The goal of the research is to identify the main decision criteria of private bankers, and how these criteria are related to the level of customer orientation of service employees (COSE). Research questions 1. What are the criteria in the decision making process conducted by private bankers when advising and managing customers’ private wealth? 2. How these criteria are related to the level of customer orientation of private bankers? The work is divided in two, the first part of the research consisted of a literature review about the concept of COSE. The COSE model (Hennig-Thurau & Thurau, 2003), consists of the following characteristics: technical and social skills, motivation, and decision-making authority. In the second part, a field research is presented. It was aimed at understanding those criteria that are applied when taking decisions about the execution of the service, and how the COSE influences that process. Data were collected through 25 personal semi-structured interviews with private bankers, choosen accordingly to research criteria. The study concludes that decision making criteria, yet are commonly shared amongst the majority of private bankers, they are notably influenced by the understanding of COSE they may have and the different factors that take part of their level of customer orientation. This research should contribute to the body of knowledge in two aspects: 1. Showing the most relevant decision criteria in the private banking service. 2. Highlighting how these criteria are related to the level of COSE of the private banker. Additionally, the results also open the possibility of analysing and challenging the conclusions with a subsequent quantitative research by adapting the model to the reality of the private banking service. |