Document Type
Article
Publication Date
4-2023
Publisher
International Journal of Hospitality Management
Volume
110
Abstract
Research on customer mistreatment has focused on victims’ perspectives with scant research on third-party observers’ reactions, especially their reactions to customer mistreatment of supervisors. Drawing on the deontic justice theory, this research investigates how and when customer mistreatment of supervisors impacts frontline employees. Using a mixed-method of three studies (experiment, time-lagged survey, field survey) from two countries (the U.S. and China), this research demonstrates the spillover effects of customer mistreatment of supervisors on employee’s service sabotage via moral anger. Study 1 showed that hospitality employees’ moral anger mediated the relationship between customer mistreatment of their supervisors on employees’ service sabotage. Furthermore, Study 2 and Study 3 provided empirical evidence supporting the moderating role of moral ownership. Employees are more likely to respond to customer mistreatment of their supervisors with moral anger and service sabotage when they have high, rather than low, moral ownership. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Keywords
Observed Customer Mistreatment of Supervisors; Deontic Justice Theory; Moral Anger; Service Sabotage; Moral Ownership
Disciplines
Business Analytics | Hospitality Administration and Management | Organizational Behavior and Theory
File Format
File Size
847.15 KB
Language
English
Rights
IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Repository Citation
Jiang, W., Shum, C., Min, H. K., & Ding, Y. (2023). How observed customer mistreatment of supervisors affects employees’ service sabotage: A cross-cultural examination from the deontic justice theory. International Journal of Hospitality Management, Article 103452. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2023.103452
Included in
Business Analytics Commons, Hospitality Administration and Management Commons, Organizational Behavior and Theory Commons
