Four Decades of Frontline Service Employee Research: An Integrative Bibliometric Review

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Journal of Service Research

Publication Date

5-1-2021

Abstract

We conducted a comprehensive review of empirical research related to frontline service employees over the past four decades (1980-2020). Utilizing a bibliometric mapping approach, we identified 630 relevant articles appearing in service, management, marketing, and applied/occupational health psychology journals. Our analysis identified five distinct research clusters: (a) collective predictors and effects, (b) services encounters, (c) emotional regulation and management, (d) customer orientation, and (e) service stress and strain. In this article, we describe the nature of current research within each of these clusters and identify future directions within and across different clusters for scholarly work. Our review highlights the conceptual and methodological richness within the clusters and calls out for interdisciplinary scholarship to build a diverse, yet unified field of service work research.

Volume

24

Issue

2

First Page

230

Last Page

248

DOI

10.1177/1094670521999721

ISSN

10946705

E-ISSN

15527379

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