavior that is discretion-
ary, not directly or explicitly recognized by the formal
reward system, and that in the aggregate promotes the
effective functioning of the organization” (Organ, 1988;
p. 4). Such citizenship behaviors enhance organizational
performance because “they ‘lubricate’ the social machin-
ery of the organization, reduce friction, and increase
efficiency” (Podsakoff, Ahearne, & MacKenzie, 1997;
p. 263).
While Organ (1988) conceived of seven categories
of citizenship behaviors (altruism, conscientiousness,
loyalty, teambuilding, courtesy, sportsmanship, and civic
virtue), subsequent research has shown that some of these
categories overlap each other (e.g., Bettencourt, Gwin-
ner, & Meuter, 2001; González & Garazo, 2006). For
example, Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Moorman, and Fetter
(1990) found that altruism was highly correlated with
courtesy (r = .86). This implies that altruism and courtesy
are not distinctly different from each other. Similarly,
LePine and his associates (2002) pointed to the overlap
among loyalty, sportsmanship, and civic virtue meaning
that the employment of only one of those dimensions is
representative of the other elements. Accordingly, the
four domains of altruism, loyalty, teambuilding, and
conscientiousness were selected to capture the concept
of OCB in this study.
Altruism is a discretionary behavior aimed at helping
coworkers or customers in alleviating problems at hand
such as assisting others with heavy workloads, coach-
ing new recruits, offering additional help to customers
 HRM Practices and Behaviors, Golf Course Quality   145
(Podsakoff, Whiting, Podsakoff & Blume, 2009). Con-
scientiousness refers to behaviors such as compliance
to rules, being punctual, and using resources efficiently
(Koster & Sanders, 2006). Loyalty is a behavior that
expresses care and concern for the image, reputation,
and success of organization (George & Brief, 1992).
Teambuilding is aimed at enhancing group productivity
and performance, and at reducing conflicts and disagree-
ments within the group (Piercy et al., 2006). As noted,
OCB and its correlates have been extensively studied
in manufacturing operations but this has not been the
case with regard to service operations even though OCB
should be equally, if not more, important in that context.
Scholars in sport have also been interested in OCB.
For instance, Todd and Kent (2008) found that task char-
acteristics had a direct influence on OCB and an indirect
effect through job satisfaction; Todd and Andrew (2006)
studied the role of satisfying tasks and organizational
support in employee citizenship behavior; Aoyagi, Cox,
and McGuire (2008) showed how OCB was a meaningful
construct in sport that was incongruent with other models
in sport psychology; and Chang and Chelladurai (2003a)
compared OCB of full time and part-time workers. While
these studies clearly show the significance of OCB in
sport, they were focused on relating OCB to other indi-
vidual difference variables. In contrast, the current study
is focused on OCB as a determinant of service quality.
Antecedents of OCB
An employee’s citizenship behavior at the workplace is
actually a form of reciprocation of the favorable treat-
ment he or she receives from the organization (Aryee,
Budhwar, & Chen, 2002). It is argued that workers would
respond positively to those actions of the organization that
would support them in their work and reciprocate such
support by enacting their role requirements adequately
and, more importantly, by performing nonrole tasks to
facilitate organizational goals (Griffin & Ebert, 2006).
While several of the HRM practices of an organiza-
tion have the potential to induce OCB on the part of
the employees, the HRM practices of Support at Work,
Training, Reward System, Supervisory Assistance, and
Performance Appraisal are included in the current study
as these practices are most common as well as most
researched in the context of OCB, service orientation,
and service quality (e.g., Elmadaǧ  Ellinger, & Franke,
2008; Johnson, 1996; Tsaur & Lin, 2004; Wiley, 1991).
These HRM practices are explained below.
Support at Work
Support at Work is a factor in fostering service climate
for the organizations (e.g., Johnson, 1996; Schneider
& Bowen, 1985). Support at Work refers to the physi-
cal aspects of organization and workplace environment
that potentially hinder or facilitate employees’ effort in
accomplishing the given tasks. It is believed that once
the employees are fully equipped with appropriate work
equipments and working in a conducive environment,
they will be prompted to produce more in general (Griffin
& Ebert, 2006), and service-related outputs in particular
(e.g., Little & Dean, 2006; Schneider & Bowen, 1985).
In the case of golf clubs, Support at Work may include
organizational rules, policies and procedures, job descrip-
tions, workload distributions, work demands, safety
measures, work design, scheduling system, and others.
And employees of golf clubs can be expected to carry
out their jobs effectively if, for example, all necessary
equipments work efficiently, the workplace is secured
with adequate safety measures, the rules and procedures
are easy to be understood and followed and there are
always enough people to ask for assistance.
Training
Training may encompass the teaching of effective skills
in performing assigned jobs ranging from making simple
administrative decisions to solving customer-related
problems, addressing the complaints, and enforcing the
clubs’ new service-related policies and procedures. Such
training results in advanced quality-based team work,
problem-solving, interpersonal skills, and excellent
work performance skills (Lytle, Hom, & Mokwa, 1998).
Accordingly, training is expected to boost the efficiency
of service processes and outcomes (Yoo & Park, 2007),
the organization’s competitive ability (Frabotta, 2000),
overall performance (Colbert, 2004), and development
of a competitive niche market (Davies, Taylor, & Savery
2001). More germane to the present context is that
training also conveys the message to employees that the
organization is committed to enhancing their competence
and well-being (Elmadaǧ  , et al., 2008) and it treats them
as valuable assets (Moreland & Levine, 2001). Such
perceptions do spur the employees to engage more fully
in in-role and extrarole behaviors.
Reward System
Rewards refer to all monetary and nonmonetary com-
pensations and incentives provided by the organizations
to employees in return for their contributions in terms of
their physical and mental efforts as well as abiding by
the rules and regulations of the organization. From the
perspective of Skinner’s (1953) reinforcement theory,
rewards can be used to elicit desired behaviors from the
employees. That is, “employee behavior is a function of
its contingent consequences” (Luthans & Stajkovic, 1999,
p.50). Thus, a strategically designed reward system can
generate desired employee behaviors, and commitment to
effective delivery of services (Schneider & Bowen, 1993).
Further, rewards have been found to be highly instru-
mental in stimulating the causal chain from employee
behaviors to service quality (Elmadaǧ  et al., 2008).
Supervisory Assistance
A supervisor’s role is often associated with providing
physical and emotional support necessary in employees
146   Husin, Chelladurai, and Musa
accomplishing their assigned tasks (Goleman, 2000). As
representatives of the organization, supervisors engage in
enacting the purposes of the organization through moti-
vating the service workers and monitoring their activities.
From the employees’ perspective, the supervisors are the
front for the organization. Thus, the assistance they get
from their respective supervisors would be a boost to their
morale as well as their performance. Thus, a supportive
and appreciative supervisor can potentially shape positive
service orientation in his or her unit (Lytle et al., 1998),
foster employees’ willingness to provide good services
(Schneider & Bowen, 1993), strengthen employee com-
mitment to the organization (Singh, 2000), and enhance
customer perception of service quality (Schneider &
Bowen, 1985). In addition and more relevant to the cur-
rent study, employees are likely to reciprocate the favor
by engaging in extrarole behaviors that contribute to
group performance. This later linkage between supervi-
sory assistance and employee organizational citizenship
behavior has been substantiated by research findings
(e.g., Aryee et al., 2002; Podsakoff et al., 1990; Zellars,
Tepper & Duffy, 2002).
Performance Appraisal
Performance Appraisal is another crucial component in
the management of human resources (Boswell & Bou-
dreau, 2002). This HRM practice refers to the “observa-
tion and assessment of employee performance against
pre-determined job-related standards, for purpose(s)
delineated by the organization” (Cheung & Law, 1998, p.
404). Performance Appraisal works on two levels–making
employees understand their responsibility for their own
work and helping them improve their current perfor-
mances (Dixon, 2002; MacLean, 2001). Performance
Appraisal can influence the attitudinal behaviors of the
employees, as long the employees accept or are satisfied
with the management of that Performance Appraisal
process (e.g., Jawahar, 2007). In the case of golf clubs,
Performance Appraisal can help employees understand
their work performances particularly in terms of serving
and satisfying their customers. A formal, structured and
periodical evaluation system communicates a message
to employees that the club management makes a serious
effort to pay considerable attention to them.
Based on the above discussion of relevant human
resource practices, the following hypotheses are
proposed:
H1. Support at Work has a significant positive rela-
tionship with OCB
H2. Training has a significant positive relationship
with OCB
H3. Reward System has a significant positive rela-
tionship with OCB
H4. Supervisory Assistance has a significant positive
relationship with OCB
H5. Performance Appraisal has a significant positive
relationship with OCB
Consequence of OCB
While most of the studies of the consequences of OCB
were concerned with the internal dynamics of work
groups and their performance (e.g., Organ & Ryan, 1995),
other studies have shown that OCB can have external
outcomes that benefit the organization as a whole.
For example, Koys (2001) found that OCB influenced
customer satisfaction, quality of service and generation
of revenues. Bienstock, Moranville, and Smith (2003)
provided three reasons why OCB would affect customer
perceived service quality. The first one relates to the
fact that OCB is a nonmandated behavior. That is, the
service provider may go beyond the standard guidelines
for employee-customer interactions including time
spent with a customer, and extend the interaction so as
to help the customer. Second, OCB is also characterized
by independent individual initiatives which enhance the
efficiency of the operations which, in turn, impresses the
customers who will then evaluate service quality more
satisfactorily. Finally, OCB reduces internal frictions
and makes smooth the process of service delivery which
would influence customer perceptions of quality. Thus,
we included Perceived Service Quality as the dependent
variable in our model and hypothesized that:
H6. OCB has a significant positive relationship with
Perceived Service Quality.
Mediation of OCB
Although it has been widely stressed that HR is strategi-
cally important to organizational performance, research
has shown that the relationship between HRM and
organizational performance is only modest (e.g., Rogg,
Schmidt, Shull, & Schmitt, 2001). One explanation
advanced is that HRM practices affect employee atti-
tudes and behaviors which, in turn, affect organizational
performance (Dyer & Reeves, 1995). Dyer and Reeves
note that the most immediate impact of HRM practices
is on employee-related behaviors, followed by organi-
zational productivity and finally organizational financial
outcomes. Consistent with this line of reasoning, Park,
Mitsuhashi, Fey, and Björkman (2003) had shown that
in the presence of workforce attitudinal characteristics,
the relationship between HRM and firm performance
disappeared. The above clearly supports the idea of a
mediator of the HRM-performance relationship. Accord-
ingly, we propose that OCB is such a mediator, and thus
the hypotheses to be tested are:
H7. OCB mediates the relationship between Support
at Work and Perceived Service Quality.
H8. OCB mediates the relationship between Training
and Perceived Service Quality.
H9. OCB mediates the relationship between Reward
System and Perceived Service Quality.
H10. OCB mediates the relationship between Super-
visory Assistance and Perceived Service Quality.
 HRM Practices and Behaviors, Golf Course Quality   147
H11. OCB mediates the relationship between Perfor-
mance Appraisal and Perceived Service Quality.
Employee-Customer Contact
as a Moderator
Lovelock and Gummesson (2004) have proposed that
all services involve rental of or access to goods, facili-
ties, or labor. On that basis they classified services into
(a) Rented goods services, (b) Place and space rentals,
(c) Labor and expertise rentals, (d) Physical facility
access and usage, and (e) Network access and usage.
The services offered by golf clubs would include both
labor and expertise rentals (where the golf professional,
the caddies, or the receptionists provide their respective
services), and physical facility access and usage (where
the golfers rent and use the course to play the game).
These two forms of services can further be distinguished
on the basis of the extent to which service employee is in
contact with the customer—i.e., the distinction between
contact and noncontact services (Pride & Ferrell, 2003).
In our context, the services of the professionals, the
caddies, and the receptionists involve contact while the
services of those who prepare and maintain the course
does not involve any contact with the golfers while they
play. It is conceivable that the reactions of contact and
noncontact employees of golf courses to HRM practices
of the organization may differ as well as their perceptions
of service quality may also differ. To test this possibil-
ity, we included contact (contact versus noncontact) as
a moderator variable in our analyses and proposed the
following hypothesis.
H12. The extent of employee-customer contact
(i.e., contact or noncontact) moderates the relationships
outlined in the model.
Gender Differences as a Moderator
Gender socialization theory suggests that, due to differ-
ences in the biology and psychology of men and women,
there are significant differences in the attitudes and
behaviors of these individuals (Yelkur & Chakrabarty,
2006). In a workplace for example, male employees are
found to be more driven than female employees toward
occupational success (e.g., high salary, autonomy, pro-
motions, achievement and etc.) while female employees
are more oriented toward fulfilling interpersonal needs
such as good working conditions, co-operation among
colleagues, fringe benefits, etc. (Gooderman, Nordhaug,
Ringdal, & Birkelund, 2004; Hofstede, 2001).
As for OCB, this behavior is expected more of
women than men because some of its dimensions have
been described as having certain womanly qualities
such as helping others, giving higher quality of help and
being courteous (Lovell, Kahn, Anton, Davidson, Dowl-
ing, Post, & Mason, 1999). This is empirically proven
when female employees who exhibit OCBs equal to the
amount of those exhibited by male employees receive
lower performance ratings than their counterparts because
females are expected to be more OCB oriented (e.g.,
Kidder & Parks, 2001).
As for the perceptions of service quality, manage-
ment literature has recognized the significant difference
between male and female raters (e.g., Chiu & Wu, 2002).
Darley and Smith (1995) point out that this difference is
due to the nature of females who tend to perform “effort-
ful, comprehensive, itemized analysis of all available
information” (p.43) which in turn has influenced them
to have higher service quality expectations than what
the males have.
In short, relevant literature provides substantial
evidence of the existence of gender differences in the
perceptions of HRM practices, OCB and Service Quality.
However, there is no study so far that has investigated
the effects of gender differences in the relationships
among those constructs. As such, this study will signifi-
cantly be contributive to the advancement of the current
research and practices when the following hypothesis is
investigated.
H13. The gender of employees moderates the rela-
tionships outlined in the model.
Method
Respondents
The context of this investigation was Malaysia, located
in South East Asia, which is a constitutional monarchy
with an elected lower house and an appointed higher
house. It is among the top countries within the developing
world. Its gross domestic product amounted to $383.6
billion in purchasing power parity in 2009 and was
ranked 30th in the world (CIA Factbook, 2010). Given
the population of over 26 million (46th in the world) the
per capita income amounts to $14,800 which ranked it
at 77 in world rankings. Malays make up 50.4% of the
population while Chinese make up 23.7%. The official
language is Bahasa Malaysia but English is spoken
by majority of the population. 60% of the people are
Muslims and 19.2% are Buddhists. Although Malaysia
is an Islamic country with its own national language,
the British influence in Malaysia continues to be strong
even today. For instance, English is widely used in the
country. The plantation systems, commercialization of
agriculture, the transportation system, the educational
system are all legacies of the British rule from the middle
of the eighteenth century till the beginning of World War
II (Visitor Malaysia, 2010).
Managers of 84 privately-owned golf clubs affili-
ated with the Malaysian Golf Association (MGA) were
requested to participate in the study. 68 of them gave their
permissions and hence, each received a package contain-
ing 10 questionnaires, self-addressed and stamped return
envelopes, and key-chains as a token of appreciation. The
managers were instructed to distribute the questionnaires
(along with their corresponding items) only to their
full-time employees. Five of the questionnaires were for
148   Husin, Chelladurai, and Musa
employees whose jobs required them to interact directly
with customers and the remaining five questionnaires
for employees whose jobs do not involve contact with
customers.
Measures
As outlined in the model, Support at Work, Training,
Reward System, Supervisory Assistance, Performance
Appraisal are the variables functioning as the human
resource practices that cultivate Organizational Citizen-
ship Behavior which, in turn, lead to Perceived Service
Quality. Given the unique nature of golf clubs, we selected
and modified the most relevant items from existing scales
to measure the above variables. The response format for
all items in all scales was a six-point Likert scale ranging
from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 6 (Strongly Agree).
Support at Work was measured by five items selected
from Schneider and Bowen’s (1985) scale of HRM
dimensions (1 item), Rogg et al.’s (2001) scale of HR
practices (1 item), Tornow and Wiley’s (1990) scale of
Employee Attitude (1 item), and Wiley’s (1991) scale of
Employee Opinion (2 items).
Training was measured by five items selected from
Johnson’s (1996) scale of Employee Survey (2 items)
and Lytle et al.’s (1998) scale of Organizational Service
Orientation Scale (SERV*OR; 3 items).
Reward System was measured by five items selected
from Lytle et al.’s (1998) scale of SERV*OR (2 items)
and Tornow and Wiley’s (1990) scale of Employee Atti-
tude (3 items).
Supervisory Assistance was measured by five items
selected from Schneider and Bowen’s (1985) scale of
HRM dimensions (1 item), Schneider, White, and Paul’s
(1998) scale of Foundation Issues (1 item), Tornow and
Wiley’s (1990) scale of Employee Attitude (1 item), Yoon,
Beatty, and Suh’s (2001) scale of Supportive Manage-
ment (1 item), and Wiley’s (1991) scale of Employee
Opinion (1 item).
Performance Appraisal was measured by five items
selected from Jackson and Schuler’s (1992) scale of HRM
Practices (1 item), and Rogg et al.’s (2001) scale of HR
Practices (4 items).
Altruism component of OCB was measured by five
items from Podsakoff et al.’s (1990) scale of OCB; Loy-
alty by five items selected from Bettencourt et al.’s (2001)
scale of Service-Oriented OCB (2 items) and González
and Garazo’s (2006) scale of OCB (3 items).
Teambuilding by five items from Piercy et al.’s
(2006) scale of OCB; and Conscientiousness by five
items selected from Podsakoff et al.’s (1990) scale of
OCB (2 items) and Smith, Organ, and Near’s (1983)
scale of OCB (3 items).
Service quality can be assessed by consumers, peers,
supervisors, and employees (i.e., service providers)
themselves. We assessed employee perception of service
quality as it is more direct and suitable in examining
organizational behavior (Steers & Porter, 1991). The
argument here is that service quality is a function of the
human interaction between the service provider and the
consumer of the service. In as much as both the employee
and the customer experience the same encounter simulta-
neously, the perceptions of that encounter and the quality
thereof cannot differ very much between the two parties.
In fact, studies have found a high correlation between
employee perceived service quality and customer per-
ceived service quality (e.g., Schneider & Bowen, 1985,
1993; Tornow & Wiley, 1990). Further, several studies
have used employee perceived quality (i.e., employee
assessment of the quality of service provided) as the
dependent variable in their studies (e.g., He, Murrmann
& Perdue, 2010; Singh, 2000; Slåtten, 2009).
Accordingly, Perceived Service Quality was mea-
sured by four items from Chang and Chelladurai’s
(2003b) Scale of Quality in Fitness Services. The selected
items were modified to change the response perspective
from customers to employees.
As per Brislin, Lonner, and Thorndike (1973) and
Cha, Kim, and Erlen (2007), all the scales were translated
into the local language, Bahasa Malaysia, independently
by three bilingual experts which was later integrated into
one version by these three translators. This single version
of scales in the Bahasa Malaysia language was translated
back into the English language by three other bilingual
experts. These back-translated versions were compared
by three other experts who judged that the translation
into the local language had captured the meaning of the
original items.
Pilot Study
As the items were drawn from several scales, and as those
items were never used in the context of golf courses, a
pilot study was carried out to ensure that each subscale
was internally consistent. One hundred questionnaires
were given to personnel executives of five golf clubs
located in a different geographical region of Malaysia
with a request to administer the questionnaires to their
employees. After a reminder, 60 completed question-
naires were received for a response rate of 60%. The
analyses of these responses showed that the internal
consistency estimates (Cronbach’s alpha) for the ten
scales of the study ranged from .67 (Teambuilding) to
.87 (Loyalty) for a mean of .76. The inspection of the
item-to-total correlations showed all items correlated
highly with their own totals except three items which were
dropped (one item from each of Performance Appraisal,
Teambuilding, and Conscientiousness).
Analyses
The analyses included the verification of the data for
skewness, kurtosis, and tolerance. Further, both the mea-
surement model (Confirmatory Factor Analysis) and the
proposed empirical model (Structural Equation Model)
were tested through SEM procedures in the AMOS sta-
tistical package.
 HRM Practices and Behaviors, Golf Course Quality   149

Results
Demographic Characteristics
After a few reminders, 390 of the 680 questionnaires were
returned for a response rate of 57%. However, only 325
of them were usable resulting in 48% return rate. Forty
seven per cent of the respondents were below 30 years old,
53% of them were females, 59% were married, 87% were
Malays, 84% had secondary school level education, and
48% had worked less than five years. Finally, 59% of the
respondents earned below RM1,001 monthly (approxi-
mately 295 US dollars). Based on their responses to the
question “Which group of services (i.e., contact with golf-
ers versus no contact with them) is your job related to?”
160 respondents were designated as customer-contact
employees and 160 as noncontact employees and the
remaining five did not respond to the question.
Measurement Model
The relative likelihood ratio between the model’s chi-
square (χ2 = 2321.532) and its degrees of freedom (df
= 945) is 2.457, indicated a close fit (Eisen, Wilcox,
& Leff, 1999). The CFI value of .907 just exceeded
the recommended value of .90 (Bentler, 1990; Kline,
1998). The literature suggests that an RMSEA value
that is less than .05 is regarded as good fit, between
.05 and .08 is considered acceptable fit, .08 and .10 is
deemed as marginal fit, and a value larger than .10 is
concluded as poor fit (Browne & Cudeck, 1992). The
RMSEA value of .067, 90% CI [.064, .071] in this model
therefore indicated a good fit. Finally, the SRMR value
of .050, which is lower than .10 also confirmed the good
fit (Kline, 1998). In short, respectively superseding
the prescribed values, all these goodness-of-fit indices
(χ2 = 2321.532, df = 945, χ2/df = 2.457, CFI=.907,
RMSEA=.067, 90% CI [.064, .071], SRMR=.050),
support the existence of unidimensionality in the model
(Bagozzi & Baumgartner, 1994).
The reliability of the variables of the model is evi-
denced by the results shown in Table 1. For the good
reliability assessment purposes, an item reliability value
should be above .5 (Bollen, 1989). Although eight of the
indicators were found to have low item reliability in this
model, these flaws however were considered acceptable
since not only the paths that linked these items to their
respective latent variables showed significant p-values (p
< .001), the rest of other items yielded R2 values above
.5, ranging from .509 to .996. Besides the R2 indices, reli-
ability of the scales of a model can also be determined by
examining the results of their composite reliability (CR)
and average variance extracted (AVE; Garver & Mentzer,
1999). In this model, all CR values were higher than .6
(CR≥.6; Aubert, Rivard, & Patry, 1996), and all AVE
values were greater than .6 in all cases (AVE≥.5; Fornell
& Larcker, 1981). Finally, internal consistency estimates
(Cronbach’s alpha) were also high ranging from .83 to
.97 (α≥.7; Nunnally, 1978).
It is encouraging that the factor loadings of all indi-
cators were high ranging from .514 to .998. The results
also show that the lowest average AVE value is .608
(Supervisory Assistance and Performance Appraisal)
and none of the squared correlation value falls above this
score. These results indicate that all the ten variables used
in this study were distinct constructs.

Table 1  Regression Weights, Composite Reliability and Average Variance Extracted

and Cronbach’s Alpha
R2 CR AVE a
Support at Work .969 .862 .97
Conditions on the jobs do not permit employees to reach the work goals* .873
All employees are provided with handbooks. .904
In this club, safety is adequate. .932
The club’s processes and procedures help to promote employees’ work efficiencies .679
In this club, employees have enough people to get the jobs done .921
Training .919 .695 .92
Employees receive personal skill training that enhances their abilities to deliver high quality job .619
  performances.
Employees spend much time and effort in simulated training activities that help them demonstrate .759
  higher levels of performances.
During training sessions employees work through exercises to identify and improve their attitudes .735
  toward customers.
Employees receive sufficient training on how to do their jobs. .713
Through training, the club communicates regularly about the importance of providing excellent .646
  services.
(continued)
150   Husin, Chelladurai, and Musa

Table 1  (continued)
R2 CR AVE a
Reward System .895 .637 .89
In this club, good performance does not necessarily get rewarded*. .546
Employees are satisfied with the recognition they receive for doing good jobs. .347
In this club, promotions go to the people who really deserve them. .880
Management provides excellent incentives and rewards to every employee at all levels. .588
This club noticeably celebrates excellent service. .823
Supervisory Assistance .882 .608 .87
Supervisors recognize employees for doing high-quality work. .487
Supervisors are responsive to employees’ requests for help or guidance. .944
Supervisors are supportive of employees’ ideas and ways of getting things done. .691
Supervisors use the rewards they have to let employees know when they have done fine jobs. .265
Employees are always unclear of what their supervisors expect them to do.* .655
Performance Appraisal .789 .608 .86
The performance appraisal process is linked to compensation plan .745
The performance appraisal process is not standardized and documented.* .509
Promotions and pay increases are based on achieving documented performance objectives. .741
Managers consistently tell employees about the standards used to evaluate job performances. .436
Altruism .932 .738 .93
Employees are always willing to help others who are in trouble. .576
Employees like to coach others who lack certain skills. .817
Employees always give advices to others who have work-related problems. .437
Employees often cover for others who are absent. .882
Employees like to help others who have heavy workloads. .978
Loyalty .932 .738 .91
Employees often tell outsiders how much they like working here. .797
Employees are not willing to work extra hours.* .735
Employees like to take the club’s logo everywhere they go. .448
Employees encourage friends and families to use the club’s services. .871
Employees like to tell the club’s positive attributes to outsiders. .598
Teambuilding .878 .806 .94
Employees encourage others to do well in their jobs. .529
Employees cheer up others who are in distress. .790
Employees consult with others before taking actions that might affect them. .974
Employees often act as “peacemakers” when others have disagreements. .929
Conscientiousness .864 .774 .83
Employees are often absent from work.* .996
Employees do not take unnecessary time off work .913
Employees are always punctual in coming to work. .442
Employees do not spend time in idle conversations. .745
Perceived Service Quality .801 .632 .86
Employees are certain that customers do not receive the service they expect.* .462
Employees are confident that the club’s service outcomes meet the customers’ expectations. .556
Employees believe that the club provides reliable service to customers. .570
Employees agree that the quality of service provided by the club is outstanding. .941
*Reverse score
 HRM Practices and Behaviors, Golf Course Quality   151

Hypotheses Testing
The goodness of fit indices showed that the proposed
model fit the data reasonably well (χ2 = 2395.610, df =
970, p = .000, χ2/df = 2.470, CFI=.904, RMSEA=.067,
90% CI [.064, .071], SRMR=.058. Figure 1 displays the
results of the SEM analysis on the path diagram of the
structural model proposed in this study.
Except for Training (β=.069; p = .102; SE=.018; C.R
= 1.636), all paths from HRM practices to OCB were
significant and supportive of the respective hypotheses
(i.e., H1, H3, H4, and H5). The highest path coefficient
was for Supervisory Assistance-OCB link (β =.393) and
the second lowest was for the Reward System-OCB link
(β =.194). The path from OCB to Perceived Service Qual-
ity was significant (β =.716; SE=.140; C.R = 7.485; p <
.001) and supportive of hypothesis 6.
While the foregoing result support the fully medi-
ated model, it is necessary to test the partially mediated
model to verify if it would fit the data better. In the
partially mediated model, direct paths from Support at
Work, Training, Supervisory Assistance, Reward System,
and Performance Appraisal to Perceived Service Qual-
ity were added. The fit indices of the partial mediation
model (c2/df = 2.480, CFI=.903, RMSEA=.068, 90% CI
[.064, .071], SRMR=.058) showed very little difference
from those of the fully mediated model. The difference
in Chi-square values of 2.809 with 5 degrees of freedom
was not significant (p = .729) which indicated that both
models fit the data equally well. However, we accepted
the hypothesized fully mediated model for the sake of
parsimony (James, Mulaik, & Brett, 2006).
The hypothesis (H12) of moderation by employee
type (i.e., contact versus noncontact employee) was

Figure 1 — Hypothesized model and the path coefficients for females and males.
152   Husin, Chelladurai, and Musa

Table 2  Results of Average Variance Extracted and Squared Correlations of Each Construct
SW TR RS SA PA AL LO TB CN PSQ
Support at Work (SW) .862
Training (TR) .001 .695
Reward System (RS) .256 .000 .637
Supervisory Assistance (SA) .367 .003 .312 .608
Performance Appraisal (PA) .218 .000 .215 .245 .608
Altruism (AL) .161 .010 .052 .155 .125 .738
Loyalty (LO) .285 .001 .346 .382 .196 .127 .690
Teambuilding (TB) .215 .003 .146 .272 .194 .224 .138 .806
Conscientiousness (CN) .233 .002 .192 .256 .166 .186 .233 .253 .774
Perceived Service Quality (PSQ) .244 .003 .226 .272 .221 .207 .311 .222 .187 .632
Note. Values for the diagonal elements are those for the average variance extracted. Values below the diagonal are squared correlations.

verified using a nested model comparison (Hair, Black,
Babin, & Anderson, 2010). First, the two-group model
was tested allowing all relationships to be estimated
freely in both samples (totally free model). Next, a
second model was tested in which the paths from
service-based HRM practices to OCB and from OCB to
Perceived Service Quality were constrained to be equal
(moderation model). If the Chi-square test is significant,
moderation is supported, and if it is not significant,
moderation is not supported. The present results showed
that the change of model fit from the totally free to the
moderation model is not significant (χ2= 3.435, df = 6,
p = .753). That is, the paths linking the variables of the
study were equal in the two groups and thus, the HRM-
OCB-Perceived Service Quality link is not moderated
by employee type.
Finally, the procedure employed in verifying the
moderation of employment type was used to test the
hypothesis (H13) of moderation by Gender (males =
147; females = 173). The results showed that Gender had
a significant moderating effect on the HRM-OCB-PSQ
model (χ2= 16.696, df = 6, p = .010). An analysis of path
coefficients showed that (a) the path from Support at Work
to OCB was significant only among females (p < .05; β
=.342), and (b) the path from Performance Appraisal and
Reward System to OCB were significant only among
males (p < .05; β =.370 and p < .05; β =.279 respectively).
There were no significant differences in the other paths of
the model, particularly in the OCB-PSQ link. The statistics
associated with this model are presented in Table 3. The
means and standard deviations of the variables of the study
by subgroups are presented in Table 4.
Discussion
Based on existing literature, we proposed a model
wherein selected HRM practices (Support at Work,
Training, Reward System, Supervisory Assistance, and
Performance Appraisal) were seen as influencing citizen-
ship behavior on the part of employees which, in turn, was
associated with Perceived Service Quality. While similar
models have been proposed and tested in mainstream
business and industry (e.g., Payne & Webber, 2006)
its application in the context of golf clubs is new. It is
gratifying to learn that the measurement model composed
of items selected from several scales from mainstream
business literature fit the data well. Further, the results
of the structural model illustrate that despite the actual
services provided by golf clubs being vastly different
from services in other contexts (e.g., banks, call centers,
retail sales), customer reactions to the employee attitudes
and behaviors in the delivery of the service would be the
same across varied service industries.
Literature supports the use of employee perceptions
of service quality as a surrogate for consumer percep-
tion of quality of the same services. However, there are
concerns about self-evaluations being inflated (Brown &
Swartz, 1989). But that concern is somewhat alleviated
as the means for Perceived Service Quality is less than 5
on a 6-point scale indicating that that value is not overly
inflated (see Table 4). More importantly, our concern
here was not on the absolute values of the variables but
the correlations among them. As Singh (2000) had noted,
“it is reasonable to state that performance self-reports
are more likely to bias the mean values but less likely
to bias their correlations with other constructs” (p. 31).
While this perspective would permit greater confidence
in the present results supporting the conceptual model, an
anonymous reviewer has opined that “in the absence of a
behavioral measure of service quality, it is to be expected
that respondents who rate one [OCB] highly will rate
the other [Service Quality] highly.” Given this contrary
perspective, “future work using alternative measures
of service quality that are not self-reports by the same
people who rate OCB” should be undertaken to clarify
this issue. Further, given that services of golf clubs do
differ from services in other industries, future research
must also verify if employee perceptions and customer
perceptions of service quality in the golfing context are
indeed correlated.
As hypothesized, all the HRM practices included
in the study except Training, were significantly and
 HRM Practices and Behaviors, Golf Course Quality   153

Table 3  The Standard Error, Critical Ratio, and Coefficients of the Observed Relationships in the
Complete Mediation Model
S.E C.R P Direct Path (b) Indirect Path (b)
Support at Work → OCB .039a 3.730 *** .342
.036b 1.823 .068 .139
Training →OCB .026 1.587 .112 .104
.023 1.206 .228 .066
Reward System →OCB .037 1.399 .162 .105
.050 3.214 .001 .279
Supervisory Assistance →OCB .071 4.011 *** .451
.057 3.609 *** .335
Performance Appraisal →OCB .029 1.672 .095 .124
.052 3.786 *** .370
OCB →PSQ .207 5.015 *** .689
.210 5.282 *** .763
Support at Work →PSQ .236
.106
Training →PSQ .072
.050
Reward System →PSQ .072
.213
Supervisory Assistance →PSQ .311
.256
Performance Appraisal →PSQ .085
.282
aFemales
bMales
***p < 0.001

Table 4  Means and (Standard Deviations) by Subgroups and Total

Employee Type Gender
Subgroup Variable Contact Non—Contact Females Males Total
Support at Work 4.31 (1.19) 4.12 (1.21) 4.10 (1.21) 4.33 (1.20) 4.21 (1.21)
Training 3.42 (1.28) 3.42 (1.38) 3.37 (1.29) 3.45 (1.40) 3.41 (1.34)
Reward System 4.00 (1.17) 4.00 (1.24) 3.85 (1.19) 4.11 (1.22) 3.97 (1.21)
Supervisory Assistance 4.56 (1.01) 4.40 (1.06) 4.31 (1.01) 4.67 (1.06) 4.47 (1.05)
Performance Appraisal 4.18 (1.07) 4.21 (1.16) 4.10 (1.18) 4.34 (1.06) 4.20 (1.13)
Altruism 4.19 (1.11) 4.12 (1.12) 4.06 (1.10) 4.28 (1.15) 4.17 (1.12)
Loyalty 4.18 (1.04) 4.06 (1.14) 3.97 (1.06) 4.28 (1.13) 4.12 (1.10)
Teambuilding 4.38 (1.10) 4.35 (1.04) 4.33 (1.07) 4.43 (1.04) 4.37 (1.06)
Conscientiousness 4.89 (0.97) 4.63 (1.13) 4.72 (1.02) 4.78 (1.14) 4.76 (1.07)
Perceived Service Quality 4.22 (1.02) 4.00 (1.04) 4.00 (1.03) 4.26 (1.06) 4.11 (1.05)

positively associated with OCB. These results support
the idea that management of human resources through
the various HRM practices is critical for the success of
any organization, particularly service organizations. As
shown in this study, the effects of those HRM practices
impact employee organizational citizenship behavior
which transfers to Perceived Service Quality. It must be
noted that Supervisory Assistance had the largest corre-
lation with OCB (.393) among the five HRM practices
included in the study. While the other four HRM practices
154   Husin, Chelladurai, and Musa
are system wide and predetermined, Supervisory Assis-
tance is an individual-based and situation-contingent
activity. Further, from the perspective of the employees,
supervisors are the direct and immediate representatives
of the organization. Given these two premises, it is not
surprising that Supervisory Assistance was the dominant
influence on OCB.
It is not clear why the effect of Training was not
significant. According to Elmadaǧ  et al. (2008), there are
two reasons why Training may not have the desired effect.
First, the sample studied may be dominated by highly
experienced people who may not need the training and,
second, the respondents might not feel that the training was
effective. The implication for HR managers in relation to
this nonsignificant finding is to be aware of the quality of
the training provided to employees. It is always good to
evaluate the contents and process of the training to ensure
that it is deemed to be meaningful by the employees. From
a different perspective, the services offered by golf clubs
may be deemed relatively simple (except the services of
the professionals) and thus any training instituted by the
organization may not create any sense of personal growth
and/or gratitude toward the organization. Another possi-
bility is that the effects of training could be subsumed by
the effects of other HRM practices in the mix. It is also
possible that some of the respondents might not have
undergone training offered by their organizations.
An important finding in this study is that the distinc-
tion between contact and noncontact employees did not
moderate the relationships among HRM practices, OCB,
and Perceived Service Quality. This could be a function
of the nature of the services provided by golf clubs. In
conventional service operations, contact employees are
considered the strategic core of the workforce (Delery
& Shaw, 2001), and only this strategic core would
significantly connect service-based HRM practices
to service quality (through OCB). That would be the
case with regard to the golf pros that come into contact
with the golfers as they provide their expert services in
teaching and advising. However, the major service the
golfers experience is the course itself. The quality of this
experience is based on how well the teeing areas, the
fairways, the roughs and hazards, and the putting green
are maintained. That would be the task of the noncontact
employees. From this perspective, the strategic core of the
workforce of a golf club is not confined only to contact
personnel but also includes the noncontact personnel.
Thus, it is not surprising that our results show that the
distinction based on contact does not moderate the rela-
tionships espoused in our model. Bearing this in mind,
golf club managers should target their HRM practices
toward both the contact and noncontact employees.
Finally, gender differences were found to moder-
ate the framework proposed in this study. This finding
provides support to the belief that men and women have
different needs and goals and as such have different
individual traits. At the workplace for instance, the differ-
ences are so distinct that in order for these individuals to
work effectively, some adaptations on the HRM strategies
have to be made. The results show that factors such as
Support at Work, Performance Appraisal and Rewards
Systems, do not equally enhance the OCBs of both
genders. As implicated by this study, the females appre-
ciate the comfortable working environment provided
by the organizations more than their counterparts. Such
high appreciation is understandable since women are
typically known as more meticulous and organized than
men (Darley & Smith, 1995). Hence, the physical work
environment which is supportive of their nature will likely
encourage them to engage in more OCB. It is not clear
if the above suggested dynamic of gender differences in
reactions to Support at Work, Performance Appraisal and
Rewards Systems is specific to the Malaysian context.
Future cross-cultural studies may verify if such gender
differences are found in other cultures.
Male employees on the other hand, are more moti-
vated toward work achievement (Arnania-Kepuladze,
2010) and this in effect, leads them to be more concerned
with the processes of becoming excellent workers. As a
result, matters pertaining to evaluations and compensa-
tions of their work efforts are deemed important by them.
In short, the central thrust of this particular hypothesis was
on the different occupational needs of the male and female
employees with reference to Support at Work, Perfor-
mance Appraisal and Rewards Systems. More specifically,
it is suggested that the sport managers of golf courses to
be more responsive to the respective needs of their male
and female employees on these specific HRM practices.
It is remarkable that OCB was very highly corre-
lated with Perceived Service Quality explaining more
than 50% of the variance in Perceived Service Quality.
But the concept of OCB needs to be extended to the
employee-customer interface wherein the employee may
go beyond the script for service delivery and engage
in extrarole behaviors to satisfy the customer. This
was the thrust of Wang (2009) who conceived of three
dimensions of service oriented OCB one of which was
labeled Service Delivery OCB which was measured by
three items—I follow customer service guidelines with
extreme care; I conscientiously follow guidelines for
customer promotions; and Regardless of circumstances,
I am exceptionally courteous and respectful to customers.
Future research in sport settings may adopt this strategy of
conceiving OCB at the service delivery level and assess its
impact on service quality and customer reactions thereof.
Implications for Management
A number of implications arise from the current study.
First, it demonstrates that the employee perceptions of
HRM practices influence their organizational citizenship
behavior which, in turn is associated with perceived ser-
vice quality. It was also found that the extent of customer
contact does not have an impact on the relationships sug-
gested in the model. Therefore, managers of golf courses
(and other sport enterprises) must refrain from making a
distinction between contact and noncontact employees
and treat them alike in dealing with the two sets of work-
 HRM Practices and Behaviors, Golf Course Quality   155
ers. In addition, some HRM practices such as Support at
Work, Performance Appraisal and Rewards Systems are
gender biased. Based on these findings, managers should
pay more attention to refining the HRM practices accord-
ingly to further strengthen the HRM-service quality link.
The present study assessed the employee perceptions
of service quality. While this is an acceptable practice,
managers may also assess consumer perceptions of
service quality. Such an approach would shed light on
the differences in employee and consumer perceptions.
Further, managers may also engage both the employees
and the consumers in some kind of discussions to address
and resolve the discrepant perceptions.
The present results strengthen the belief that in ser-
vice operations, employees’ citizenship behaviors have
a very strong relationship with perceived quality. It has
also shown that the citizenship behavior is cultivated by
organizational HRM practices. Managers should be aware
of this sequence of relationships and realize that their
bottom line goals can be achieved largely through a focus
on treating the employees fairly and facilitating their work
performance and, thereby, motivating the employees to
engage in citizenship behaviors. Managers should take
time to find out more about employee reactions to HRM
practices, especially with regards to gender needs and
fine tune those practices to be even more effective in
motivating employees.
Limitations
The major limitation of the current study is that it is a
cross-sectional study which cannot test the causal rela-
tionships implied in the proposed model. By the same
token, the reverse causality among the variables cannot
be ruled out because of the cross-sectional nature of the
study. Future research should attempt to collect data at
more than one point and carry out cross-lagged analyses
to test the causality implied in the model. The second
limitation is that the present results relating to golf clubs
cannot be generalized to other service contexts in sport or
other industries. Further, as this research was carried out
in Malaysia it is questionable if these results would be
relevant in other cultural contexts. Similar studies need
to be carried out in other contexts before we can assert
the universal nature of the results. In addition, this study
focused only on OCB as the mediator of the relationship
between HRM practices and service quality. While the
mediating role of OCB was found to be very significant
in this study, the potential effects of related factors such
as organizational commitment should not be overlooked.
It has been shown that culture has a significant
impact on human resource practices and organizational
behavior (Hofstede, 2001). The culture surrounding the
workplaces and the employees therein is quite different
from the work places in North America. While consid-
erable differences exist between North American and
Malaysian cultures, Malaysia presents a unique situation
wherein the three social and cultural groups (i.e., the
Malay-60%, Chinese-27%, and Indian-7%) that make up
the Malaysian society are separated by their languages,
codes of dress, customs, and value systems and yet they
coexist under one political system. In addition, 60% of the
people are Muslims. Therefore, the theories and concepts
of the study which were developed in North America
may not be as relevant in Malaysia. While the results
of the current study are similar to those found in North
America, one cannot be sure of the effects of Malaysian
culture on the interplay among the variables of the study.
Future studies may replicate the study in different cultural
contexts across nations as well as within the borders of
Malaysia to tease out the effects of culture.
Finally, a more serious limitation relates to treating
the individuals as the unit of analysis instead of the clubs
themselves. As the 325 respondents belong to 68 clubs
the errors are likely to be correlated and as the notion of
service quality is specific to each club, a more legitimate
approach would be to collect data from several more clubs
and then treat the clubs as units of analysis.
References
Aoyagi, M.W., Cox, R.H., & McGuire, R.T. (2008). Organiza-
tional Citizenship Behavior in Sport: Relationships with
Leadership, Team Cohesion, and Athlete Satisfaction.
Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 20(1), 25–41.
Arnania-Kepuladze, T. (2010). Gender Stereotypes and Gender
Feature of Job Motvation: Differences or Similarity?
Problems and Perspectives in Management, 8(2), 84–93.
Aryee, S., Budhwar, P.S., & Chen, Z.X. (2002). Trust as a
Mediator of the Relationship between Organizational
Justice and Work Outcomes: Test of a Social Exchange
Model. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 3, 267–285.
Aubert, B., Rivard, S., & Patry, M. (1996). Development of
Measures to Assess Dimensions of IS Operation Transac-
tions. Omega, 24(6), 661–680.
Aylward, L. (2009). The Big 3 on Golf’s Big Dilemma. Golf-
dom, 65(8), 25–30.
Bagozzi, R.P., & Baumgartner, H. (1994). The Evaluation of
Structural Equation Models and Hypothesis Testing. In
R. Bagozzi (Ed.), Principles of Marketing Research (pp.
386–422). Oxford: Blackwell Business.
Beatson, A., Lings, I., & Gudergan, S. (2008). Employee Behav-
iour and Relationship Quality: Impact on Customers. The
Service Industries Journal, 28(2), 211–223.
Bentler, P.M. (1990). Comparative Fit Indexes in Structural
Models. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 238–246.
Bettencourt, L.A., Gwinner, K.P., & Meuter, M.L. (2001).
A Comparison of Attitude, Personality, and Knowledge
Predictors of Service-Oriented Organizational Citizen-
ship Behaviors. The Journal of Applied Psychology,
86(1), 29–41.
Bienstock, C.C., De Moranville, C.W., & Smith, R.K. (2003).
Organizational Citizenship Behavior and Service Quality.
Journal of Services Marketing, 17(4), 357–378.
Blau, P. (1964). Exchange and Power in Social Life. New
York: Wiley.
Bollen, K.A. (1989). Structural Equations with Latent Vari-
ables. Wiley-Interscience Publication.
Boswell, W.R., & Boudreau, J.W. (2002). Separating the
Developmental and Evaluative Performance Appraisal
Uses. Journal of Business and Psychology, 16, 391–412.
156   Husin, Chelladurai, and Musa
Bowen, D.E., & Ostroff, C. (2004). Understanding HRM - Firm
Performance Linkages: The Role of the “Strength” of the
HRM System. Academy of Management Review, 29(2),
203–221.
Bowen, J., & Ford, R.C. (2002). Managing Service Organiza-
tions: Does Having a “Thing” Make a Difference? Journal
of Management Studies, 28(3), 447–469.
Brislin, R.W., Lonner, W.J., & Thorndike, R.M. (1973). Cross-
Cultural Research Methods. New York: John Wiley.
Brown, S.W., & Swartz, T.A. (1989). A Gap Analysis of Profes-
sional Service Quality. Journal of Marketing, 53, 92–98.
Browne, M.W., & Cudeck, R. (1992). Alternative Ways of
Assessing Model Fit. Sociological Methods & Research,
21, 230–258.
Cha, E., Kim, K.H., & Erlen, J.A. (2007). Translation of Scales
in Cross-Cultural Research: Issues and Techniques. Jour-
nal of Advanced Nursing, 58(2), 1–10.
Chang, K., & Chelladurai, P. (2003a). Comparison of Part-time
Workers and Full-time Workers: Commitment and Citizen-
ship Behaviors in Korean Sport Organizations. Journal of
Sport Management, 17, 394–416.
Chang, K., & Chelladurai, P. (2003b). System-Based Quality
Dimensions in Fitness Services: Development of the Scale
of Quality. The Service Industries Journal, 23(5), 65–83.
Cheung, C., & Law, R. (1998). Hospitality Service Quality and
the Role of Performance Appraisal. Managing Service
Quality, 8(6), 402–406.
Chiu, H-C. & Wu, H-C. (2002). Exploring the Cognitive and
Affective Roles of
Service Quality Attitude across Gender. The Services Industries
Journal, 22 (3), 63-76.
Factbook, C.I.A. (2010). The World Factbook: Malaysia.
Updated August 19, 2010, Retrieved August 30, 2010,
from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-
factbook/geos/my.html.
Colbert, B.A. (2004). The Complex Resource-Based View:
Implications for Theory and Practice in Strategic Human
Resource Management. Academy of Management Review,
29(3), 341–358.
Darley, W.K. & Smith, R. E. (1995). Gender Differences in
Information Processing
Strategies: An Empirical Test of the Selectivity Model in Advertis-
ing Response. (XXX). Journal of Advertising, 24(1), 41–56.
Davies, D., Taylor, R., & Savery, L. (2001). The Role of
Appraisal, Remuneration and Training in Improving
Staff Relations in the Western Australian Accommoda-
tion Industry: A Comparative Study. Journal of European
Industrial Training, 25(7), 366–373.
Delery, J.E., & Shaw, J.D. (2001). The strategic Management
of People in Work Organizations: Review, Synthesis and
Extension. Research in Personnel and Human Resource
Management, 20, 165–197.
Dixon, M.A. (2002). The Relationship between Human
Resource Management and Organizational Effective-
ness in Non-Profit Sport Organizations: A Multi-Level
Approach. Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertation and
Theses Database. (UMI 3039465)
Dyer, L., & Reeves, T. (1995). Human Resource Strategies and
Firm Performance: What do We Know and Where do We
Need to Go? International Journal of Human Resource
Management, 6, 656–670.
Elmadaǧ  , A.B., Ellinger, A.E., & Franke, G.R. (2008). Anteced-
ents and Consequences of Frontline Service, Employee,
Commitment to Service Quality. Journal of Marketing
Theory & Practice, 16(2), 95–110.
Eisen, S.V., Wilcox, M., & Leff, H.S. (1999). Assessing Behav-
ioral Health Outcomes in Outpatient Programs: Reliability
and Validity of the BASIS-32. Journal of Behavioural
Health Science and Research, 26, 5–17.
Frabotta, D. (2000). Human Resources Director Praises Culture at
Marriot. Hotel and Motel Management, 215(19), 136–139.
Fornell, C., & Larcker, F.D. (1981). Evaluating Structural
Equation Models with Unobservable Variables and Mea-
surement Error. JMR, Journal of Marketing Research,
18(1), 39–50.
Garver, M.S., & Mentzer, J.T. (1999). Logistics Research
Methods: Employing Structural Equation Modeling to
Test for Construct Validity. Journal of Business Logistics,
20(1), 33–57.
George, J.M., & Brief, A.P. (1992). Feeling Good - Doing
Good: A Conceptual Analysis of the Mood at Work-
Organizational Spontaneity Relationship. Psychological
Bulletin, 112, 310–329.
Goleman, D. (2000). Leadership that Gets Results. Harvard
Business Review, Mar-Apr, 78–88.
González, J.V., & Garazo, T.G. (2006). Structural Relationship
between Organizational Service Orientation, Contact
Employee Job Satisfaction and Citizenship Behavior.
International Journal of Service Industry Management,
17(1), 23–50.
Gooderman, P., Nordhaug, O., Ringdal, K., & Birkelund, E.
(2004). Job Values among Future Business Leaders: The
Impact of Gender and Social Background. Scandinavian
Journal of Management, 20(3), 277–295.
Griffin, R.W., & Ebert, R.J. (2006). Business (International
Edition). Pearson Higher Education.
Hair, J.F., Black, W.C., Babin, B.J., & Anderson, R.E. (2010).
Multivariate Data Analysis (7th ed.). New Jersey: Prentice-
Hall.
He, P., Murrmann, S., & Perdue, R. (2010). An Investigation
of the Relationships among Employee Empowerment,
Employee Perceived Service Quality, and Employee Job
Satisfaction in a U.S. Hospitality Organization. Journal of
Foodservice Business Research, 13(1), 36–50.
Heskett, J.L., Jones, T.O., Loveman, G.W., Sasser, W.E., Jr., &
Schlesinger, L.A. (1994). Putting the Service-Profit Chain
to Work. Harvard Business Review, 72(2), 164–175.
Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s Consequences: Comparing
Values, Behaviors, Institutions and Organizations across
Nations (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Jackson, S.E., & Schuler, R.S. (1992). HRM Practices in
Service-Based Organizations: A Role Theory Perspec-
tive. Advances in Services Marketing and Management,
1, 123–157.
James, L.R., Mulaik, S.A., & Brett, J.M. (2006). A Tale of
Two Methods. Organizational Research Methods, 9(2),
233–245.
Jawahar, I.M. (2007). The Influence of Perceptions of Fairness
on Performance Appraisal Reactions. Journal of Labor
Research, 28, 735–754.
Johnson, J.W. (1996). Linking Employee Perceptions of Service
Climate to Customer Satisfaction. Personnel Psychology,
49, 831–851.
Kidder, D., & Parks, J.M. (2001). The Good Soldier: Who is
(s)he? Journal of Organizational Behavior, 22, 939–959.
Kline, R.B. (1998). Principles and Practice of Structural Equa-
tion Modeling. New York: Guilford Press.
Koster, F., & Sanders, K. (2006). Organisational Citizens or
Reciprocal Relationships? An Empirical Comparison.
Personnel Review, 35(5), 519–537.
 HRM Practices and Behaviors, Golf Course Quality   157
Koys, D.J. (2001). The Effects of Employee Satisfaction,
Organizational Citizenship Behavior, and Turnover on
Organizational Effectiveness: A Unit Level Longitudinal
Study. Personnel Psychology, 54(1), 101–114.
LePine, J.A., Erez, A., & Johnson, D.E. (2002). The Nature and
Dimensionality of Organizational Citizenship Behavior: A
Critical Review and Meta-Analysis. The Journal of Applied
Psychology, 87(1), 52–65.
Leung, S.M. (2008). Matching Ethical Work Climate to In-role
and Extra-role Behaviors in a Collectivist Work Setting.
Journal of Business Ethics, 79(1-2), 43–55.
Little, M.M., & Dean, A.M. (2006). Links between Service
Climate, Employee Commitment and Employees’ Service
Quality Capability. Journal: Managing Service Quality,
Volume, 16(5), 460–476.
Lovell, S.E., Kahn, A.S., Anton, J., Davidson, A., Dowling,
E., Post, D., et al. (1999). Does Gender Affect the Link
between Organizational Citizenship Behavior and Perfor-
mance Evaluation? Sex Roles, 41(5/6), 469–478.
Lovelock, C., & Gummesson, E. (2004). Whither Services
Marketing? In Search of a New Paradigm and Fresh
Perspectives. Journal of Service Research, 7(1), 20–41.
Luthans, F., & Stajkovic, A.D. (1999). Reinforce for Perfor-
mance: The Need to Go Beyond Pay and Even Rewards.
The Academy of Management Executive, 13(2), 49–57.
Lytle, R.S., Hom, P.W., & Mokwa, M.P. (1998). SERV*OR: A
Managerial Measure of Organizational Service-Orienta-
tion. Journal of Retailing, 74(4), 455–489.
MacLean, J.C. (2001). Performance Appraisal for Sport and
Recreation Managers. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Moreland, R.J., & Levine, J.M. (2001). Socialization in Orga-
nizations and Work Groups. In M.E. Turner (Ed.), Groups
at Work: Theory and Research (pp. 69–112). Mahwah, NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Morrison, E.W. (1996). Organizational Citizenship Behavior
as a Critical Link between HRM Practices and Service
Quality. Human Resource Management, 35(4), 493–512.
Nunnally, J.C. (1978). Psychometric Theory (2nd ed.). New
York: McGraw-Hill.
Organ, D.W. (1988). Organizational Citizenship Behavior:
The Good Soldier Syndrome. Lexington, MA: Lexington
Books.
Organ, D.W., & Ryan, K. (1995). A Meta-analytic Review of
Attitudinal and Dispositional Predictors of Organizational
Citizenship Behavior. Personnel Psychology, 48(4), 1–22.
Park, H.J., Mitsuhashi, H., Fey, C.F., & Björkman, I. (2003).
The Effect of Human Resource Management Practices on
Japanese MNC Subsidiary Performance: A Partial Medi-
ating Model. International Journal of Human Resource
Management, 14(8), 1391–1406.
Payne, S.C., & Webber, S.S. (2006). Effects of Service Provider
Attitudes and Employment Status on Citizenship Behav-
iors and Customers’ Attitudes and Loyalty Behavior. The
Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 365–378.
Piercy, N.F., Cravens, D.W., Lane, N., & Vohies, D.W. (2006).
Driving Organizational Citizenship Behaviors and Salesper-
son In-Role Behavior Performance: The Role of Manage-
ment Control and Perceived Organizational Support. Jour-
nal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 34(2), 244–262.
Podsakoff, P.M., Ahearne, M., & MacKenzie, S.B. (1997).
Organizational Citizenship Behavior and the Quantity
and Quality of Work Group Performance. The Journal of
Applied Psychology, 82, 262–270.
Podsakoff, P.M., MacKenzie, S.B., Moorman, R.H., & Fetter,
R. (1990). Transformational Leader Behaviors and Their
Effects on Followers’ Trust in Leader, Satisfaction, and
Organizational Citizenship Behaviors. The Leadership
Quarterly, 1(2), 107–142.
Podsakoff, N.P., Whiting, S.W., Podsakoff, P.M., & Blume, B.D.
(2009). Individual- and organizational-level consequences
of organizational citizenship behaviors: A meta-analysis.
The Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(1), 122–141.
Pride, W.M., & Ferrell, O.C. (2003). Marketing: Concepts and
Strategies (12th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Randolph’s World. (2008). The State of the Golf Industry in
Malaysia. Retrieved July 18, 2010 from http://randol-
phworld.com/2008/05/26/the-state-of-golf-in-malaysia/
Rogg, K.L., Schmidt, D.B., Shull, C., & Schmitt, N. (2001).
Human Resource Practices, Organizational Climate,
and Customer Satisfaction. Journal of Management, 27,
431–450.
Schneider, B., & Bowen, D.E. (1985). Employee and Customer
Perceptions of Service in Banks: Replication and Exten-
sion. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 70, 423–433.
Schneider, B., & Bowen, D.E. (1993). The Service Organiza-
tion: Human Resources Management is Crucial. Organi-
zational Dynamics, 21(4), 39–52.
Schneider, B., White, S.S., & Paul, M.C. (1998). Linking
Service Climate and Customer Perceptions of Service
Quality: Test of a Causal Model. The Journal of Applied
Psychology, 83(2), 150–163.
Slåtten, T. (2009). The Effect of Managerial Practice on
Employee-Perceived Service Quality: The Role of Emo-
tional Satisfaction. Managing Service Quality, 19(4),
431–455.
Singh, J. (2000). Performance Productivity and Quality of
Frontline Employees in Service Organizations. Journal
of Marketing, 64(2), 15–34.
Skinner, B.F. (1953). Science and Human Behavior. New York:
Free Press.
Smith, C.A., Organ, D.W., & Near, J.P. (1983). Organizational
Citizenship Behavior: Its Nature and Antecedents. The
Journal of Applied Psychology, 68, 653–663.
Steers, R.M., & Porter, L.W. (1991). Motivation and Work
Behavior (5th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
The Star. (2010). Import Duty on Golf Buggies Abolished:
PM. Retrieved July 18, 2010 from http://thestar.com.my/
news/story.asp?file=/2010/3/7/nation/20100307194700
&sec=nation
Todd, S.Y., & Andrew, D.P.S. (2006). The Role of Satisfying
Tasks and Organizational Support in the Job Attitudes of
Sporting Goods Retail Employees. International Journal
of Sport Management and Marketing, 1(4), 378–389.
Todd, S.Y., & Kent, A. (2006). Direct and Indirect Effects of
Task Characteristics on Organizational Citizenship Behav-
ior. North American Journal of Psychology, 8(2), 253–268.
Tornow, W.W., & Wiley, J.W. (1990). Service Quality and
Management Practices: A Look at Employee Attitudes,
Customer Satisfaction, and Bottom-Line Consequences.
Human Resource Planning, 14(2), 105–115.
Tsaur, S., & Lin, Y. (2004). Promoting Service Quality in Tourist
Hotels: The Role of HRM Practices and Service Behavior.
Tourism Management, 25, 471–481.
USA Today. (2010). Golf Clubs Suffer in Recession as
Membership Dwindles. Retrieved August 13, 2010 from
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2010-08-03-
golf03_CV_N.htm#
Visitor Malaysia. (2010). About Malaysia. Retrieved July 18,
2010 from http://www.visitormalaysia.com/v2/index.
php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6&Itemid=2
158   Husin, Chelladurai, and Musa
Wang, M. (2009). What Makes a Good Citizen in Service Set-
tings? The Service 1ndustries Journal, 29(5), 621-634.
Wiley, J.W. (1991). Customer Satisfaction: A Supportive Work
Environment and Its Financial Cost. Human Resource
Planning, 14(2), 117.
Yelkur, R., & Chakrabarty, S. (2006). Gender Differences in
Service Quality Expectations in the Fast Food Industry.
Services Marketing Quarterly, 27(4), 142–151.
Yi, Y., & Gong, T. (2008). If Employees “Go the Extra Mile,”
Do Customers Reciprocate with Similar Behavior? Psy-
chology and Marketing, 25(10), 961–986.
Yoo, D.K., & Park, J.A. (2007). Perceived Service Quality:
Analyzing Relationships among Employees, Customers,
and Financial Performance. International Journal of Qual-
ity & Reliability Management, 24(9), 908–926.
Yoon, M.H., Beatty, S.E., & Suh, J. (2001). The Effect of Work
Climate on Critical Employee and Customer Outcomes.
International Journal of Service Industry Management,
12(5), 500–521.
Zellars, K.L., Tepper, B.J., & Duffy, M.K. (2002). Abusive Super-
vision and Subordinates’ Organizational Citizenship Behav-
ior. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 1068–1076.