Transformational Leadership and Employee Job Satisfaction: The Mediating Role of Employee Relations Climate and the Moderating Role of Subordinate Gender

Scholars have paid extensive attention to transformational leadership for decades. However, existing studies still lack ample discussions on the underlying mechanism and boundary conditions of its influence on employee job satisfaction. This study proposed a moderated mediation model based on social exchange theory. We collected survey data from 211 frontline employees to verify our hypotheses. The results showed that transformational leadership was positively associated with employee job satisfaction via the mediation role of the perceived employee relations climate. Furthermore, the relationship between transformational leadership and the employee relations climate, as well as the indirect relationship between the two, was demonstrated to be more significant for male employees. This study offered a new account of the mechanisms of transformational leadership and clarified a boundary condition for its effectiveness.

Listening and learning from the COVID-19 frontline in one US healthcare system

PurposeThe on-going COVID-19 pandemic has drastically impacted healthcare systems worldwide. Understanding the perspectives and insights of frontline healthcare workers caring for and interacting with patients with COVID-19 represents a timely, topical, and important area of research. The purpose of this qualitative action research study was to assist one US healthcare system that has an expansive footprint with the implementation of a needs assessment among its frontline healthcare workers. The leadership within this healthcare system wanted to obtain a deeper understanding of how the COVID-19 pandemic was impacting the personal and professional lives of its workers. Further, the organisation wanted to solicit employees’ feedback about what they needed, understand the issues they were facing, and solicit their ideas to help the organisation know where to take action.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative research employed 45 focus groups, referred to as virtual listening calls (LCs) in this organisation, which were held over a four-week period. A total of 241 nursing staff, representing healthcare facilities across the country, attended 26 of the LCs. A total of 19 LCs were held with 116 healthcare workers who are employed in other clinical roles (e.g. therapists) or administrative functions.FindingsExtending beyond the available research at the time, this study was initiated from within a US healthcare system and informed by the frontline healthcare employees who participated in the LCs, the findings of this study include the perspectives of both nursing and other healthcare workers, the latter of which have not received considerable attention. The findings underscore that the COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the personal and professional lives of all of these healthcare workers and has exacted an emotional toll as noted in other studies. However, this study also highlights the importance of listening to employees’ concerns, but more importantly, their recommendations for improving their experiences. Notably, the organisation is in the midst of making changes to address these frontline workers’ needs.Originality/valueThe study, inclusive of nursing and other healthcare staff, demonstrates how an organisation can adapt to a crisis by listening and learning from its frontline employees.

Influence of emotions displayed by employees during service recovery

Purpose While research evidences how customers’ emotions can influence their consumer experience, understanding of how employees’ displayed emotions affect the customer service experience is more limited. Drawing on affect transfer theory, the authors test for the mediating role of attitude towards the employee, which is proposed to mediate the effect of employees’ displayed emotion on customers’ satisfaction with recovery. As service recovery entails a critical service experience in which emotions can easily rise, this paper aims to highlight the pivotal role of employee-displayed emotions during service recovery. Methodology A scenario-based experiment in the context of an airline service failure recovery (3 × 2 between-subjects design) manipulates frontline employees’ emotions (anger vs happiness vs no specific emotion) and the quality of the solution (bad vs good). Findings Employees’ displayed emotions directly affect attitude towards the employee and indirectly affect service recovery satisfaction. Moreover, attitude towards the employee is affected more by the employee’s displayed emotion when the solution offered is bad compared to good. Practical implications Employees’ emotions displayed during service recovery can enhance or damage service recovery strategies. Employees should control for negative emotions in the case of service failure, especially when unable to provide a good solution. Originality Emotions displayed by employees can influence the customer’s service recovery evaluations. There is an interesting interaction between the quality of the solution and employees’ displayed emotions. Additionally, the mantra of “service with a smile” may not be valid in the case of service recovery: rather, employees should avoid displaying negative emotions.

Intentions of Language Learning among Macau Frontline Employees in Hospitality Industry: Application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour Model

The purpose of this study attempted to explore intentions of frontline employees on language learning in Macau hospitality industry. Without exploring learners’ intention, the successful language learning cannot be achieved. Various factors promote or hinder language learners from the implementation of behaviour, that is learning a language. As Macau is one of famous tourist destinations, diversifying single economic development on gaming industry has been enforced. Acting the platform between China and Lusophony countries has also been initiated. Developing language competence in hospitality industry becomes essential in Macau. Hence, this study is crucial for language teaching and learning contexts in hospitality industry while it is anticipated that more and more international tourists will be received in Macau soon after recovering from COVID-19. In this study, the theory of planed behaviour suggested by Ajzen (1991) [1] was applied to explore language learners’ behavioural intentions in terms of learning either English or Portuguese. After a pilot study, the main study was conducted in November 2019. The research findings showed attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control had positive and significant impacts on language learning intention. Specifically, subjective norm was the most influential factor affecting learners’ behavioural intention, followed by perceived behavioural control and then attitude. Significant others therefore played the key factor on influencing learners to take an action on learning languages in the society of Macau. This finding may result from job requirements in the labour-market. Finally, the study contributes to educational literature by demonstrating the importance of intentions on frontline employees’ language learning by applying the theory of planned behaviour. Practically, based on the aspect of social psychology to scrutinise learners’ behavioural intention, it would allow language educators adopting effective teaching and learning approach to satisfy learners’ needs.

Eight organizational enablers of digital service-sales ambidexterity in industrial firms

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore organizational enablers of frontline employees’ (FLEs) service-sales ambidexterity (SSA) in industrial firms expanding their digital service portfolios. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a qualitative study of five industrial firms pursuing digital service growth and, for this purpose, collected and analyzed interview data obtained from 50 service and sales managers and FLEs across three continents. Findings The authors identify and explain eight organizational enablers of digital service-sales ambidexterity (DSSA), operating at the macro, micro and meso levels. Practical implications Service and sales managers should use the identified organizational enablers to exploit the established service business and to explore new digital growth paths. Originality/value The study expands the prior understanding of SSA by advancing the concept of DSSA, unpacking its multilevel dynamics and operationalizing eight organizational enablers.

Transformational leadership and innovative work behavior in three-star hotels: mediating role of leader-member exchange, knowledge sharing and voice behavior

Purpose Different leadership styles are used to make innovations in organizations. So, a sound system of social exchanges has always been a need in this dynamic and technological world to challenge organizational problems. Drawing on the social exchange theory, this study aims to empirically investigate the mediating relationship of a set of social exchanges, e.g. leader-member exchange (L.M.X.), knowledge sharing behavior (K.S.B.) and voice behavior (V.B.), between transformational leadership (T.L) and innovative work behavior (I.W.B). Particularly, it explores the best social exchange behavior between T.L and I.W.B that plays a highly constructive role in the innovativeness of the hospitality industry in Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach The study targeted 403 frontline employees from hotels situated near Swat Valley, Pakistan. The study used a quantitative approach by using a convenient sampling technique. Structural equation modeling was run by using Smart partial least square 3.3.3 to test the proposed model. Findings The research supported that T.L significantly influenced I.W.B via a L.M.X., K.S.B. and V.B. T.L did not directly and significantly influence I.W.B so, there were full mediations between T.L and I.W.B. Specifically, knowledge-sharing behavior played a highly constructive role in innovativeness. Research limitations/implications The study targeted frontline employees from one place, Swat valley; however, data collection from different tourist places may generalize the results based on social exchanges and innovative behavior. A dyadic interaction between top-level and middle-level management may closely trace the innovative ideas among the employees. Practical implications The study found knowledge sharing to be a highly effective mechanism that supports employee innovation more than a L.M.X. and V.B. As a result, the managers should establish a sound system of knowledge sharing, which means a knowledge economy so that employees innovativeness can be boosted and promoted. Originality/value The present study was the first study in the hotel industry of Pakistan that reveals a highly effective mediating mechanism: K.S.B., which exists with T.L to increase workers’ innovativeness highly.

“My colleague is a robot” – exploring frontline employees' willingness to work with collaborative service robots

PurposeAs service robots increasingly interact with customers at the service encounter, they will inevitably become an integral part of employee's work environment. This research investigates frontline employee's perceptions of collaborative service robots (CSR) and introduces a new framework, willingness to collaborate (WTC), to better understand employee–robot interactions in the workplace.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on appraisal theory, this study employed an exploratory research approach to investigate frontline employees' cognitive appraisal of service robots and their WTC with their nonhuman counterparts in service contexts. Data collection consisted of 36 qualitative problem-centered interviews. Following an iterative thematic analysis, the authors introduce a research framework of frontline employees' WTC with service robots.FindingsFirst, this study demonstrates that the interaction between frontline employees and service robots is a multistage appraisal process based on adoption-related perceptions. Second, it identifies important attributes across three categories (employee, robot and job attributes) that provide a foundation to understand the appraisal of CSRs. Third, it presents four employee personas (supporter, embracer, resister and saboteur) that provide a differentiated perspective of how service employee–robot collaboration may differ.Practical implicationsThe article identifies important factors that enable and restrict frontline service employees' (FSEs’) WTC with robots.Originality/valueThis is the first paper that investigates the appraisal of CSRs from the perspective of frontline employees. The research contributes to the limited research on human–robot collaboration and expands existing technology acceptance models that fall short to explain post-adoptive coping behavior of service employees in response to service robots in the workplace.