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Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the relationship between psychological empowerment and performance on service quality is moderated by the need for achievement. Design/methodology/approach - Data were collected from 94 full-time property managers in Hong Kong using a self-administered survey. Findings - The findings indicate that both empowerment and need for achievement are correlated positively to service quality and that the relationship between empowerment and service quality is moderated by need for achievement such that the strength of the positive relationship between empowerment and service quality decreases as need for achievement increases. Research limitations/implications - All of the data are self-reported, from a single source, and obtained from the same method (i.e. a five-point Likert scale), thereby bringing into question the effect of common method bias. However, a single-component test shows that the majority of the covariance between the constructs is not due to common method variance. Practical implications - Organizations engaged in the provision of services need to emphasize not only empowering employees but also need to recruit employees who are high in need for achievement. The findings indicate that property managers with higher levels of need for achievement require less empowerment from management to provide quality service possibly because they are self-empowered to strive for excellence when performing their duties. Originality/value - This paper contributes to the literature by being the first not only to examine whether the need for achievement moderates the relationship between empowerment and service quality but also the first to examine service quality in the context of the property management industry in Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]