Employee Motivation and Customer Satisfaction in Nigeria

Abstract

This study provides a Nigerian test of the employee motivation/customer satisfaction hypothesis. It achieves this aim by investigating the relationship between employee motivation of bakery employees and satisfaction levels of their customers in Ilorin, the capital city of Kwara state, in Western Nigeria. A questionnaire survey research design was utilized to measure the intrinsic and extrinsic motivation levels of 40 employees from four bakeries in Ilorin, whilst the satisfaction levels of 40 wholesalers from these bakeries were also measured. The results revealed that there was virtually no relationship between employee motivation and wholesaler satisfaction. The main implication of this finding is that SMEs in Nigeria cannot rely on motivating employees as the sole means of ensuring customer satisfaction. They have to integrate other strategies as well, such as enhancing product quality and utilizing innovative marketing techniques.