Fuelling organizational efficiency strategy: Downward communication’s role in employee behavior in developing markets

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Abstract

Organizations in the petroleum sector, particularly retail service stations, operate in a dynamic and customer-centric environment where employee behavior plays a pivotal role in shaping customer experiences and organizational performance (Lemon & Verhoef, 2016). Effective downward communication from management to front-line employees is crucial in aligning employee behavior with organizational goals and values (Baker et al., 2014). The study aimed to explore the impact of downward communication on employee behavior at South African petroleum retail service stations, to improve organizational performance. Data was collected from 740 retail service station employees using an individually administered closed-ended questionnaire. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) v. 25 was used to analyze the data, which contains both inferential and descriptive statistics. The findings indicate a strong positive correlation between effective downward communication and desirable employee behavior. Moreover, timely feedback and performance evaluations provide employees with a roadmap for improvement and professional development, motivating them to exhibit behaviors that enhance customer satisfaction and organizational performance. In conclusion, this study underscores the vital role of downward communication in shaping employee behavior within petroleum retail service stations.

Keywords: Communication, Petroleum Retail Service Stations, Downward Communication, Employee Behavior, Organizational Performance

Authors’ individual contribution: Conceptualization — S.M. and E.M.; Methodology — S.M.; Validation — E.M.; Formal Analysis — S.M.; Investigation — S.M.; Data Curation — S.M.; Writing — Original Draft — S.M.; Writing — Review & Editing — S.M. and E.M.; Visualization — S.M.; Supervision — E.M.; Project Administration — S.M.; Funding Acquisition — S.M.

Declaration of conflicting interests: The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

JEL Classification: D2, D23, L8, L81, M1, M12

Received: 07.11.2023
Accepted: 16.01.2025
Published online: 20.01.2025

How to cite this paper: Mkhize, S., & Mutambara, E. (2025). Fuelling organizational efficiency strategy: Downward communication’s role in employee behavior in developing markets. Corporate & Business Strategy Review, 6(1), 134–144. https://doi.org/10.22495/cbsrv6i1art13