{"title":"Customers’ devaluation in hospitality organizations: A social learning perspective of customer-targeted knowledge hiding behavior","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.ijhm.2024.103960","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We aim to investigate whether, how, and when frontline service employees (FSEs), as observers of leaders’ knowledge hiding behavior toward customers (LKH-C), engage in employee knowledge hiding behavior toward customers (EKH-C). We introduce employees’ devaluation of customers (EDC) as an indicator of the social learning of LKH-C. To understand the trickle effects of knowledge hiding toward customers from supervisors to FSEs, we introduce leader–member exchange (LMX) as a first-stage moderator that can intensify the influence of negative role modeling and moral identity (MI) as a second-stage moderator that can “break the cycle” of top-down knowledge hiding. We collected time-lagged data (i.e., responses from FSEs at three different time points) from three- to five-star-ranked hotels in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia (<em>N</em> = 379). We found that LKH-C stimulates EKH-C through EDC. We also noted that the indirect effect of LKH-C on EKH-C via EDC could be intensified at high LMX and that FSEs with high-MI could break the cycle of top-down knowledge hiding behavior. From the perspective of social learning theory (i.e., cognitive processes), we aim to understand whether, how, and when FSEs observing LKH-C engages in EKH-C at high vs. low values of LMX and MI. Our findings have important implications for managers, practitioners, and organizations with regard to “breaking the cycle” of knowledge hiding in the hospitality industry and maximizing overall customer experience.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48444,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Hospitality Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":9.9000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Hospitality Management","FirstCategoryId":"91","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S027843192400272X","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"HOSPITALITY, LEISURE, SPORT & TOURISM","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
We aim to investigate whether, how, and when frontline service employees (FSEs), as observers of leaders’ knowledge hiding behavior toward customers (LKH-C), engage in employee knowledge hiding behavior toward customers (EKH-C). We introduce employees’ devaluation of customers (EDC) as an indicator of the social learning of LKH-C. To understand the trickle effects of knowledge hiding toward customers from supervisors to FSEs, we introduce leader–member exchange (LMX) as a first-stage moderator that can intensify the influence of negative role modeling and moral identity (MI) as a second-stage moderator that can “break the cycle” of top-down knowledge hiding. We collected time-lagged data (i.e., responses from FSEs at three different time points) from three- to five-star-ranked hotels in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia (N = 379). We found that LKH-C stimulates EKH-C through EDC. We also noted that the indirect effect of LKH-C on EKH-C via EDC could be intensified at high LMX and that FSEs with high-MI could break the cycle of top-down knowledge hiding behavior. From the perspective of social learning theory (i.e., cognitive processes), we aim to understand whether, how, and when FSEs observing LKH-C engages in EKH-C at high vs. low values of LMX and MI. Our findings have important implications for managers, practitioners, and organizations with regard to “breaking the cycle” of knowledge hiding in the hospitality industry and maximizing overall customer experience.
期刊介绍:
The International Journal of Hospitality Management serves as a platform for discussing significant trends and advancements in various disciplines related to the hospitality industry. The publication covers a wide range of topics, including human resources management, consumer behavior and marketing, business forecasting and applied economics, operational management, strategic management, financial management, planning and design, information technology and e-commerce, training and development, technological developments, and national and international legislation.
In addition to covering these topics, the journal features research papers, state-of-the-art reviews, and analyses of business practices within the hospitality industry. It aims to provide readers with valuable insights and knowledge in order to advance research and improve practices in the field.
The journal is also indexed and abstracted in various databases, including the Journal of Travel Research, PIRA, Academic Journal Guide, Documentation Touristique, Leisure, Recreation and Tourism Abstracts, Lodging and Restaurant Index, Scopus, CIRET, and the Social Sciences Citation Index. This ensures that the journal's content is widely accessible and discoverable by researchers and practitioners in the hospitality field.