Petra Kipfelsberger

This study investigates the situations in which productive organizational energy (POE) and organizational performance increase through customer passion, that is, perceived customers' affective commitment and customers' positive word-of-mouth behavior. We integrate research on POE with research on customer influences on employees. Based on emotional contagion processes we develop hypotheses for the energizing influences of customers at the organizational level. We test the hypotheses using a dataset containing 495 board members and 8,299 employees of 152 organizations. The results show that customer passion is positively related to POE, which is in turn positively related to organizational performance. Furthermore, the findings indicate that the effect of customer passion on organizational performance through POE depends on top management team's (TMT's) customer orientation. By providing first insights into the linkages and contingencies of customer passion, POE, and organizational performance, this study puts forth a more holistic understanding of the energizing effect of customers on organizations.

This study explores how customer contact energizes organizations. We propose that average customer contact is positively linked to average prosocial impact which, in turn, is positively linked to productive organizational energy. Furthermore, we suggest that transformational leadership climate positively moderates this mediation. Thereby, we integrate literature on human energy in organizations and transformational leadership with research on relational job design. Based on organizational sensemaking processes and relational job design, we develop hypotheses at the organizational level. We test the hypotheses in a dataset containing 15'361 employees from 86 organizations. The results support the proposed moderated mediation model. Thus, this study provides a fresh perspective for research and practice on how to energize organizations through customer contact.