When I put on my service mask: Determinants and outcomes of emotional labor among hotel service providers according to affective event theory

Kwok Yee Wing Lam, Ziguang Chen

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

168 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This article develops and tests a model of emotional labor in the hotel industry using affective event theory. A multiple-wave longitudinal analysis using data from 424 hotel service employees and their immediate supervisors reveals how work contexts (supervisory support) affect work events (interactional justice), and thereby influence the affective (negative emotions), attitudinal (job satisfaction), and behavioral (emotional labor, service quality, and voluntary turnover) reactions of hotel service employees. The results show that (1) supervisory support relates positively to supervisory interactional justice; (2) supervisory interactional justice is negatively associated with negative emotions; (3) negative emotions relate positively to surface acting and negatively to deep acting; (4) surface acting leads to lower job satisfaction, whereas deep acting leads to higher job satisfaction; and (5) job satisfaction leads to higher service quality and lower turnover. The implications suggest important recommendations for hotel managers.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3-11
Number of pages9
JournalInternational Journal of Hospitality Management
Volume31
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2012

Keywords

  • Affective event theory
  • Emotional labor
  • Hotel service employees
  • Negative emotions
  • Service quality

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Management
  • Strategy and Management

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