The Role of Employee Relationship Management in Developing Staff Word-Of-Mouth amongst seconded Academic Staff at Saudi Universities

Abstract

Many organizations have recognized the significance of having good relationship with their employees, because they believe that service quality is greatly affected by frontline service employees. Therefore, this study aims to identify the role of employee relationship management (ERM) in developing staff word-of-mouth (SWOM) amongst seconded academic staff at Saudi universities through mediating employee dissent (ED). A survey questionnaire was prepared and distributed with a sample of 327-seconded academic staff in 10 Saudi universities. The results point to partial support was found for the mediating effect of ED between ERM and SWOM. Therefore, ERM increasingly contributed in developing SWOM in the existence of articulated dissent. Meanwhile, this contribution decreases in the existence of both latent and displaced dissent. Even more surprisingly, the results showed that although ED is a relatively new concept, but it plays negatively and pivotally partial mediating role in the relationship between ERM and SWOM. These results suggested that managers within Saudi universities urgently need strategies to create an ambiance in which academic staff can feel a sense of voice to diminish negative ED and promote positive SWOM as an effective recruitment strategy. In the light of results, the study discussed number of theoretical and managerial implications.

Keywords: Employee Relationship Management, Staff word-of-Mouth, Employee Dissent, Seconded    Academic Staff, Recruitment Strategy.