How does leader secure-base support affect hospitality employees’ service performance? Role of work engagement and role stressors

Abstract

This study proposes a conceptual framework wherein leader secure-base support affects service performance among hospitality employees through the mechanism of work engagement. Additionally, it examines the moderating roles of role ambiguity and role conflict. A time-lagged survey was administered in three hotels in China, while an experiment on airline employees from western countries was performed using the Prolific platform. Via hierarchical multiple regression, we find that leader secure-base support indirectly enhances the service performance of hospitality employees by fostering their work engagement. And this indirect effect of leader secure-base support on service performance varies with different levels of role ambiguity and role conflict. Accordingly, hospitality managers ought to aim to provide more secure-base support that provides a sense of security for their employees, and they can adopt a variety of strategies in fostering employees’ work engagement. What’s more, to leverage the positive effects of leader secure-base support, hospitality managers should provide clear and consistent role definitions and expectations. The study advances the literature on leader secure-base support and service performance both in the general management and hospitality area. Integrating a new perspective from the conservation of resources (COR) theory with the attachment theory, it further uncovers the mediating role of work engagement in the relationship between leader secure-base support and service performance. Additionally, it establishes boundary conditions by exploring the moderating effects of role ambiguity and role conflict.