How and when authentic leadership promotes prosocial service behaviors: A moderated mediation model

Abstract

Few hospitality scholars have explored the influence of authentic leadership on prosocial service behaviors (PSBs). The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationships among authentic leadership, person-job (P-J) fit, and PSBs in the hospitality industry, as well as the mediating influence of P-J fit and the moderated mediation effect of job resourcefulness. Questionnaires were distributed to 325 hotel employees in Taiwan. The findings indicated authentic leadership positively affected P-J fit, which in turn affected both role-prescribed service behaviors (RPSBs) and extra-role service behaviors (ERSBs). Specifically, P-J fit mediated the association between authentic leadership and employees’ PSBs (RPSBs and ERSBs). Moreover, job resourcefulness reinforced the positive relationship between authentic leadership and P-J fit, thereby promoting PSBs. This study contributes to the hospitality literature by elaborating associations among authentic leadership, P-J fit, and PSBs. These findings have practical application in human resource practices among hospitality managers.