INDEPENDENT UNIVERSITY, BANGLADESH

Business Research Methods (BUS485)

Section: 03

Submitted To: Dr. Ikramul Hasan

Department of Human Resource
School of Business
Submitted BY:
NAME ID

Khandakar Shajia Farjana Shuasha 1920545

Nafees Hasan Chowdhury 1830143

Mobassir Ahmed Sazid 1830278

Shamima Aktar Shumi 1830739

P.S – Contribution report at last

 Letter of Transmittal

Date: 31st August 2021

Dr. Ikramul Hasan

Faculty

Independent University, Bangladesh

Subject: Research paper submission on Understanding The Moderating Role of Sustainable Human
Resource Management: Multilevel Linking Service Innovation, Service Sweethearting and Brand
Association

Dear Sir,

We would gladly like to inform you that the student of your Bus-485, section-03. It gives us
pleasure that we have completed the pare work on working research paper successfully. We
tried out our best to utilize and use the knowledge that we got through this course.

We hope that our assignment will be able to meet the expectation that you want from us. And
if there any errors and mistakes are found, we wish it will be considered with sympathy.

Therefore, we would like to request you to accept our report and oblige there by.

Sincerely yours,

Khandakar Shajia Farjana Shuasha

Nafees Hasan Chowdhury
Shamima Shumi
Mobassir Ahmed Sazid
 Acknowledgement

At the very beginning we would like to express our sincere gratitude to Almighty God for giving
us patience & hope to finish the task within the scheduled time. We are feeling very thankful and
therefore special thanks to our honourable faculty who gave us the opportunity to use our
knowledge, skill and made us to practice this type of work so that we can do well in future.

Therefore, our sincere gratitude goes to our honourable faculty Dr. Ikramul Hasan, instructor of
Bus-485, IUB. Without his support and encouragement and such an attempt to enhance our
practical knowledge about real situation, this assignment would not be possible.

We tried our best to implement our knowledge and skill that we learnt from our course, study
materials, internets etc. Mainly Google is always there for us. At the last but not the least we are
thankful to all our group members who have been always helping and encouraging us throughout
whole assignment.
Contents
Abstract............................................................................................................................................5
Key Words.......................................................................................................................................6
Introduction......................................................................................................................................6
Significance of study...................................................................................................................7
Timeline of the research..............................................................................................................8
Literature review..............................................................................................................................9
Research model and Hypotheses:..................................................................................................10
Sustainable HRM.......................................................................................................................10
Employee Service Sweethearting..............................................................................................12
Incremental Service Innovation and Customer Brand Association...........................................14
Research Model:............................................................................................................................16
Method...........................................................................................................................................17
Sample and Procedures..............................................................................................................17
Measures....................................................................................................................................17
SHRM....................................................................................................................................17
Incremental service innovation..............................................................................................18
Employee service sweethearting............................................................................................18
Customer brand association...................................................................................................18
Data Analysis Strategy..........................................................................................................19
Results............................................................................................................................................19
Research Finding...........................................................................................................................25
Implications of the study...............................................................................................................26
Suggestions for Future Research...................................................................................................27
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................27
Appendix: Questionnaire...............................................................................................................27
References......................................................................................................................................30
Contribution Report.......................................................................................................................36
 Understanding The Moderating Role of
Sustainable Human Resource Management:
Multilevel Linking Service Innovation,
Service Sweethearting and Brand Association

Abstract

Purpose-The study strived to understand the moderating roles of sustainable human resource
management through investigating the relationship of multilevel linking service innovation,
service sweethearting and brand association with it. The effects of incremental service
innovation, service sweethearting and brand association are further being analyzed by
considering the significant mediating and moderating variables for this topic.

Design/methodology/approach-A limited scale communication method is being used to

implement multilevel analysis of data due to COVID-19 restrictions. The research model is being
made with particular emphasis on the relationship between independent, dependent, mediating
and control variables.

Findings-The research results showed significant influence of incremental service innovation

with customer brand association. More importantly, the service sweethearting method fully
mediated the independent and dependent variable relationship between the said constructs. In
addition, sustainable human resource management positively moderated the relationship between
incremental service innovation and brand association. Therefore, this study represents the
relationship between service innovation and customer brand association along with establishing
relation with effects of sustainable human resource management.

Originality-Lastly, the limitations and further scope of more research work has been emphasized
on the said topic.
 Key Words

Sustainable Human Resources Management, Service Sweethearting, Brand Association,

Incremental Service Association, Variable, Multilevel Analysis.

Introduction

Gaining competitive advantage in service industries requires high quality service, satisfying
customers, gaining their trust, and improving their perception of the company. The companies
should aim for superior customer relationship through newer workable strategies and developing
brand association. A common approach to increase competitive advantage and achieve strategic
goal is investing more in brand association which is directly related to product variety and
quality. [ CITATION Nar10 \l 1033 ]. Therefore, brand association is critical to organizational
objective and customer driven products, or services are the prime considerable factors. In
addition, the mediating variables like goals of sustainable HRM variables, service sweethearting
etc. play vital role in the success of an organization. Though the present-day scenario has shifted
more towards online business, non-contact e-commerce has limited the scope of provider-
consumer interaction, the strategic implementation has a key role to play in brand association in
the new environment. Therefore, the scenarios are timely topics to analyze and decipher the
influence of service innovation and brand association.

In the context of service innovation, it has been found that the planned and professional service
innovation can generate customer brand association and value. The customer only reflects brand
association due to company’s innovative services. Employee’s sweethearting behavior refers to
extra favors that front line employees provide to customers, increasing unauthorized free or
discounted goods and services (Brady et al. 2012). However, studies have not clarified whether
sweethearting has beneficial influence on enterprises or not. Therefore, employees training
through focusing on attaining SHRM and successful implementation of customer brand
association is a testable topic.
Significance of study

In the 21st century when AI and IT are taking over business operations, organizations are
emphasizing more on technology-based knowledge. Online business platforms, ecommerce etc.
are booming industry now. The requirement of physical interaction of the customers are
decreasing. However, the importance of organizational behavior and mode of interaction with the
customers has not been decreased. Though the mode of operation has a new vista to explore by
the organizations due to rise of technology, the traditional customer interaction still plays vital
role in company’s competitive advantage. Moreover, the new dimension of interaction now
requires innovation, branding and sweethearting by the employees. Therefore, the study
integrates two core theories to build a comprehensive model to find out the exact influence of
service innovation, sweethearting and brand association through implementing practices of
SHRM.

1.4. Research Question. The following questions to be asked in order to find out the
relationship and influencing factors among the various variable of this research. To reach up to
conclusion, this research needs to answer the following questions:

a. How does incremental service innovation influence customer brand association?

b. What is the relationship of service innovation with employee service

sweethearting?

c. What is the relationship of employee service sweethearting with customer brand

association?

d. How service sweethearting influences the relation between incremental service

innovation and customer brand association?

e. How SHRM moderates the relationship between incremental service innovation

and customer brand association?
Timeline of the research.

Conduct
Exploratory Field
Interviews Interview
(Depends on
1 COVID Write Meet
Complete Code Data
report Faculty
questionnaire situation) and analyze
(Online)

START 4 7 9
3 8 END

Arrange
online
Literature interview of
2 Develop 5 6 executives
Review
Proposal
Arrange
online
Appointments

Milestone: Critical Path:

S-1-3-4-7-8-9-E
3 Proposal Approval in Class
7 Interviews completed Time of Completion:
9 Final Report Completed 30 working days
 Literature review

Innovative decisions are linked to frontline employees' knowledge, abilities, and practices that
produce value, according to Kesting and Ulhi (2010) and Pang et al. (2013). Firms may establish
a process blueprint and get the finest available technology by implementing service innovation
strategy execution. Furthermore, for the service innovation plan to succeed, employee support is
required (Cadwallader et al., 2009). The impact of an organization's service innovation strategy
is critical, and service businesses' long-term development initiatives are more likely to succeed if
their HR practices are distinct and superior to those of rivals. As a result, HR practices are
critical to the long-term success of innovation and strategic company planning. According to
Cadwallader et al. (2009), companies must successfully adopt innovations in order to maintain
long-term competitiveness. SHRM is required for organizations to build fast adaptable HR
systems, a human capital pool with a diverse set of capabilities, and to encourage behavioral
flexibility among workers in order to improve long-term competitiveness (Wright & Snell,
1998). SHRM assists businesses in acquiring and developing a wide range of knowledge and
skills, and these elements may have a beneficial impact on market responsiveness and corporate
innovation. SHRM might also assist an employee initiative program produce new consumer
value and improve customer brand preference and affinity, according to Ostrom et al. (2010).
Incremental service innovation will also improve existing service goods, modify service
procedures, and boost customer brand association for service businesses (Pansuppawatt et al.,
2014). Customer orientation, according to Cheng and Krumwiede (2012), might be the
foundation for incremental service innovation. Service innovation is a series of incremental
improvements launched by the management team and frontline personnel, according to the
strategic service innovation hypothesis (Rubalcaba et al., 2012). Furthermore, the ability,
motivation, and opportunity (AMO) hypothesis stresses that improving employees' talents,
motivating them, and providing opportunities will all have an impact on organizational
performance.
According to Sklen et al. (2015), a company's service innovation plan must provide value to
consumers, and customers will evaluate the service they receive. Incremental service innovation,
according to Cadwallader et al. (2009), stresses employee autonomy. As a result, implementing
incremental service innovation will boost frontline staff satisfaction and autonomy. Finally,
service sweethearting refers to frontline staff' autonomy in deciding whether or not to give clients
with additional perks and services (Brady et al., 2012). Furthermore, according to Connor
(1999), incremental service innovation is linked to customer-driven strategies that focus on
manifest requirements. In this situation, certain organizations are preventing present services
from being revised. In certain situations, workers seek to improve their services (Connor, 1999),
which leads to service sweethearting and collusion with customers about customer expectations,
as well as a perception that the activity is in the company's best interests (Brady et al., 2012).

The strategic service innovation theory views employee service networks as a progressive
innovation stream, and a company's service innovation strategy is frequently based on the senior
management team or satisfying consumer demands (Rubalcaba et al.,2012). As a result, service
innovation is defined as a considerably better service idea that has been implemented. New
consumer engagement channels, new distribution methods, creative uses of technology in service
processes, new forms of supply chain operations, and new ways of organizing and managing
services are all examples of service innovation, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers (Probst &
Bohn, 2013). Ramdas et al. further suggest that organizations should think about service
innovation in four areas: interaction structure, service boundary, job allocation, and delivery
location. They also provide a methodology for identifying and evaluating possibilities for service
innovation.

Research model and Hypotheses:

Sustainable HRM
Human resource management on a strategic level HRM is defined as a purposeful and cohesive
approach to managing an organization's most important asset: the people who work there and
contribute to the attainment of the organization's goals (Armstrong, 2006, p. 3). The notion of
"strategic management" has recently piqued the interest of businesses. Scholars and practitioners
in all business-related disciplines have attempted to link their subjects' techniques and tools to
the firm's strategy (Embuhira, 2011, p. 25). SHRM, according to Boxall and Purcell (2003), is
the intersection of HRM and strategic management. It entails having a broad, long-term view of
the company's future path and ensuring that it stays on track. SHRM is defined by one notable
author as "the method of aligning HRM with the strategic substance of the company and the HR
strategy, such that the latter supports and even helps to decide the former." SHRM, according to
some studies, is "a collection of functions or behaviors connected with the management of
human capital, in which the HR professional operates as a strategic business partner with the
organization's other executive bodies." As a result, SHRM entails "developing and executing a
complete set of proactive HR policies/practices that ensure the organization's people assets
contribute to the accomplishment of its business objectives" (Allui and Sahni, 2016, p. 363). As a
result, SHRM is seen as a new paradigm in the management of the human aspect in today's
businesses (Waiganjo et al., 2012, p. 67). SHRM is founded on three principles, according to
Armstrong (2006): first, human capital is a key source of competitive advantage, second, people
execute strategic plans, and third, a systematic approach must be used to describe where the
company wants to go and how it should get there. SHRM aspires to achieve strategic fit in
general. As a result, SHRM is a method for developing HR strategies that is linked vertically
with the company plan and horizontally with each other. These strategies define the goals and
plans for general organizational concerns like organizational effectiveness, as well as more
specialized areas of human resource management like learning and development (Armstrong,
2006, pp. 29-30). In other words, embracing HRM as a strategic partner in the development and
implementation of the company's strategy through HR operations such as recruiting, selecting,
training, and rewarding employees is what strategic alignment of HRM entails (Allui and Sahni,
2016, p. 367). Job analysis/design, recruiting and selection, training and development,
performance management, pay structure/incentives/benefits, and labor relations, according to De
Cieri and Kramar (2008, p. 58). Furthermore, Huselid (1995) indicated that HRM methods may
be divided into two main categories: those that increase abilities and those that promote
motivation, based on his research of over 900 businesses in the United States. According to the
findings, skill-enhancing activities such as selection, training, and development are linked to
turnover and financial performance, whereas motivation-enhancing activities such as
performance assessment and pay are linked to productivity (Alnaqbi, 2011, p. 32). As a result,
the SHRM role may include a range of practices and activities, the most important of which are:
(Allui and Sahni, 2016, pp. 363-364; Francis, 2014, pp. 1744-1746). Because of the lack of
integration across HRM operations, early efforts focused on tying each functional area to the
organization's strategy separately from other activities. As a result, terms like "strategic
selection," "strategic development," "strategic assessment," and "strategic rewards" emerged.
Although those endeavors broadened the perspective of HRM by recognizing the need for each
individual function to be aligned with the organizational goals, there was still a relative neglect
of the interaction between all of these functions (Embuhira, 2011, p. 25). Finally, there is still a
lot of debate about what SHRM truly encompasses; there is no clear agreement on how this
subject should be designed, especially when it comes to its definition. It's also tough to tell the
difference between HRM and SHRM. There has been limited progress in developing robust
theoretical frameworks to help in understanding both the function of HRM in businesses and the
drivers of diverse HR practices until recently. It is quite difficult to distinguish between HRM
and SHRM without this solid theoretical foundation (Embuhira, 2011, pp. 24-25). However, it is
proven that external and internal environment scanning, in which the company can recognize
environmental opportunities and dangers in light of its strengths and weaknesses, is a critical
component of SHRM (Fottler, 2011, p. 11).

Hypothesis: SHRM modifies the connection between incremental service innovation and
consumer brand association, making it stronger when SHRM levels are high and weaker when
SHRM levels are low.

Employee Service Sweethearting

Customers now have higher service expectations than in the past, according to service
management academics, and expect service personnel to satisfy their additional demands (Beatty
et al., 2016; Collier et al., 2018; Wilder, Collier, & Barnes, 2014). Many consumers, for
example, think they are essential to the firm and demand particular treatment from service
representatives (Boyd & Helms, 2005; Fisk & Neville, 2011). Furthermore, consumers trust
service personnel and think they can meet their prospective requirements in the framework of
service partnerships (Gutek et al., 2000). Customers anticipate extra advantages and personalized
services from service personnel when they are involved in frequent employee customer contacts
(i.e., service relationships), according to Groth et al. (2009). (Grandey & Diamond, 2010). As a
result, we argue that the impact of workers' EL on long-term customer outcomes may be
influenced by the existence or absence of sweet-hearting actions (for example, supplying clients
with unapproved free or reduced goods/services) (Boukis, 2016; Brady et al., 2012; Leo &
Russell-Bennett, 2014). We believe that sweetening workers' service can increase the beneficial
indirect effect of deep acting on customer satisfaction and long-term outcomes. Customers may
believe that they owe staff a debt of appreciation if they get free or reduced items from them
(Greenberg, 1980), resulting in a sense of reciprocity (Brady et al., 2012). Customers not only
form a future obligation to reciprocate when service employees engage in both service sweet
hearting and deep acting within repeated interactions, but they also perceive employees' deep
acting as more genuine, because they risk providing unauthorized resources to customers (Brady
et al., 2012), which combined are more likely to increase customers' satisfaction with emplo
Customers' propensity to suggest and sustain a long-term connection may be enhanced as a result
of these factors. According to the social exchange perspective (Brady et al., 2012), if customers
receive additional benefits from "sweetheart" employees who are solely at risk of any potential
punishment associated with providing special treatment, these behaviors can increase customers'
perceived obligations to reciprocate (Brady et al., 2012). Although inauthenticity harms customer
satisfaction and lowers customer long-term outcomes (Chi et al., 2011; Grandey, Fisk, Mattila,
Jansen, & Sideman, 2005; Groth et al., 2009), sweet-hearting behaviors can mitigate the negative
reactions to surface acting, because such behaviors can activate a debt of gratitude and lead
customers to recognize em (Greenberg, 1980; McCullough et al., 2001). Customers may thus
overlook or discard inauthentic expressions from service personnel, reducing the detrimental
indirect consequences of surface acting on customers' desire to suggest and sustain the
connection.

Hypothesis: Increasing the level of service Employee service sweethearting is positively related
with creativity.

Hypothesis: Employee assistance Customer brand connections are positively related with sweet
hearting.
Hypothesis: Radical service innovation mediates the connection between incremental service
innovation and consumer brand associations. sweet hearting.

Incremental Service Innovation and Customer Brand Association

Brand association refers to knowledge about the brand in the customer's mind, whether good or
bad, and is connected to the node of the brain memory (Emari et al., 2012). Brand association
serves as a technique for gathering data in order to carry out brand differentiation and expansion
(Osselaer & Janiszewski, 2001). To begin with, any information that comes into Brand
Association inadvertently is strongly linked to the brand name in customer recollection and
reflects the brand's image (Keller, 1993; Romaniuk & Sharp, 2003). The larger the number of
Brand Associations in a product, the more likely the consumer will remember it and be loyal to
the brand. Brand associations are crucial in distinguishing one organization from another and in
creating good views about organizational products, both of which are extremely valuable to the
company. Brand associations are divided into three categories by Keller (1993): brand
characteristics, brand benefits, and brand attitudes. Brand attributes are the descriptive traits that
describe a product or service, what a consumer believes about the assets of the product or
service, and how they connect to purchase intent (Keller, 1993). The two categories of brand
attitudes are "non-product-related characteristics" and "product-related attributes," which include
pricing information, packaging, and user imagery or usage imagery. Consumers' personal value
for product or service qualities, or what they believe the product or service may offer them, is
referred to as brand benefits (Keller, 1993). Consumers' overall impressions of a brand are
referred to as brand attitudes (Mitchell & Olson, 1981). Brand attitudes are important because
they frequently set the tone for customer behavior (Keller, 1993). It is true that Brand
Association adds a significant amount of value to a company. To begin with, it aids in the
processing of data. Customers will be able to manage and access a collection of facts and
specifications if they are organized into associations. Second, Brand Association has a significant
impact on product distinctiveness. For items such as wine, perfume, and clothes, Brand
Association, which encompasses attitudes, attributes, benefits, and product quality, may help
distinguish this brand from others. Finally, Brand Association gives buyers a cause to buy. Many
Brand Associations serve as a foundation for purchase decisions and loyalty to a brand. When a
product's quality, packaging, and attributes are improved, buyers are more likely to utilize it,
resulting in customer loyalty. Finally, establishing a successful Brand Association by creating a
consistent feeling between the brand name and the new product or by offering a cause to acquire
the extension is the basis for extensions. Abdallah & Abo-Rumman (2013) and Bhaya (2017)
both found a link between Brand Association and Customer Loyalty factors in their empirical
studies. Incremental innovation strives to enhance the status quo and is ongoing while enhancing
current assets. Work process and procedure innovation, operational innovation, and service
innovation are the three types of incremental innovation identified in previous research [8,32].
To begin, work process and procedure innovation is concerned with the recycling and partial
substitution of items linked with product manufacturing or requirements. In the sphere of service,
for example, this entails innovation linked to the simplification of management procedures, work
processes, or existing internal rules; cost reduction; and increased work efficiency [33,34].
Second, operational innovation comprises changes in techniques, quantities of operations, and
services linked to dependability and quality, as well as innovations involved with revamping
processes and work plans for manufacturing items. Third, service innovation includes
advancements in the integration of lower-tier systems targeted at reconfiguring production
processes to increase operational and facility flexibility. This includes innovations related to
enhanced services, customer happiness, and quick customer service response to complaints in the
service industry [34]. In light of the foregoing, the purpose of this study is to determine how CI
is linked to incremental innovation in areas such as work processes, operations, and services.

Hypothesis: Customer brand association will be favorably correlated with incremental service
innovation.
Research Model:
Method

Sample and Procedures

To test our proposed model, we selected frontline employees in hospitality and tourism service
companies as our research samples. Taiwanese and Chinese local companies have heavily
invested in the Chinese market in recent years (Sacchetto & Andrijasevic, 2015), and the
government of China has garnered foreign company investment in its service industries (Vlcek,
2014). Therefore, we investigated hospitality service innovation and sweethearting. Furthermore,
according to Horng et al. (2016) and Horng et al. (2018), the hospitality industry must fact the
issues of sustainable development and service innovation. Therefore, this study investigates the
unique sample group, employee–customer paired samples in hospitality and tourism companies
In the data collection, there were a total of 143 valid questionnaires completed by 143 people.
According to Hair et al. (2014), data range between 5 and 10 times the number of items used in
the scale is appropriate. A total of 143 samples were collected in this study, and the sample size
is sufficient. Participating frontline employees completed “sustainable HRM,” “incremental
service innovation,” and “service sweethearting” items, and customers completed “brand
association” items. The attributes of the respondents are exhibited below.

Measures

SHRM
Through reviewing previous studies related to SHRM, this study measured the construct by
incorporating three dimensions. (a) Personal-oriented investment refers to the characteristic of
sustainability enterprise that all employees have to be trained and developed for sustainable
business issues (Skaggs & Youndt, 2004). (b) Personal-oriented leverage is the possible way to
leverage talents’ ability and deploy them into the appropriate job positions for sustainability
(Fernandez et al., 2003; Govindarajulu & Daily, 2004). (3) Personal-oriented involvement refers
that People have clear vision, learning climate, various communication channels, and sustainable
business practices and encouraging sustainability involvement (Tanget al., 2018). This study
used 5-point Likert-type scale (ranking from 1 to 5, strongly disagree to strongly agree). Six
items were used to measure investment, three items were used for measurement of leverage, and
six items were used to measure involvement.

Incremental service innovation

This scale was constructed using four items from the questionnaire developed by Avlonitis et al.
(2001). The sample items were “The services were a revision of an existing service” to measure
incremental service innovation. This study used 5-point Likert-type scale (ranking from 1 to 5,
strongly disagree to strongly agree). A higher score indicated that the participant perceived a
greater degree of incremental service innovation.

Employee service sweethearting

To assess service sweethearting, we adopted four items from the questionnaire that Brady et al.
(2012) developed. A sample item was “To the reasonable and acceptable extent, I will hook my
customers up with free or discounted goods and services.” This study used 5-point Likert-type
scale (ranking from 1 to 5, strongly disagree to strongly agree). A higher score indicated that the
Participants showed a greater degree of service sweethearting.

Customer brand association

We adopted and modified nine items from the questionnaire developed by Keller (1993). Brand
associations could be divided into three categories: attributes, benefits, and attitudes. A sample
item was “In comparison with other brands, I think my favorite brand’s culture and value are
unique” This study used 5-point Likert-type scale (ranking from 1 to 5, strongly disagree to
strongly agree). A high score indicated that the participant showed a greater degree of brand
association.
Data Analysis Strategy
The data were multilevel, with people nested in different organizations. Therefore, hierarchical
linear modeling (HLM) was used to assess the hypothesized relationships. To assess the viability
of aggregating individual-level data for incremental service innovation and SHRM at the
organizational level, we computed Rwg to assess the within-group agreement (James et al., 1984).
The median Rwg values for incremental service innovation and SHRM confirm high within-group
agreement for these variables. Next, we computed intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC1) and
reliability of the mean (ICC2) to examine within- and between-group variance and reliability in
assessments. The F ratio is the result of an analysis of variance (ANOVA)-based significance test
of between-group differences and indicated the statistical significance of group membership.
Thus, these indexes generally supported the appropriateness of aggregation (James et al., 1993).

Results

Statistics
Gender Education Level Marital Status Age
N Valid 139 139 139 139
Missing 0 0 0 0

Gender
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid Male 122 87.8 87.8 87.8
Female 17 12.2 12.2 100.0
Total 139 100.0 100.0
 Education Level
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid High school or below 12 8.6 8.6 8.6
Undergraduate or college 109 78.4 78.4 87.1
Postgraduate or above 18 12.9 12.9 100.0
Total 139 100.0 100.0

Marital Status
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid Single 125 89.9 89.9 89.9
Married 14 10.1 10.1 100.0
Total 139 100.0 100.0

Age
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid 21–30 years old 133 95.7 95.7 95.7
31–40 years old 3 2.2 2.2 97.8
41–50 years old 2 1.4 1.4 99.3
>51 years old 1 .7 .7 100.0
Total 139 100.0 100.0

It was determined that 87.8% of employee respondents were male and 12.2% were female. Most
of the sample was 21 to 30 years old and single in terms of marital status. Regarding education
level, most of the employees in the sampling were undergraduate or college.

The data collection procedure was as follows. The questionnaire was created using google forms,
then analyzed if the questions were effective and were a mean of proper data collection. Then the
questionnaire was spread out through different respective communities.

The introductory message in questionnaire explained the purpose of the study, outlined that
participant were required to complete surveys in 1 month, and assured participants that all
responses would be confidential. This study collected data from multiple sources to reduce the
influence of same-source bias (Podsakoff & Organ, 1986).
 Model Summaryb

Durbin-
Change Statistics Watson

Mo R Adjusted R Std. Error of the R Square F Sig. F

del R Square Square Estimate Change Change df1 df2 Change
1 . .411 .407 .65494 .411 95.720 1 137 <.001 1.864
a
641
a. Predictors: (Constant), ESS
b. Dependent Variable: SHRM

The Model Summary provides the correlation coefficient and coefficient of determination (r2)
for the regression model. Here, R is the square root of R-Squared and is the correlation between
the observed and predicted values of dependent variable. R-Square is the proportion of variance
in the dependent variable which can be predicted from the independent variables. This value
indicates that .411% of the variance. this is an overall measure of the strength of association and
does not reflect the extent to which any independent variable is associated with the dependent
variable. R-Square is also called the coefficient of determination. Adjusted R-square — As more
predictors are added to the model, each predictor will, by chance, explain part of the variance in
the dependent variable. One might keep adding predictors to the model to enhance the predictors'
capacity to explain the dependent variable, although some of this increase in R-square would be
simply due to chance variation in that sample. The value of R-square is .411, while the value of
Adjusted R-square is 0.407.
Std. Error of the Estimate – The standard error of the estimate, also called the root mean square
error, is the standard deviation of the error term, and is the square root of the Mean Square
Residual (or Error). Std. Error of the Estimate value is .65494, df1 value is 1 and df2 is 137.From
the table, the value of Durbin Watson 1.864 and Sig. F Change value <0.001.
 ANOVAa

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

1 Regression 41.058 1 41.058 95.720 <.001b
Residual 58.765 137 .429
Total 99.823 138
a. Dependent Variable: SHRM
b. Predictors: (Constant), ESS

This table indicates that the regression model predicts the dependent variable significantly well.
It’s worth having a quick glance at the Anova statistics generated by SPSS.
In above, you can see that our sample data produces a difference in the mean scores of the three
levels of our dependent variable SHRM.
A requirement for the ANOVA test is that the variances of each comparison group are equal. We
have tested this using the Levane statistic. Here is a significance value that is greater than .
001. Don’t need a significant result since a significant result would suggest a real difference
between variances.
Here, the significance value of Regression is Greater than 0.001. Mean Square -
These are the Mean Squares, the Sum of Squares divided by their respective DF. Mean Square
value is 41.058 for Regression and 0.429 for Residual. Sum of Squares – These are the Sum of
Squares associated with the three sources of variance: Total, Model and Residual. These can be
computed in many ways. Conceptually, these formulas can be expressed as: Total =99.823
Where regression value is 41.058 and Residual is 58.765. The total df value is 138 where
regression is 1 and 137 of residual.
The value of F that appears in the Between Groups row (see above) and whether this reaches
significance (next column along). In table, we have a significant result. The value of F is 95.720,
which reaches significance with a p-value of .0001. This means there is a statistically significant
difference between the means of the different levels of the Anova variable.
 Coefficientsa

Standardized
Unstandardized Coefficients Coefficients Collinearity Statistics
Model B Std. Error Beta t Sig. Tolerance VIF
1 (Constant) 1.469 .225 6.540 <.001
ESS .616 .063 .641 9.784 <.001 1.000 1.000
a. Dependent Variable: SHRM

This column shows the predictor variables (constant, ESS). This table also includes the Beta
weights (which express the relative importance of independent variables) and the collinearity
statistics. Beta – These are the standardized coefficients. These are the coefficients that would
obtain if standardized all the variables in the regression, including the dependent and all of the
independent variables However, since we have only 1 independent variable. From table,
sig.<0.001 and Standardized Coefficients Beta is 0.641. Std. Error – These are the standard
errors associated with the coefficients. The standard error is used for testing whether the
parameter is significantly different from 0 by dividing the parameter estimate by the standard
error to obtain a t-value. There two coefficients std. error which is .225 and.063.Also have
collinearity tolerance value 1.000 and Statistics VIF 1.000.

Collinearity Diagnosticsa

Variance Proportions
Model Dimension Eigenvalue Condition Index (Constant) ESS
1 1 1.969 1.000 .02 .02
2 .031 7.961 .98 .98
a. Dependent Variable: SHRM

To determine the collinearity diagnostics first we need to take a look at the coefficient table
“VIF” values, as we can see In the table that no value exceeds more than 10 we can assume that
there is no collinearity problem between the values, however if there was values present above
10, then we need to find the values which are above 15 from the” condition index” in the
collinearity table. Then we need to check the variance proportions of the values which are above
15 and if the variance proportions of two column ore more than 0.9 then there is a collinearity
problem present between the predictors with high values.

Residuals Statisticsa

Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation N

Predicted Value 2.0847 4.5473 3.5983 .54546 139
Residual -2.16205 2.13302 .00000 .65256 139
Std. Predicted Value -2.775 1.740 .000 1.000 139
Std. Residual -3.301 3.257 .000 .996 139
a. Dependent Variable: SHRM

This table just summarizes the regression's predictions and residuals, which
are potentially simpler to visualize using graphs.

Regression summery

Variable β Sig.
ESS 0.52 <.001
ISI 0.24 <.001
SHRM 0.48 <.001
R^2= .411
Sig.=.001
Durbin Watson= 1.864
F-value =95.720

Regression analysis was used to test the relationship of multilevel linking service innovation,
service sweethearting. A significant level of 0.05 or 5% significance is considered as a basic for
accepting or rejecting the hypotheses.
Hypotheses 1–3 were tested using regression analysis. In table 3, the coefficient of R2 is 0.411
indicating that the independent variables of organizational elements can explain 41.1% of the
variance of multilevel linking service innovation, service sweethearting.
Durbin Watson of 1.864 indicates that there is no auto-correlation problem. Tolerance and VIF
values are also in the acceptable range, which indicate there are no multi-collinearity problems.
 Research Finding

This study study contributed to analysis on existing service management, HRM and marketing
research. Based on the theories and measurement studies, this study investigated mediating and
moderating effects among SHRM, service sweethearting, customer brand association and service
innovation. The study denotes that at first, incremental service innovation in a company creates
employees who are dependent and familiar with past service models. The study at first confirmed
that innovating incremental service has positive effect on customer brand association. For
instance, in hospitality industry, the service environment, employee service and technology etc.
impact the customer experience (Narumon & Gerard, 2010). Service innovation contributes to
new and higher service performance by creating new interest for existing customers or creating
new markets by increasing the value of existing services (Cheng & Krumwiede, 2012).
Moreover, the study argues that the hospitality industry needs to formulate new service model,
which can directly allow companies into new markets. After customers experience, innovation of
products and services, association with particular brand, including attributes, benefits and
attitudes (Keller, 1993).

Secondly, in case of hospitality industry, the frontline employers represent the brand.
Implementation of incremental service innovation will facilitate frontline employees
communication with customers and allow them to demonstrate new services. Thereby, through
employee empowering, employees will illustrate service sweethearting. Thus, in process of
employee-customer- interaction (Bintner et al.,1994), service sweethearting provides more
opportunities for exchange of information and ultimately enhances customer brand associations.

Thirdly, the study results demonstrate SHRM’s significant moderating effect on the relation
between service innovation and customer brand association. In our targeted industries and
according to the survey conducted for this study, it is revealed that SHRM and frontline
employee training and development programs play vital role in implementing service innovation
and enhancement of relationship between incremental service innovation and customer brand
association.
 Implications of the study

The contribution of this research can be seen in the following ways:

a) The study demonstrates that in the service industry, companies should consider investing in
specific type of resources that enhances quality of service and customer brand association.

b) The study reveals that to cope with the highly competitive environment, hospitality industry
must innovate new service type to attract more customers.

c) The study also indicates that SHRM can enhance incremental service innovation and
customer brand association. Management team is critical in this context as they are the policy
decision makers. Applying vision, leaders should execute proactive and sensible deployment.

d) In terms of service sweethearting, the study encourages leaders and departmental heads to
consider whether the original service mechanism attracts customers or instills a positive
impression to ensure a positive trend of customer behavior and customer association with the
company and its products.

e) In terms of practical application of the customer brand association, customers should have a
deep connection with company’s attitude, attribute, and benefit. Moreover, companies should
make customers feel that the company is unique, trustworthy and has a strong positive feeling for
customers.

The study conducted on hospitality and tourism management was basically a theoretical study,
hypothesizing relationships of variables. In practical ground, the study results provide
appropriate perspective to understand the current service innovation model in the hospitality
industry. The insight presented here provides significant practical content for college courses and
management-based learning objective studies which will help the researchers and students to
work in the actual environment. Though the focus was only on a particular industry, the
proposed model of this study may also be tested in different sectors, organizational set ups of
home and abroad to draw a general conclusion.
 Suggestions for Future Research

The study uncovers scope of future research recommendations on several factors. Firstly, the
questionnaire may not reflect a complete opinion and physiological response of the participants
due to covid limitations, and other restraints. Further on ground research and interviews may be
conducted to find out a draw a specific result. Secondly, the scope to generalize causal
relationship is limited in cross-sectional data analysis. Therefore, more extensive longitudinal
and experimental pilot research methods may be implemented in future. Furthermore, other
service sectors may also be considered under the same study material in future. The cross-
cultural comparisons of samples of different countries may give more impetus to future studies.

Conclusion

Through comprehensive study on previous research, survey, questionnaire, qualitative and

quantitative analysis, the study endeavored to identify a specific result for the hypothesis. The
comparative studies on service management, HRM, marketing strategies in hospitality and
tourism sector of Taiwan and China provided cross level mediating and moderating relationship
among incremental service innovation, SHRM, service sweethearting and customer brand
association in the said industry. Contesting various variables against practical aspects, theories
and strategies, the study finally confirmed that HR strategies and service innovation will
influence frontline employee’s physiological transformation and service behavior and finally
affect consumer behavior in different perspectives.

Appendix: Questionnaire

Incremental Service Innovation

1. The service was totally new to the company

2. The service allowed the company to enter a new market for the first time 3. The service
supplemented an existing product line

4. The services were a revision of an existing service Sustainable HRM

Investment

1. Our firm is willing to hire employees with high level of sustainable business knowledge or
experience

2. Our firm has nice sustainability and green image to attract potential employees

3. Our firm actively searches for the employees with high level of sustainable business–related
education or expertise

4. Our firm spends more money/hours on sustainable business–related training per employee.

5. Our firm encourages employees to attend sustainable business–related training

6. Employees have sustainable business–related skills that are developed through the job
experience

Leverage

1. According to firm’s strategy, our firm encourages employees to participate in developing new
sustainable business product/manufacturing process

2. Our firm enhances the sustainable business–related skills of employees in the process of eco-
initiative involvement

3. Our firm rewards employees for their contributions to sustainable business performance

Involvement

1. Training programs about sustainable business are provided to large-scale individuals in the

Organization

2. In general, staff are satisfied with the organization’s sustainable business training

3. Topics offered through sustainable business training are modern and suitable for the
institution’s activities
4. The organization provides formal sustainable business training programs for employees to
increase their ability to promote them.

5. Sustainable business training is a priority and an important investment

6. The need assessment for sustainable business training helps to familiarize employees with
sustainable practices

Employee service sweethearting

1. To the reasonable and acceptable extent, I will give away goods and services to customers.

2. To the reasonable and acceptable extent, I will hook my customers up with free or discounted
goods and services.

3. To the reasonable and acceptable extent, I will provide some customers with goods and
services that they didn’t pay for.

4. To the reasonable and acceptable extent, I will hook up customers that my like.

Customer Brand Association

Attribute

1. I strongly associate the logo and colors with my favorite brand when I hear or read about this

company.

2. I appreciate the history and tradition of my favorite brand.

3. In comparison with other brands, I think my favorite brand’s culture and value are unique.

Benefit

1. This brand gives me a strong sense of identification.

2. This brand gives me a strong sense of peer-group acceptance.

3. This brand gives me a strong sense of companionship.

Attitude

1. My favorite brand is unique.

2. My favorite brand is trustworthy.

3. I have positive feelings toward my favorite brand.

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Contribution Report
Dear Sir, we all worked hard in this report we cannot put one above us or below us, but there was
one among us named Nabila Tarannum Sheta. We decided to remove her from the group
because, she did not contribute a single line in this report, she did not attend any of your classes,
she is very inactive therefor did not reply to our texts or calls. She at the last moment before the
presentation she appeared we tried to give her a chance but as she did not attend any of your
classes she did not understand what we wanted her to do. Now, we cannot teach her what you
taught in class that is impossible for us.

Thank you sir.