Different emotional and behavioral reactions to customer mistreatment among hotel employees: A multilevel moderated mediation model

Abstract

The present research examines employees' different emotional and behavioral reactions to customer mistreatment, as well as the individual-level and group-level moderators for this effect in the hospitality setting. Data are collected at two points in time from 405 hotel employees working under 73 hotel supervisors in southern China. Results of path analysis in Multilevel Structure Equation Modeling (MSEM) reveal that employees who feel angry after receiving customer mistreatment engage in more sabotage against customers, whereas employees who feel frustrated after being mistreated by customers are more likely to disengage from their work. Additionally, the indirect effect of customer mistreatment on employee sabotage against customers via anger was positive when employees make lower level of internal attribution or work under supervisors who created lower supervisory support climate; the indirect effect of customer mistreatment on employee's work disengagement via frustration was positive when employees make lower level of internal attribution.