| |

Received: 24 April 2020    Revised: 2 September 2020    Accepted: 29 September 2020

DOI: 10.1002/nop2.665

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Effects of internal service quality on nurses’ job satisfaction,

commitment and performance: Mediating role of employee
well-being

Muhammad Ibrahim Abdullah1,2  | Dechun Huang1 | Muddassar Sarfraz3  |

Larisa Ivascu4  | Amir Riaz2

1
Business School, Hohai University, Nanjing,
PR China Abstract
2
Department of Management Sciences, Aim: The attitudes and behaviours of nursing staff are critical to determine patients’
Comsats University Islamabad, Lahore,
satisfaction and to have a competitive advantage for any healthcare organization.
Pakistan
3
Binjiang College, Nanjing University of
This study is set to investigate the effects of internal service quality (ISQ) on nurses’
Information Science and Technology, Wuxi, job satisfaction, employee commitment, well-being and job performance in the
PR China
4
healthcare sector of Pakistan. Further, this study also examines the mediating role of
Faculty of Management in Production and
Transportation, Politehnica University of nurses’ well-being for the relationship of job satisfaction and commitment with their
Timisoara, Timisoara, Romania job performance.
Correspondence Methods: This was a cross-sectional quantitative research. A self-administered sur-
Muddassar Sarfraz, Binjiang College, Nanjing vey was used to collect data from 412 nursing employees of 20 private sector health-
University of Information Science and
Technology, Wuxi, Jiangsu, PR China. care centres operating in Pakistan. Partial least square of structural equation model
Email: [email protected] (PLS-SEM) and structural equation modelling (SEM) were employed through Smart
Funding informationThis study was PLS 3.2.8 for data analysis.
supported by Innovative Team of Philosophy
and Social Sciences in Jiangsu Higher Results: Study results revealed that ISQ directly effects employees’ satisfaction,
Learning Institutions “2017ZSTD002.” commitment, well-being of the nursing employees. Moreover, employees’ well-being
has mediated job satisfaction and job performance relationship; however, well-being
did not mediate the relationship between commitment and job performance.

KEYWORDS

employee commitment, employee–nurse satisfaction, health care, internal service quality,

well-being

1 |  I NTRO D U C TI O N on nurses’ productivity and effectiveness (Berry et al., 2010;

Mirabito & Berry, 2015) which ultimately leads to the performance
In this modern era, organizations are competing in a global mar- of healthcare organizations. The concept of internal service has
ket. Healthcare sector of a country has a significant influence on emerged as one of the most vital principles of the service manage-
its economy and overall health of the nation. There is a growing ment approach (Farner et al., 2001). According to customer service
recognition of nurses’ wellness in the workplace and its impact literature, service quality (SERVQUAL) is the primary debate for

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction
in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.
© 2020 The Authors. Nursing Open published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Nursing Open. 2021;8:607–619.  |

wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/nop2     607
 |
608       ABDULLAH et al.

F I G U R E 1   Conceptual Framework

modelling and operationalization of service quality in the mea- need to be covered. Healthcare centres must improve internal
surement of an effective organizational system (Brandon-Jones services to enhance their service quality and thus increase prof-
& Silvestro, 2010; Wang & Li, 2018). Previous studies consider its. However, previous research determined that the nursing em-
internal service quality (ISQ) operationalization (Brandon-Jones ployees’ wellness depends on the internal services provided to its
& Silvestro, 2010), explores its antecedents and consequences employees. Additionally, employees’ effectiveness and efficiency
(Nazeer et al., 2014) and study its role as a mediator variable increase as they feel more motivated towards their job (Eskildsen &
(Ehrhart et al., 2011). Dahlgaard, 2000). Ultimately, this leads to organizations' sustainabil-
A lot of literature is available relating to the SERVQUAL with ity in the market (Berry et al., 2010; Mirabito & Berry, 2015).
reference to the healthcare sector (e.g. Akdere et al., 2020; Fatima Healthcare occupations are of high pressure and have long work-
et al., 2018; Mosadeghrad, 2014); however, relatively less studies ing hours. Also, being a critical industry, healthcare centres must
have examined the effects of ISQ on nursing staff attitudes and be- provide more timely facilities and services as compared with other
haviours (Prakash & Srivastava, 2019), especially in the developing service sectors. They are expected to respond to the consumers/
countries like Pakistan. The existing literature positively associates patients in no time. The nurses are required to serve patients in the
human resources performance with organizational performance standard approach (Gupta & Sharma, 2009). Nurses’ commitment
(Hitt et al., 2001; Moynihan & Pandey, 2007). Moreover, job motiva- level, performance effectiveness and efficiency are affected due to
tion and satisfaction are positively correlated to employee retention work-related pressure. Internal service is adopted and implemented
and intent to stay with the current employer (Rahman et al., 2008; in various healthcare centres, leading to nurses’ satisfaction (Prakash
Rust et al., 1996). & Srivastava, 2019). Further, Berry et al. (2010) and Mirabito and
Furthermore, reduced job satisfaction has been firmly established Berry (2015) have highlighted the importance of employee wellness
as a prime predictor of voluntary turnover (Griffeth et al., 2000). at the workplace and its impact on employee's productivity and ef-
Job Satisfaction has a positive association with job performance fectiveness. Based on the effective event theory, it is necessary to
(Miller et al., 2001; Moynihan & Pandey, 2007). Over the past few investigate the role of internal services quality to improve the per-
decades, the global shortage of employees has been steadily grow- formance of an employee at the workplace, which will ultimately
ing (Kingma, 2001). Studies have shown that job dissatisfaction is result in organizational wellness. Moreover, previously there is no
positively linked with employees’ intention to quit (Applebaum study which has investigated the role of internal service quality in
et al., 2010; Heinen et al., 2013) and worsening the overall nurs- the health sector of Pakistan.
ing staff supply for the healthcare organizations. Some sources of Therefore, this study is set to investigate the influence of ISQ on
job satisfaction include cohesion among the nursing staff (Adams nurses’ job satisfaction, employee commitment, well-being and job
& Bond, 2000), management's engagement and support (Masum performance in the healthcare settings. Further, this study also ex-
et  al.,  2016; Tovey & Adams,  1990; Uğur GöK & Kocaman,  2011), amines the mediating role of nurses’ well-being for the relationship
autonomy and ability to make a decision (Nolan et al., 1995) and in- of job satisfaction and commitment with their job performance.
teractions with the patients (Tzeng, 2002a, 2002b).
Health care is one of the fastest-growing industries world-
wide, and healthcare professions are in high demand now a day. 1.1 | Conceptual framework
Pakistan is a developing country with a low-income level. Like most
of the developing countries, private healthcare sector is provid- This study is vital to investigate and analyse the role of ISQ and how
ing better services as compared with the public sector in Pakistan it effects on nurses’ performance in the Pakistani private healthcare
(Javed et al., 2019). However, there are still deficiencies which sector (Figure 1).
ABDULLAH et al. |
      609

2 | BAC KG RO U N D commitment have a direct relation and high commitment of employ-

ees has a positive impact on their work performance.
The internal service quality (ISQ) is considered as one of the pri- Over the past few years, the concept of employee commitment
mary driver for employee loyalty, job satisfaction and organiza- has emerged in a significant way and a strong relationship has been
tional productivity (Hallowell et al., 1996; Sharma et al., 2016). found between employee commitment and ISQ (Bai et al., 2006;
Therefore, the ISQ management system is considered integral Boshoff & Mels, 1995; Ching et al., 2019; Odeh & Alghadeer, 2014).
for consumer-oriented organizations. It is focused on higher in- ISQ has a positive influence on employees’ commitment as it can
ternal services through the satisfaction of internal consumers’ enhance employees’ commitment at a high level and encourage them
needs. The poor level of ISQ can severely damage the employees’ to work hard for the advancement and success of the organization.
organizational commitment (Sharma et al., 2016). Organizations Some researchers considered employees’ commitment as a psycho-
providing high-quality internal services can achieve their goals logical state of employees that indicates a firm relation of employees
more efficiently and effectively (Berry, 1981; Grönroos, 1981). In with the organization and motivates them to work harder for their
this way, a higher level of ISQ leads to a higher level of employ- employer organization (Richardsen et al., 2006). A higher level of
ees’ commitment and satisfaction—both of which help to enhance employees’ commitment is beneficial for the organization as it leads
employee performance. Employee satisfaction level explains the to high level of behavioural outcomes and helps the organization to
perception of an employee about his or her job, whether he or achieve its overall goals (Khan et al., 2011).
she is willing to work in that particular organization and to what Researchers argued that ISQ has an impact on employee commit-
extent the job has associated with positive and negative aspects ment and employee satisfaction level (Maharani et al., 2020; Sharma
(Moorhead & Griffin, 2008). Employee commitment means bond- et al., 2016). In the same way, many researchers used variables other
ing with an organization that creates an employment relationship than ISQ and do not consider it when studying about employee com-
with his or her employer organization. This bonding has a signifi- mitment (Vanniarajan & Subbash Babu, 2011). Studies conducted on
cant impact on employee performance, which can be positive, as employee commitment and ISQ have revealed that ISQ would make
well as negative (Becker et al., 1996; Meyer et al., 2004; Rubin & the employees’ work easier and would have a positive impact on it.
Brody, 2011). This is why organizations need to improve ISQ to make employees’
One of the earliest definitions of job satisfaction is “a pleasur- jobs more meaningful and productive (Masemola, 2011).
able or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one's
job or job experience” (Locke, 1976, p. 1304). Job satisfaction is ex- Hypothesis H2 Internal service quality has a positive effect on em-
plained in terms of a job's agreeability (Ellickson & Logsdon, 2002), ployee commitment.
as well as in terms of employees’ positive sensations and preference
for the work itself (Shields & Price, 2002). An employee satisfaction The concept of employee well-being has emerged over the past
is recognized as one of the most vital drivers of employee’ service few years. Well-being includes different aspects an organization
quality, productivity and loyalty (Matzler & Renzl, 2006). Previous covers such as health and safety. Organizations are initiating produc-
studies have revealed that ISQ helps employees do their jobs better, tivity programmes for the employees’ betterment. Workplace health
which makes them feel more satisfied (Chiang & Wu, 2014; Hallowell and well-being programmes have become essential not only for the
et al., 1996; Loveman, 1998; Nazeer et al., 2014; Pantouvakis, 2011). employees but also for the organization because they have a positive
ISQ has a significant influence on employees’ satisfaction or job sat- impact on employees’ performance (Guest & Conway, 2002).
isfaction and improved ISQ facilitates employees to improve their There are several possible ways through which employees’
job performance. Organizations having high quality of internal ser- well-being can be maintained in the organization such as on-site
vices to their employees are more developed and successful (Khan fitness programmes, a flexible working arrangement to avoid frus-
et al., 2011). Satisfied employees used to be hard worker, and they tration, financial education, career coaching, emotional intelligence
are highly motivated (Eskildsen & Dahlgaard, 2000). development training, providing healthy food to employees, estab-
lishing a friendly environment work in the organization and so on
Hypothesis H1 Internal service quality has a positive effect on em- (Renee Baptiste, 2008). Employees’ well-being also enables them to
ployee satisfaction. have a good relationship with other employees, so they can work in a
team and produce better outcomes (Lawson et al., 2009). According
In management research, employee commitment is considered to the World Health Organization (WHO), an individual's health is
an essential aspect as it has a direct nexus with employee as well the mix of mental, physical and social well-being. In the case of em-
as with organizational performance. Several factors are associated ployees, well-being is the combination of mental, physical, emotional
with human resources and these factors play a pivotal role in the and spiritual well-being. Mental health is the designation of less de-
development of organizations through the factors like employees’ pression, anxiety and stress. Physical health issues include digestive
satisfaction, employee commitment, loyalty and communication. issues, headache, muscle pains and dizziness. Several researchers ar-
A higher commitment level of the employees with their employer gued that employees who have to work under pressure and in stress-
leads to higher level of productivity. Employees’ performance and ful condition would have a low-performance level that would have
 |
610       ABDULLAH et al.

an impact on the organizational outcomes (e.g. Babic et al., 2020; committed in their jobs (Labrague et al., 2019). Nurses who identify
Kinman & Johnson, 2019). According to these authors, employees themselves as responsible for the welfare of their patients and build
have to work under stress, fear, pressure, anxiety and tension in their resilience continue to perform despite the job stressors (Ang
an unhealthy work environment. Consequently, such organization et al., 2019). Stress and burnout have adverse effects on nurses’ per-
would face increased employee absenteeism and employee turnover. formance (Chen & Fang, 2016; Gasparito & Guilardello, 2015; Zhang
et al., 2014). For instance, haemodialysis nurses experience high lev-
Hypothesis H3 Internal service quality has a positive effect on em- els of burnout even though their work environment is favourable and
ployee well-being. they have acceptable levels of job satisfaction (Hayes et al., 2015).
Burnout occurs less in men, younger people, and married individuals
Extant literature on employee satisfaction has shown that while compared to others (Tarcan et al.,2017).
its determinants may vary among different jobs, it has a crucial influ-
ence on worker's performance (Jalagat, 2016; Torlak & Kuzey, 2019). Hypothesis H6 Employee well-being has a positive effect on job
In the case of healthcare, nurse satisfaction is a consistent predictor performance.
of nursing performance and patient satisfaction (Ahmad et al., 2017; Hypothesis H7 Employee well-being positively mediates the impact of
Perry et al., 2018; Putra et al., 2017). This link is also observed when nurses’ job satisfaction on employee performance.
using longitudinal data (Shazadi et al., 2017). That is, the positive
effects of nurses’ satisfaction on job performance hold over time. Hypothesis H8 Employee well-being positively mediates the impact of
Moreover, nurses’ job satisfaction has a positive relationship with nurses’ job commitment on employee performance.
staff productivity and organizational growth, mainly when employed
by a non-governmental institution (Mirzabeigi et al., 2018).
3 | M E TH O DS
Hypothesis H4 Employee satisfaction has a positive effect on job
performance. This was a relational quantitative study which used self-administered
survey approach for primary data collection.
Employee commitment has a positive impact on job performance
(Ahmad et al., 2014; Shazadi et al., 2017). This overall effect can be
disaggregated and observed in the several facets of employee com- 3.1 | Research design, settings and participants
mitment, including meaningful work, value congruence, safe work-
ing environment, proper training and coaching and teamwork. When This research was a quantitative relational study which used cross-sec-
nurses perceive their work as significant, it has a positive effect on tional survey design approach to test the proposed relationships. The
task performance and quality of nursing care (Tong, 2018). Some purpose of this approach was to determine the effect of ISQ on nurses’
factors have specific importance in influencing nurses’ and health- satisfaction, commitment, well-being and performance along with the
care professionals’ level of organizational commitment. Workplace mediating role of well-being for the relationships of satisfaction and
violence is a prevalent phenomenon in healthcare and a global commitment with job performance. Statistical Package for the Social
public health concern which has been shown to severely damage Sciences (SPSS) and Smart PLS 3.2.8 softwares was used for the data
nurses’ commitment to their jobs and employer organization and, analysis as this technique is widely adopted by the scientific commu-
thus negatively influence their performance (Arnetz et al., 2015; nity, being more robust compared with the traditional regression anal-
Zhao et al., 2018). Another concern for work environment safety is ysis (Amram & Dryer, 2008). For the purpose of this study, the frontline
injury rates, which are higher in healthcare than any other indus- nursing employees, directly dealing with the patients, working in the
tries (Dressner, 2017). Safe patient handling programmes can lead healthcare organizations operating in Pakistan were targeted. For sam-
to decrements in injury rates (Tompa et al., 2016). Peer coaching in- ple selection, 20 healthcare organizations were randomly selected for
creases the success of such programmes (Allen et al., 2015; Hurtado this study. Finally, 800 frontline nursing employees from these health-
et al., 2018) by proving co-worker support (Spruce, 2015), which in- care organizations, with at least one year of service in current organi-
creases nurses’ commitment and job performance. zation, were requested to participate in this study. Primary data for
hypotheses testing have been collected through a self-administered
Hypothesis H5 Employee commitment has a positive effect on job survey. The survey acts as an appropriate way for the assessment of
performance. information related to the sample. It allows the researchers to draw
results from a sample of responses from respondents (Gregar, 1994). A
By definition, employee well-being is a broad concept. A multi- total of 430 survey forms were received back from the participants out
tude of factors can be a source of well-being, including leadership, of which 18 were not filled properly and thus eliminated. Finally, 412
empowerment, autonomy, resilience, stress and burnout (Baek & responses were used for data analysis, which constituted a response
Yang, 2017; Li & Hasson, 2020; Rantika, 2017). Nurses with higher rate of 51.5%. Reliability of all the measurement scales was tested to
levels of independence tend to be high performing, satisfied and ensure the soundness of measures.
ABDULLAH et al. |
      611

3.2 | Measures 4 | R E S U LT S

Multi-item measures were used for the measurement of the con- Table 2 represents the demographic attributes of the participants
structs used in this study to avoid any drawback which could be oc- including gender, age, marital status, nature of employment, job ex-
curred due to the use of a single-item scale (Churchill, 1979; Nunnally perience, education level and monthly salary. The female ratio was
et al., 1978). The single-item scale lacks appropriateness of the cor- higher as compared with males in the targeted healthcare organiza-
relation between the variables (Churchill, 1979). Further, Likert scale tions. According to the results, 8.492% (35) respondents were under
approach is commonly used to collect responses for measuring the 25 years old, 28.883% (119) respondents were 26–30 years old,
latent construct (Kent, 2001). In this study, 5-point Likert scale was 38.349% (158) respondents were 31–25 years old, 15.048% (62) re-
used starting from 5 for “strongly agree” - 1 for “strongly disagree” spondents were 36–40 years old and 9.223% (38) respondents were
to gauge the responses of the participants for each of the construct more than 40 years old. Most of the employees were married and
of the study. have job experience of 6–10 years.
Internal services quality (ISQ) was measured using a 9-item scale Table 3 presents the values of means, standard deviations and
developed by Ehrhart et al., (2011). Participants’ responses on ISQ cov- correlations between the variables of the study. All the skewness
ered aspects including response timing, follow-through, competence and kurtosis values lay within the range indicated normality of the
of the employees, job knowledge, quality of interaction and level of data. The mean value of ISQ, employee satisfaction, employee's
cooperation. Employee satisfaction is generally described as the feel- commitment, employee's well-being and employee's performance
ing of gratification or prosperity that employees procure from their job were 3.42, 3.61, 4.38, 3.42 and 3.51, respectively. The standard de-
(Moorhead & Griffin, 2008). In this study, employee satisfaction was viation value of the employee's commitment was 1.64, which was
measured by adopting a 4-item scale from the study of Homburg and the highest as compared with other variables. The values in diagonal
Stock, (2004). Further, there is a different perspective that can define show the square roots of the average variance extracted (AVE). Each
or explain employee's commitment, such as employee's commitment is latent construct has a higher value of its square roots of average
the name of the connection to the goal, connection to an organization, variance (AVEs) as compared with the respective correlation of the
connection to the work and someone's attitude towards his or her work latent construct. So, these results from measurement model analysis
(Meyer et al., 2004). In this study, commitment consisted of two dimen- confirmed the convergent and discriminant validity of all the mea-
sions. The first one was a normative commitment and the second one sures used in this study.
was continuance commitment. Normative commitment has the items Results reported in Table 3 indicate means, standard deviations
related to organization and continuance commitment has items related and discriminant validity. We assessed discriminant validity using the
to personal or emotional attachment with the organization. The overall heterotrait–monotrait ratio of correlations (HTMT) criteria. Henseler
commitment of the participants was measured using a 13-item scale et al. (2015) suggested HTMT values under 0.85. All HTMT values
developed by Mcdonald and Makin, (2000). Next, employee well-be- are under the threshold.
ing is defined by the quality of life, health, sleep, capacity and activ- Further, factor loadings of all items on their respective construct
ities. The well-being of participating employees was measured using were measured and reported in Table 4. According to Bagozzi and
a 9-item scale from the study of Skevington et al. (2004). Moreover, Yi (1988), factor loading score of each of the item towards its re-
“positive job attitude creates a tendency to engage or contribute to de- spective construct should be above 0.50. Thus, items having a factor
sirable inputs into one's work role” (Harrison et al., 2006, p. 312). In the loading score less than 0.50 were removed and did not used for fur-
present research, employee performance has items like attitude, initia- ther data analysis.
tive, dependability, responsibility, team play and overall performance. Table 4 presents the factor loadings, composite reliability (CR)
For this study, employees’ job performance was measured using a 10- and average variance extracted (AVEs) values of the constructs
item scale from the study of Werner, (1994). We have used SPSS and used in this study. Factor loadings and AVE's scores were more
Smart PLS for data analysis. These statistical software tools are useful than 0.50, which empirically proved the convergent validity of all
for solving research problems. Complex data sets with advanced sta- the constructs of the study. At the same time, composite reliability
tistical procedures can be adopted by statistical tools. Table 1 shows was greater than 0.8, indicated the acceptable level of CR of all the
study variables measurements and scale items. constructs of the study. Validity of the measure can be defined as
the extent to which it is measuring what it is supposed to measure
(Bordens & Abbott, 2008). Construct validity was checked by using
3.3 | Ethics convergent validity and discriminant validity. Convergent validity
was checked through factor loadings, CR and AVEs. However, dis-
The research proposal was submitted for ethical clearance to the criminant validity was analysed via comparing the square root of
ethical committee at COMSATS University Islamabad. It was con- AVEs with relevant correlations where the square root of AVEs
firmed to have no harm to healthcare providers. Informed consent should be higher than the pertinent relationships. Overall, these
was obtained from all participants, and information collected from results empirically proved the validity and reliability of all the con-
healthcare providers was kept confidential. structs used in this study.
 |
612       ABDULLAH et al.

TA B L E 1   Measurements

Measurement Scale item

Internal Service Quality (Ehrhart et al., 2011; Schneider et al., 1998). How do you rate the service provided by the employees in the other
departments in your organization, on the following attributes?
Internal Service Quality Timeliness of response
Follow-through
Competence of employees
Job knowledge
Quality of interaction
Level of cooperation
Employee satisfaction (Homburg & Stock, 2004)
Employee satisfaction All in all, I am satisfied with my job.
All in all, I am satisfied with my coworkers.
All in all, I am satisfied with my supervisor.
All in all, I am satisfied with my working at this company.
Employee commitment (McDonald & Makin, 2000)
Affective commitment I have a strong sense of belongings to my organization.
I really feel as if this organization's problems are my own.
I feel like 'part of the family' at my organization.
I would be very happy to spend the rest of my career with this organization.
Continuance commitment Right now, staying with my organization is a matter of necessity as much as desire.
It would be very hard for me to leave my organization right now, even if I wanted to.
I feel that I have too few options to consider leaving this organization.
Employee well-being (Skevington et al., 2004)
Employee well-being How would you rate your quality of life?
How satisfied are you with your health?
How satisfied are you with your sleep?
How satisfied are you with your ability to perform daily activities?
How satisfied are you with your capacity for work?
How satisfied are you with yourself?
To what extent do you feel that physical pain prevents you from doing what you need to do?*
How much do you need any medical treatment to function normally in your daily life?*
How often do you have negative feelings such as blue mood? despair, anxiety, depression?
Employee performance (Werner, 1994). How would you rate this employee on the following attributes?
Employee performance Attitude
Initiative
Dependability
Responsibility
Judgement
Work knowledge
Work quality
Organization capability

Table 5 represents model fit summary. RMSEA is connected with The model was executed by using Smart PLS 3.2.8 software
the residuals in the model. to test all the proposed relationships of the study. This software
The value of RMSEA ranges from 0 to 1; the smaller value of is suitable for short sample size and for non-normal data distribu-
RMSEA shows a better fitness model. 0.06 Or less value of RMSEA tion as well. There are two conditions to be fulfilled for a variable
indicates the acceptable model fitness (Hu & Bentler, 1999). The to be a mediator. First, the exogenous variable should have a signif-
above table statistics indicate the goodness of fit test. icant relationship with the mediator. Second, the mediator should
ABDULLAH et al. |
      613

TA B L E 2   Demographic attributes & Bolger, 2002). Interactive effects could diminish the overall in-
dependent and dependent variable (Mathieu & Taylor, 2006). For
Attributes Distribution Frequency Percentage
measuring the dependency among latent variables, three types of
Gender Male 151 36.650
effects were assumed. Direct effect, indirect effect and total effects
Female 261 63.345
were calculated, where total effects mean a sum of the direct and
Age Under 25 years 35 8.495
indirect effect. All these three effects were investigated with their
26–30 years 119 28.883 corresponding p-value, beta values and t values as well as a confi-
31–35 years 158 38.349 dence interval, which help to determine the acceptance/ rejection
36–40 years 62 15.048 of the hypotheses of the study. The effect size of every dependent
Above 40 years 38 9.223 variable has also been reported in this study. Effect size is consid-
Marital status Single 167 40.533 ered as the percentage of variance independent latent variable and
Married 223 54.126 explained by independent latent variable (Hayes & Preacher, 2010;

Others 20 4.854 Preacher & Hayes, 2004). The indirect effect explains the extent to
which change in the independent variable brings change in depen-
Nature of Contractual 198 48.058
employment dent variable through the mediating variable. The direct effect is the
Permanent 171 41.504
extent to which change in the independent variable directly affects
Others 43 10.436
the dependent variable without a mediator.
Job experience Under-5 years 54 13.106
Direct effects were used for hypotheses testing for the direct
6–10 years 143 34.708
relationships. These effects were measured to find the dependency
11–15 years 103 25.00 among the latent variables. ISQ has a direct and indirect impact of
16–20 years 75 18.203 employee well-being on employee performance, employee satisfac-
Above 20 years 37 8.90 tion and employee commitment. The result showed that ISQ has a
Education level Master degree 74 17.961 significant direct effect on job satisfaction, employee commitment,
Bachelor 248 60.194 employee well-being and job performance. Further, the results re-
degree ported in Table 6 indicated that employee well-being mediated the
Diploma 69 16.747 direct relationship between employee satisfaction and job per-
Other 21 5.097 formance. However, the mediating role of employee well-being
Monthly salary (In Less than 72 17.475 between commitment and job performance was not empirically
PKR) 20,000 supported.
21,000–30,000 216 52.427
31,000–40,000 79 19.174
More than 45 10.922 5 | D I S CU S S I O N
40,000
First of all, study results showed that ISQ is one of the significant
drivers of employees’ satisfaction and commitment in the private
have significant relation with an indigenous variable. According to healthcare organizations operating in Pakistan. This study has
Barron and Kenny (1986), the independent variable must have a contributed to the literature by investigating the impact of ISQ
significant relationship with the dependent variable. Mediation can on nurses’ satisfaction, commitment, well-being and job perfor-
also exist in the absence of significant relationships among exog- mance. A survey of 412 nurses from 20 private healthcare cen-
enous and indigenous variables (Fritz & MacKinnon, 2007; Shrout tres of Pakistan provides support to the hypotheses of the study.

TA B L E 3   Means, standard deviations

Variables Means SD ISQ ES EC EW
and discriminant validity (HTMT Ratio)
ISQ 3.419 1.432
ES 3.604 0.849 0.621
EC 4.384 1.638 0.563 0.716
EW 3.416 1.199 0.573 0.542 0.495
EP 3.512 1.432 0.349 0.520 0.481 0.531

Notes:: Reliability results are reported in parentheses.

Abbreviations: EC, employee commitment; EP, employee performance; ES, employee satisfaction;
EW, employee well-being; ISQ, internal service quality.
 |
614       ABDULLAH et al.

Results revealed that ISQ has a positive effect on employees’ sat- employees’ well-being positively mediated the impact of employ-
isfaction and commitment. Similarly, ISQ influenced employees’ ees’ satisfaction on employees’ performance. Several factors can
well-being, positively. The results of the study also revealed that influence nurses’ job satisfaction, commitment, well-being and
job performance. In addition to the main hypotheses, the results
TA B L E 4   Factor loadings, composite reliability (CR) and average also indicated that nurses’ age has a positive relationship with
variance extracted (AVE) job performance in the healthcare sector. Nurses’ competencies
Variables Loadings CR AVE increase with age (Karathanasi et al., 2014). Higher age leads to-
wards higher job satisfaction and performance. So, these results
Internal service quality
supported the finding of previous studies (Curtis, 2008). Although
ISQ1 0.587
gender roles are changing, nursing is still a predominantly female
ISQ2 0.691
profession. Most studies on the relationships between employee
ISQ3 0.751
satisfaction, employee commitment, employee well-being and
ISQ4 0.738
employee performance demonstrated sharply skewed samples to-
ISQ5 0.716 wards females (Hasan & Aljunid, 2019; Tapela et al., 2015; Wong &
ISQ6 0.715 Laschinger, 2015). Salary is a significant source of dissatisfaction
ISQ7 0.782 among healthcare professionals (Hasan & Aljunid, 2019). The higher
ISQ8 0.776 wage has a significant impact on the employees’ performance in the
ISQ9 0.678 0.904 0.814 healthcare sector of Pakistan. All study findings have contributed
Employee's satisfaction to the current research on ISQ and its consequences by providing

ES1 0.84 meaningful insights into the stressed process where ISQ impacts
employees’ satisfaction, commitment, well-being and performance,
ES2 0.859
positively. Fewer studies indicated the development of employees’
ES3 0.829
satisfaction and commitment to job performance due to ISQ (Judge
ES4 0.828 0.905 0.774
et al., 2001). Previous studies have proposed fairness perception,
Employee's commitment
autonomy and employee well-being might mediate the effect of
AC1 0.804
job satisfaction on job performance (Shantz et al., 2013; Wright
AC2 0.792 et al., 2007). Convincingly, the study enunciates on the employee
AC3 0.779 well-being as a focal construct which influences the employees’
AC4 0.855 0.883 0.653 satisfaction, commitment and performance (Danna & Griffin, 1999;
CC1 0.815 Sparks et al., 2001).
CC2 0.86 Employee well-being has a mediating effect on the relationship
CC3 0.884 0.889 0.728 of employee satisfaction and commitment with job performance.
Employee's well-being Hence, this study fulfils the utmost research gap in extant re-

EW1 0.783
search work on ISQ and its impact on subsequent attitudinal and
behavioural outcomes of the employees. Moreover, it also urges re-
EW2 0.779
searchers to consider employee well-being as a part of any concep-
EW3 0.817
tual framework while studying employee attitudes and behaviours,
EW4 0.808
especially in service sector. This study results indicated that em-
EW5 0.81
ployee satisfaction has a direct impact on employee performance.
EW6 0.837
Similarly, employee commitment also influences employee perfor-
EW7 0.828 mance directly. Also, the relationship of job satisfaction and job per-
EW8 0.798 formance was further strengthened by using employee well-being
EW9 0.72 0.941 0.638 as mediating factor. Any organization needs to assess the service
Employee's Performance quality which is being provided by all concerned departments to
EP1 0.737 each other. Management should find out the ways to enhance the
EP2 0.814 ISQ at the individual level of employee along with departmental and

EP3 0.66 working unit levels. ISQ is an essential factor in the service sector
to achieve competitive advantage. Managers need to acknowledge
EP4 0.797
its importance and to build mechanisms in their organization to
EP5 0.801
analyse and measure ISQ. There is enormous work pressure on the
EP6 0.772
employees in the healthcare sector. Therefore, healthcare centres
EP7 0.823
management needs to encourage their employees through higher
EP8 0.781 0.923 0.693
level of ISQ.
ABDULLAH et al. |
      615

TA B L E 5   Models fit summary

Model CMIN/DF RMR GFI AGFI PGFI RMSEA

Threshold values suggested by Less than 3 Less than 0.05 Greater than 0.90 Greater than Closer to 1 Less than
Hair et al (2008) 0.80 the better less than
0.08
ES 0.617 0.031 0.956 0.978 0.100 0.000
EC 1.309 0.024 0.978 0.825 0.372 0.059
EW 1.812 0.044 0.998 0.836 0.691 0.051
EP 2.442 0.034 0.959 0.845 0.100 0.044

5.1 | Study limitations 6 | CO N C LU S I O N S

Despite its useful theoretical and managerial contributions, this This study contemplates the interconnection among ISQ, employees’
study, like all other research studies, has some limitations. First, satisfaction, commitment along with well-being which escalates the
the current study was conducted in a single sector that is, health- job performance, decisively, among the nursing employees working
care and in a single region. Hence, the findings of this study may in the healthcare sector of Pakistan. In specific, the study proposed
be influenced by the unique socio-economic and cultural charac- that ISQ positively influence job satisfaction, commitment and well-
teristics of this region and may not be equally applicable to other being of the frontline nursing employees working in the healthcare
countries and regions. Future researchers are required to these sector of Pakistan. Further, this study also proposed that well-being
the proposed relationships of this study in other industrial set- mediates the relationship of job satisfaction and commitment with
tings and in other regions to check the validity of the results of job performance of the employees. Self-administered survey was
this study in different settings and different regions. Secondly, conducted with the participation of 412 frontline nursing employees
data were collected from private healthcare centres located in which empirically confirmed all the main proposed relationships of
Pakistan. Further studies can consider a comparison between the study.
public and private healthcare centres to have more meaningful In specific, the results revealed that ISQ has a positive effect on
insights into the relationships investigated. Thirdly, the study ex- nurses’ satisfaction, commitment and well-being, which in turn have
amined employee perceptions towards various aspects of ISQ, but positive effects on employee performance.. Further, nurses’ well-be-
prior researches on service quality have also highlighted the prom- ing positively mediated the relationship of nurses’ satisfaction with
inence of expectations. Hence, future research on expectations their performance. However, the nurses’ well-being did not mediate
and perceptions about ISQ can develop a comprehensive model the relationship of nurses’ commitment with their job performance.
with all its antecedents and consequences. In the last, this study These findings make a useful contribution to the literature around
has used cross-sectional research design which limits the infer- ISQ and its impact on employee attitudes and behaviours. Study
ence of causal relationships. Thus, future researchers are required results provide useful insights into the complex process by which
to use longitudinal research design to establish cause and effect internal service quality affects employee satisfaction, commitment,
among the variables of the study. well-being and performance.

TA B L E 6   Results of hypotheses testing 6.1 | Study implications

Direct relationship b-value P values Decision

Internal service quality is vital source of employee satisfaction and
ISQ ->AC 0.664 <0.01 Supported commitment in service industries such as healthcare sector (Gremler
ISQ ->CC 0.562 <0.01 Supported et al., 1994; Hallowell et al., 1996; Heskett et al., 1994). Previous
ISQ ->ES 0.704 <0.01 Supported studies conclude mixed results about the impact of employee sat-
ISQ ->EW 0.204 <0.01 Supported isfaction and Job commitment on their performance. Current study
EW ->EP 0.803 <0.01 Supported shows that factors such as employee well-being (Soane et al.,2013;

AC ->EW 0.325 <0.01 Supported Wright et al., 2007) may moderate job satisfaction on job perfor-
mance. These results are previously supported by the studies of
CC ->EW 0.066 <0.01 Supported
Soane et al., 2013; Wright et al., 2007. Current study has manage-
ES ->EW 0.404 <0.01 Supported
rial implications as well. First, internal service quality is vital in the
Indirect relationships <0.01
service sector. It highlights the need for manager's in service busi-
ES -> EW -> EP 0.324 <0.01 Supported
nesses to recognize its significance. Suitable mechanisms should be
CC ->EW-> EP 0.053 <0.01 Not supported
established by the managers to measure internal service quality on
 |
616       ABDULLAH et al.

the regular bases. Development of cross-functional teams can be Amram, Y., & Dryer, C. (2008). The integrated spiritual intelligence scale
(ISIS): Development and preliminary validation. In 116th annual con-
used for internal service quality measurement. Secondly, sometimes
ference of the American Psychological Association, Boston, MA (pp.
employees are not aware about their rights. Usually, government has 14–17).
imposed labour regulations those neglected by the employers and Ang, S. Y., Uthaman, T., Ayre, T. C., Lim, S. H., & Lopez, V. (2019). A
employees. Employee can still monitor other performance because Photovoice study on nurses’ perceptions and experience of resil-
iency. Journal of Nursing Management, 27(2), 414–422. https://doi.
they are working in a team. In this study, employee satisfaction and
org/10.1111/jonm.12702
commitment act as imperative driver of. Applebaum, D., Fowler, S., Fiedler, N., Osinubi, O., & Robson, M. (2010).
employee performance. Current study provides a useful insight The impact of environmental factors on nursing stress, job satisfac-
to the management of the service sector organizations those are in- tion and turnover intention. The Journal of Nursing Administration, 40,
terest to improve employee satisfaction, commitment and perfor- 323–328. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNA.0b013​e3181​e9393b
Arnetz, J. E., Hamblin, L., Essenmacher, L., Upfal, M. J., Ager, J., &
mance by offering good quality of internal service at all levels.
Luborsky, M. (2015). Understanding patient-to-worker violence
in hospitals: A qualitative analysis of documented incident re-
AC K N OW L E D G E M E N T S ports. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 71(2), 338–348. https://doi.
The author is grateful to the Editor and anonymous reviewers for org/10.1111/jan.12494
Babic, A., Gillis, N., & Hansez, I. (2020). Work-to-family interface and
their constructive and helpful comments and suggestions.
well-being: The role of workload, emotional load, support and rec-
ognition from supervisors. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 46(1),
C O N FL I C T O F I N T E R E S T 1–13. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajip.v46i0.1628
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence Baek, H. K., & Yang, M. H. (2017). Relationships between perceived
stress, burnout and psychological well-being of athletes: Testing of
of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed
moderated mediation effect of ego-resilience. The Korean Journal
as a potential conflict of interest. of Physical Education, 56(2), 125–143. https://doi.org/10.23949/​
kjpe.2017.03.56.2.9
AU T H O R S C O N T R I B U T I O N S Bagozzi, R. P., & Yi, Y. (1988). On the evaluation of structural equation
models. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 16(1), 74–94.
All author provided substantial contributions to conception and de-
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF027​23327
sign, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of data, drafting Bai, B., Brewer, K. P., Sammons, G., & Swerdlow, S. (2006). Job satisfac-
the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content. tion, organizational commitment and internal service quality: A case
study of Las Vegas hotel/casino industry. Journal of Human Resources
in Hospitality & Tourism, 5(2), 37–54. https://doi.org/10.1300/J171v​
DATA AVA I L A B I L I T Y S TAT E M E N T
05n02_03
The data are available upon request. Barron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-media-
tor variable distinction in social psychological research:
ORCID Conceptual, strategic and statistical considerations. Journal of
Muhammad Ibrahim Abdullah  https://orcid. Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1173–1182. https://doi.
org/10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173
org/0000-0001-8741-9952
Becker, T. E., Billings, R. S., Eveleth, D. M., & Gilbert, N. L. (1996). Foci and
Muddassar Sarfraz  https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6165-732X bases of employee commitment: Implications for job performance.
Larisa IVASCU  https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1506-5467 Academy of Management Journal, 39(2), 464–482.
Berry, L. L. (1981). The employee as customer. Journal of Retail Banking,
3(1), 33–40.
REFERENCES
Berry, L., Mirabito, A. M., & Baun, W. (2010). What’s the hard return on
Adams, A., & Bond, S. (2000). Hospital nurses’ job satisfaction, individual employee wellness programs? Harvard Business Review, 88(12):104-
and organizational characteristics. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 32(3), 112, 142.
536–543. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2648.2000.01513.x Bordens, K. S., & Abbott, B. B. (2008). Research methods and design: A
Ahmad, N., Iqbal, N., Javed, K., & Hamad, N. (2014). Impact of organiza- process approach. McGraw-Hill.
tional commitment and employee performance on the employee sat- Boshoff, C., & Mels, G. (1995). A causal model to evaluate the relation-
isfaction. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational ships among supervision, role stress, organizational commitment and
Research, 1(1), 84–92. internal service quality. European Journal of Marketing, 29(2), 23–42.
Ahmad, N., Iqbal, N., Javed, K., Hamad, N., Mirzabeigi, M., Fardi, A., & https://doi.org/10.1108/03090​56951​0 080932
Azeem, M. (2017). Impact of organizational commitment and em- Brandon-Jones, A., & Silvestro, R. (2010). Measuring internal service
ployee performance on the employee satisfaction. International quality: Comparing the gap-based and perceptions-only approaches.
Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 18(4), International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 30(12),
1632–1636. 1291–1318. https://doi.org/10.1108/01443​57101​1094271
Akdere, M., Top, M., & Tekingündüz, S. (2020). Examining patient percep- Chen, Y.-M., & Fang, J.-B. (2016). Correlation between nursing work
tions of service quality in Turkish hospitals: The SERVPERF model. environment and nurse burnout, job satisfaction and turnover in-
Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 31(3–4), 342–352. tention in the western region of Mainland China. Hu Li Za Zhi, 63(1),
https://doi.org/10.1080/14783​363.2018.1427501 87.
Allen, D., Weinhold, M., Miller, J., Joswiak, M. E., Bursiek, A., Rubin, A., & Chiang, C.-F., & Wu, K.-P. (2014). The influences of internal service
Grubbs, P. (2015). Nurses as champions for patient safety and inter- quality and job standardization on job satisfaction with supports as
disciplinary problem solving. Medsurg Nursing, 24(2):107-110. mediators: Flight attendants at branch workplace. The International
ABDULLAH et al. |
      617

Journal of Human Resource Management, 25(19), 2644–2666. https:// Harrison, D. A., Newman, D. A., & Roth, P. L. (2006). How import-
doi.org/10.1080/09585​192.2014.884616 ant are job attitudes? Meta-analytic comparisons of integra-
Ching, P. P. S., Nazarudin, M. N., & Suppiah, P. K. (2019). The Relationship tive behavioral outcomes and time sequences. Academy of
Between Organizational Commitment and Internal Service Quality Management Journal, 49(2), 305–325. https://doi.org/10.5465/
Among the Staff in Majlis Sukan Negeri-negeri in Malaysia. In amj.2006.20786077
International Conference on Movement, Health and Exercise (pp. Hasan, H., & Aljunid, S. M. (2019). Job satisfaction among Community-
199-205). Springer, Singapore. Based Rehabilitation (CBR) workers in caring for disabled persons
Churchill, G. A. Jr (1979). A paradigm for developing better measures of in the east coast region of Peninsular Malaysia. BMC Public Health,
marketing constructs. Journal of Marketing Research, 16(1), 64–73. 19(1), 6520-z. https://doi.org/10.1186/s1288​9-019-6520-z
https://doi.org/10.1177/00222​43779​01600110 Hayes, A. F., & Preacher, K. J. (2010). Quantifying and testing indirect
Curtis, E. A. (2008). The effects of biographical variables on job satisfac- effects in simple mediation models when the constituent paths are
tion among nurses. British Journal of Nursing, 17(3), 174–180. https:// nonlinear. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 45(4), 627–660. https://
doi.org/10.12968/​bjon.2008.17.3.28406 doi.org/10.1080/00273​171.2010.498290
Danna, K., & Griffin, R. W. (1999). Health and well-being in the Hayes, B., Douglas, C., & Bonner, A. (2015). Work environment, job sat-
workplace: A review and synthesis of the literature. Journal of isfaction, stress and burnout among haemodialysis nurses. Journal
Management, 25(3), 357–384. https://doi.org/10.1177/01492​ of Nursing Management, 23(5), 588–598. https://doi.org/10.1111/
06399​02500305 jonm.12184
Dressner, M. (2017). Hospital workers: An assessment of occupa- Hair, J. F. Jr, Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2010).
tional injuries and illnesses. Monthly Labor Review.140 https://doi. Multivariate Data Analysis: A Global Perspective, 7th ed.. Upper Saddle
org/10.21916/​mlr.2017.17 River: Pearson Education.
Ehrhart, K. H., Witt, L. A., Schneider, B., & Perry, S. J. (2011). Service Heinen, M. M., van Achterberg, T., Schwendimann, R., Zander, B.,
employees give as they get: Internal service as a moderator of the Matthews, A., Kózka, M., Ensio, A., Sjetne, I. S., Casbas, T. M., Ball,
service climate–service outcomes link. Journal of Applied Psychology, J., & Schoonhoven, L. (2013). Nurses’ intention to leave their profes-
96(2), 423. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022071 sion: A cross sectional observational study in 10 European countries.
Ellickson, M. C., & Logsdon, K. (2002). Determinants of job satisfaction International Journal of Nursing Studies, 50(2), 174–184. https://doi.
of municipal government employees. Public Personnel Management, org/10.1016/j.ijnur​stu.2012.09.019
31(3), 343–358. https://doi.org/10.1177/00910​26002​03100307 Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2015). A new criterion for as-
Eskildsen, J. K., & Dahlgaard, J. J. (2000). A causal model for employee sessing discriminant validity in variance based structural equation
satisfaction. Total Quality Management, 11(8), 1081–1094. https:// modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43, 115–135.
doi.org/10.1080/09544​12004​4 0340 https://doi.org/10.1007/s1174​7-014-0403-8
Farner, S., Luthans, F., & Sommer, S. M. (2001). An empirical assessment Hitt, M. A., Bierman, L., Shimizu, K., & Kochhar, R. (2001). Direct and
of internal customer service. Managing Service Quality, 11(5), 350– moderating effects of human capital on strategy and performance in
358. https://doi.org/10.1108/09604​52011​0 404077 professional service firms: A resource-based perspective. Academy of
Fatima, T., Malik, S. A., & Shabbir, A. (2018). Hospital healthcare ser- Management Journal, 44(1), 13–28.
vice quality, patient satisfaction and loyalty. International Journal Homburg, C., & Stock, R. M. (2004). The link between salespeople’s
of Quality & Reliability Management, 35(6), 1195–1214. https://doi. job satisfaction and customer satisfaction in a business-to-busi-
org/10.1108/IJQRM​- 02-2017-0031 ness context: A dyadic analysis. Journal of the Academy of Marketing
Fritz, M. S., & MacKinnon, D. P. (2007). Required sample size to detect Science, 32(2), 144–158. https://doi.org/10.1177/00920​ 70303​
the mediated effect. Psychological Science, 18(3), 233–239. https:// 261415
doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01882.x Hu, L. T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in cova-
Gasparito, R. C., & Guilardello, E. B. (2015). Professional practice envi- riance structure analysis: conventional criteria versus new alterna-
ronment and burnout among nurses. Rev Rene, 16(1): 90–96. tives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6(2), 1–55.
Gregar, J. (1994). Research Design (Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Hurtado, D. A., Dumet, L. M., Greenspan, S. A., Rodríguez, Y. I., &
Methods Approaches.Book published by SAGE Publications228 Heinonen, G. A. (2018). Identifying safety peer leaders with social
Gremler, D. D., Bitner, M. J., & Evans, K. R. (1994). The internal service network analysis. Occupational Health Science, 2(4), 437–450. https://
encounter. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 5(2), doi.org/10.1007/s4154​2-018-0026-4
34–56. https://doi.org/10.1108/09564​23941​0 057672 Jalagat, R. (2016). Job performance, job satisfaction and motivation: A
Griffeth, R. W., Hom, P. W., & Gaertner, S. (2000). A meta-analysis of an- critical review of their relationship. International Journal of Advances
tecedents and correlates of employee turnover: Update, moderator in Management and Economics, 5(6), 36–42.
tests and research implications for the next millennium. Journal of Javed, S. A., Liu, S., Mahmoudi, A., & Nawaz, M. (2019). Patients' sat-
Management, 26(3), 463–488. https://doi.org/10.1177/01492​06300​ isfaction and public and private sectors' health care service quality
02600305 in Pakistan: Application of grey decision analysis approaches. The
Grönroos, C. (1981). Internal marketing–an integral part of marketing International Journal of Health Planning and Management, 34(1), 168–
theory. Marketing of Services, 236, 238. 182. https://doi.org/10.1002/hpm.2629
Guest, D. E., & Conway, N. (2002). Communicating the psychological Judge, T. A., Thoresen, C. J., Bono, J. E., & Patton, G. K. (2001). The
contract: An employer perspective. Human Resource Management job satisfaction–job performance relationship: A qualitative and
Journal, 12(2), 22–38. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-8583.2002. quantitative review. Psychological Bulletin, 127(3), 376. https://doi.
tb000​62.x org/10.1037/0033-2909.127.3.376
Gupta, M., & Sharma, P. (2009). Job satisfaction level among employ- Karathanasi, K., Prezerakos, P., Maria, M., Siskou, O., & Kaitelidou, D.
ees: A case study of Jammu region. J&K. IUP Journal of Management (2014). Operating room nurse manager competencies in Greek hos-
Research, 8(5), 17. pitals. Clinical Nursing Studies, 2(2), 16–29. https://doi.org/10.5430/
Hallowell, R., Schlesinger, L. A., & Zornitsky, J. (1996). Internal service cns.v2n2p16
quality, customer and job satisfaction: Linkages and implications for Kent, R. (2001). Data construction and data analysis for survey research.
management. Human Resource Planning, 19(2), 20–32. Macmillan.
 |
618       ABDULLAH et al.

Khan, R. A. G., Khan, F. A., & Khan, M. A. (2011). Impact of training satisfaction of group of nurses in ava salamat entrepreneurs insti-
and development on organizational performance. Global Journal of tute in Iran. Data in Brief, 18, 1632–1636. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
Management and Business Research, 11(7). dib.2018.04.043
Kingma, M. (2001). Nursing migration: Global treasure hunt or di- Moorhead, G., & Griffin, R. W. (2008). Organizational behavior managing
saster-in-the-making? Nursing Inquiry, 8(4), 205–212. https://doi. people and organizations, New Delhi: Dreamtech Press.
org/10.1046/j.1440-1800.2001.00116.x Mosadeghrad, A. M. (2014). Factors influencing healthcare service qual-
Kinman, G., & Johnson, S. (2019). Special section on well-being in aca- ity. International Journal of Health Policy and Management, 3(2), 77–89.
demic employees. International Journal of Stress Management, 26(2), https://doi.org/10.15171/​ijhpm.2014.65
159. https://doi.org/10.1037/str00​0 0131 Moynihan, D. P., & Pandey, S. K. (2007). Finding workable levers over
Labrague, L. J., McEnroe-Petitte, D. M., & Tsaras, K. (2019). Predictors work motivation: Comparing job satisfaction, job involvement and
and outcomes of nurse professional autonomy: A cross-sectional organizational commitment. Administration & Society, 39(7), 803–
study. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 25(1), e12711. https:// 832. https://doi.org/10.1177/00953​99707​3 05546
doi.org/10.1111/ijn.12711 Nazeer, S., Zahid, M. M., & Azeem, M. F. (2014). Internal service qual-
Lawson, K. J., Noblet, A. J., & Rodwell, J. J. (2009). Promoting employee ity and job performance: Does job satisfaction mediate. Journal of
wellbeing: The relevance of work characteristics and organizational Human Resources, 2(1), 41–65.
justice. Health Promotion International, 24(3), 223–233. https://doi. Nolan, M., Nolan, J., & Grant, G. (1995). Maintaining nurses’ job satisfac-
org/10.1093/heapr​o/dap025 tion and morale. British Journal of Nursing, 4(19), 1149–1154. https://
Li, Z. S., & Hasson, F. (2020). Resilience, stress and psychological well-be- doi.org/10.12968/​bjon.1995.4.19.1149
ing in nursing students: A systematic review. Nurse Education Today, Nunnally, J., Barnette, J. J., & Peter, J. P. (1978). Reliability: A review
90, 104440. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2020.104440 of psychometric basics and recent marketing practices. Journal of
Locke, E. A. (1976). The nature and causes of job satisfaction. 1, 1297- Marketing Research, 16(1), 6–17.
1343. Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Odeh, G. R., & Alghadeer, H. R. (2014). The impact of organizational
https://doi.org/10.1207/s1542​7633s​cc0304 commitment as a mediator variable on the relationship between
Loveman, G. W. (1998). Employee satisfaction, customer loyalty and the internal marketing and internal service quality: An empiri-
financial performance: An empirical examination of the service cal study of five star hotels in Amman. International Journal of
profit chain in retail banking. Journal of Service Research, 1(1), 18–31. Marketing Studies, 6(3), 142–147. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijms.
https://doi.org/10.1177/10946​70598​0 0100103 v6n3p142
Maharani, S. P., Syah, T. Y. R., & Negoro, D. A. (2020). Internal service Pantouvakis, A. (2011). Internal service quality and job satisfaction syn-
quality as a driver of employee satisfaction, commitment and turn- ergies for performance improvement: Some evidence from a B2B
over intention exploring over focal role of employee well-being. environment. Journal of Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for
Journal of Multidisciplinary Academic, 4(3), 170–175. Marketing, 19(1), 11–22. https://doi.org/10.1057/jt.2011.2
Masemola, S. E. (2011). Employee turnover intentions, organisational Perry, S. J., Richter, J. P., & Beauvais, B. (2018). The effects of nursing sat-
commitment and job satisfaction in a post-merger tertiary institu- isfaction and turnover cognitions on patient attitudes and outcomes:
tion: the case of the University of Limpopo. University of Limpopo A three-level multisource study. Health Services Research, 53(6),
(Turfloop Campus). 4943–4969. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.12997
Masum, A. K. M., Azad, M. A. K., Hoque, K. E., Beh, L.-S., Wanke, P., & Prakash, G., & Srivastava, S. (2019). Role of internal service quality in
Arslan, Ö. (2016). Job satisfaction and intention to quit: An empirical enhancing patient centricity and internal customer satisfaction.
analysis of nurses in Turkey. PeerJ, 4, e1896. https://doi.org/10.7717/ International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing,
peerj.1896 13(1), 2–20. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPHM​- 02-2018-0004
Mathieu, J. E., & Taylor, S. R. (2006). Clarifying conditions and decision Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2004). SPSS and SAS procedures for
points for mediational type inferences in organizational behavior. estimating indirect effects in simple mediation models. Behavior
Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27(8), 1031–1056. https://doi. Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 36(4), 717–731. https://
org/10.1002/job.406 doi.org/10.3758/BF032​06553
Matzler, K., & Renzl, B. (2006). The relationship between interpersonal Putra, G. N. W., Kurniati, T., & Hidayat, A. A. A. (2017). Job Satisfaction
trust, employee satisfaction and employee loyalty. Total Quality and Nursing Performance through Career Development. In Health
Management and Business Excellence, 17(10), 1261–1271. https://doi. Science International Conference (HSIC 2017). Atlantis Press.
org/10.1080/14783​36060​0753653 Rahman, A., Naqvi, S., & Ramay, M. I. (2008). Measuring turnover inten-
McDonald, D. J., & Makin, P. J. (2000). The psychological contract, or- tion: A study of it professionals in Pakistan. International Review of
ganisational commitment and job satisfaction of temporary staff. Business Research Papers, 4(3), 45–55.
Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 21(2), 84–91. https:// Rantika, S. D., & Yustina, A. I. (2017). Effects of ethical leadership on
doi.org/10.1108/01437​73001​0318174 employee well-being: The mediating role of psychological empow-
Meyer, J. P., Becker, T. E., & Vandenberghe, C. (2004). Employee erment. Journal of Indonesian Economy and Business, 32(2), 121–137.
commitment and motivation: A conceptual analysis and integra- https://doi.org/10.22146/​jieb.22333
tive model. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(6), 991. https://doi. Renee Baptiste, N. (2008). Tightening the link between employee wellbe-
org/10.1037/0021-9010.89.6.991 ing at work and performance: A new dimension for HRM. Management
Miller, N. G., Erickson, A., & Yust, B. L. (2001). Sense of place in the work- Decision, 46(2), 284–309. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251​ 74081​
place: The relationship between personal objects and job satisfac- 0854168
tion and motivation. Journal of Interior Design, 27(1), 35–44. https:// Richardsen, A. M., Burke, R. J., & Martinussen, M. (2006). Work and
doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-1668.2001.tb003​6 4.x health outcomes among police officers: The mediating role of police
Mirabito, A. M., & Berry, L. L. (2015). You say you want a revolution? cynicism and engagement. International Journal of Stress Management,
Drawing on social movement theory to motivate transformative 13(4), 555. https://doi.org/10.1037/1072-5245.13.4.555
change. Journal of Service Research, 18(3), 336–350. https://doi. Rubin, B. A., & Brody, C. J. (2011). Operationalizing management citizen-
org/10.1177/10946​70515​582037 ship behavior and testing its impact on employee commitment, sat-
Mirzabeigi, M., Fardi, A., Yousofi, H. R., Norouzian, M., Pariav, isfaction and mental health. Work and Occupations, 38(4), 465–499.
M., Lak, S., Radfard, M., & Ebadi, A. (2018). Assessment of Job https://doi.org/10.1177/07308​88410​397924
ABDULLAH et al. |
      619

Rust, R. T., Stewart, G. L., Miller, H., & Pielack, D. (1996). The satisfac- Tong, L. (2018). Relationship between meaningful work and job perfor-
tion and retention of frontline employees: A customer satisfaction mance in nurses. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 24(2), 1–6.
measurement approach. International Journal of Service Industry https://doi.org/10.1111/ijn.12620
Management, 7(5), 62–80. https://doi.org/10.1108/09564​ 23961​ Torlak, N. G., & Kuzey, C. (2019). Leadership, job satisfaction and perfor-
0149966 mance links in private education institutes of Pakistan. International
Schneider, B., White, S.S. and Paul, M.C. (1998), "Linking service climate Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 68(2), 276–295.
and customer perceptions of service quality: tests of a causal model", https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM​- 05-2018-0182
Journal of Applied Psychology ,83 pp. 150-163. Tovey, E. J., & Adams, A. E. (1990). The changing nature of nurses’
Shantz, A., Alfes, K., Truss, C., & Soane, E. (2013). The role of employee job satisfaction: An exploration of sources of satisfaction in the
engagement in the relationship between job design and task perfor- 1990s. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 30(1), 150–158. https://doi.
mance, citizenship and deviant behaviours. The International Journal org/10.1046/j.1365-2648.1999.01059.x
of Human Resource Management, 24(13), 2608–2627. https://doi. Tzeng, H.-M. (2002a). Satisfying nurses on job factors they care about:
org/10.1080/09585​192.2012.744334 A Taiwanese perspective. Journal of Nursing Administration, 32(6),
Sharma, P., Kong, T. T. C., & Kingshott, R. P. (2016). Internal service qual- 306–309. https://doi.org/10.1097/00005​110-20020​6000-00005
ity as a driver of employee satisfaction, commitment and perfor- Tzeng, H.-M. (2002b). The influence of nurses’ working motivation and
mance. Journal of Service Management, 27(5), 773–797. https://doi. job satisfaction on intention to quit: An empirical investigation in
org/10.1108/JOSM-10-2015-0294 Taiwan. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 39(8), 867–878.
Shazadi, A., Nadeem, S., Nisar, Q. A., & Azeem, M. (2017). Do high perfor- https://doi.org/10.1016/S0020​-7489(02)00027​-5
mance work practices influence the job outcomes? Mediating role of Uğur GöK, A., & Kocaman, G. (2011). Reasons for leaving nursing: A study
organizational commitment & job satisfaction: A longitudinal study. among Turkish nurses. Contemporary Nurse, 39(1), 65–74. https://doi.
International Journal of Advanced Biotechnology and Research, 8(4), org/10.5172/conu.2011.39.1.65
303–314. Vanniarajan, T., & Subbash Babu, K. (2011). Internal service quality and
Shields, M. A., & Price, S. W. (2002). Racial harassment, job satis- its consequences in commerical banks: A HR perspective. Global
faction and intentions to quit: Evidence from the British nurs- Management Review, 6(1).943–954.
ing profession. Economica, 69(274), 295–326. https://doi. Wang, J. H., & Li, C. Y. (2018). Should medical service industry in China
org/10.1111/1468-0335.00284 implement the internal service recovery? Explore its moderation ef-
Shrout, P. E., & Bolger, N. (2002). Mediation in experimental and nonexperi- fect on internal service quality, employee satisfaction and employee
mental studies: New procedures and recommendations. Psychological loyalty. Journal of Management & Decision Sciences, 1(1), 20–43.
Methods, 7(4), 422. https://doi.org/10.1037/1082-989X.7.4.422 Werner, J. M. (1994). Dimensions that make a difference: Examining
Skevington, S. M., Lotfy, M., & O'Connell, K. A. (2004). The World the impact of in-role and extrarole behaviors on supervisory rat-
Health Organization's WHOQOL-BREF quality of life assessment: ings. Journal of Applied Psychology, 79(1), 98–107. https://doi.
Psychometric properties and results of the international field trial. org/10.1037/0021-9010.79.1.98
A report from the WHOQOL group. Quality of Life Research, 13(2), Wong, C. A., & Laschinger, H. K. S. (2015). The influence of frontline man-
299–310. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:QURE.00000​18486.91360.00 ager job strain on burnout, commitment and turnover intention: A
Soane, E., Shantz, A., Alfes, K., Truss, C., Rees, C. and Gatenby, M. (2013), cross-sectional study. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 52(12),
"The association of meaningfulness, well-being, and engagement 1824–1833. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnur​stu.2015.09.006
with absenteeism: a moderated mediation model", Human Resource Wright, T. A., Cropanzano, R., & Bonett, D. G. (2007). The moderating
Management, 52 pp. 441-456. role of employee positive well being on the relation between job
Sparks, K., Faragher, B., & Cooper, C. L. (2001). Well-being and occupa- satisfaction and job performance. Journal of Occupational Health
tional health in the 21st century workplace. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 12(2), 93. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.12.2.93
and Organizational Psychology, 74(4), 489–509. https://doi. Zhang, L., You, L., Liu, K., Zheng, J., Fang, J., Lu, M., & Wang, S. (2014).
org/10.1348/09631​79011​67497 The association of Chinese hospital work environment with nurse
Spruce, L. (2015). Back to basics: Implementing evidence-based prac- burnout, job satisfaction and intention to leave. Nursing Outlook,
tice. AORN Journal, 101(1), 106–114.e4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. 62(2), 128–137.
aorn.2014.08.009 Zhao, S.-H., Shi, Y. U., Sun, Z.-N., Xie, F.-Z., Wang, J.-H., Zhang, S.-E., Gou,
Tapela, N. M., Bukhman, G., Ngoga, G., Kwan, G. F., Mutabazi, F., T.-Y., Han, X.-Y., Sun, T., & Fan, L.-H. (2018). Impact of workplace vio-
Dusabeyezu, S., Mutumbira, C., Bavuma, C., & Rusingiza, E. (2015). lence against nurses’ thriving at work, job satisfaction and turnover in-
Treatment of non-communicable disease in rural resource-con- tention: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 27(13–14),
strained settings: A comprehensive, integrated, nurse-led care 2620–2632. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.14311
model at public facilities in Rwanda. The Lancet Global Health, 3, S36.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214​-109X(15)70155​-5
Tarcan, M., Hikmet, N., Schooley, B., Top, M., & Tarcan, G. Y. (2017). An
How to cite this article: Abdullah MI, Dechun H, Sarfraz M,
analysis of the relationship between burnout, socio-demographic
IVASCU L, Riaz A. Effects of internal service quality on
and workplace factors and job satisfaction among emergency de-
partment health professionals. Applied Nursing Research, 34, 40–47. nurses’ job satisfaction, commitment and performance:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnr.2017.02.011 Mediating role of employee well-being. Nurs Open.
Tompa, E., Dolinschi, R., Alamgir, H., Sarnocinska-Hart, A., & Guzman, J. 2021;8:607–619. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.665
(2016). A cost-benefi t analysis of peer coaching for overhead lift use in
the long-term care sector in Canada. Occupational and Environmental
Medicine, https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed​-2015-103134