Interpersonal justice, employee engagement and customer delight: a two-wave study in the banking sector

Purpose This study aims to investigate the impact of interpersonal justice on customer delight in the Lebanese banking sector, focusing on the mediating role of employee engagement. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected using a two-wave design with a one-month time lag between the two data collection points. Partial least square-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) analyzes the relationships between interpersonal justice, employee engagement and customer delight. Findings Our study reveals that interpersonal justice significantly influences employee engagement, positively affecting customer delight. However, the direct impact of interpersonal justice on customer delight was not observed. This underscores the crucial role of employee engagement as a mediator between organizational justice and customer outcomes. Originality/value This study investigates the connections between interpersonal justice, employee engagement and customer delight within the Lebanese banking sector. Concentrating on this specific industry sheds light on the cultural and industry-specific factors that may shape these relationships. Moreover, the study expands the theoretical understanding of organizational justice and employee engagement by investigating their influence on customer-related outcomes.