How and When Supervisors' Emotional Displays Serve as Role Models in the Hospitality Industry: A Social Learning Perspective

Abstract

This study aims to examine how and when supervisors' emotional display trickles down to employees' emotional display. With data collected through a two-wave survey of hospitality employees, this study reveals that supervisors' emotional displays serve as role models for employees' emotional displays. Such a trickle-down effect is contingent upon two boundary conditions: organizational display rules and employees' competence uncertainty. When explicit organizational regulations are absent and employees are uncertain about their role competence, they tend to emulate their supervisor's emotional display. Additionally, the moderation effects operate differently depending on the supervisor's organizational status. As supervisors' status increases, the moderating effects of organizational display rules and employee competence uncertainty diminish. This study adds insights to the tourism and hospitality literature by examining the modeling effect of supervisors on employees' emotional display from a social learning perspective, emphasizing the significance of supervisors' leadership, and modeling effect within hospitality organizations.