How Does Service Climate Influence Hotel Employees’ Brand Citizenship Behavior? A Social Exchange and Social Identity Perspective

Abstract

By integrating social exchange and social identity theories, this article examines the mechanism through which employee perceived service climate enhances employee brand citizenship behavior (BCB). Specifically, we propose that this relationship is mediated by perceived brand image and moderated by employees’ power distance orientation. Using data from hotel employees in Vietnam, the findings show that service climate positively affects employee BCB. Furthermore, the mediating effect of perceived brand image and the negative moderating effect of employees’ power distance orientation on the linkage between service climate and employee BCB are found to be significant. This article enriches the existing knowledge by incorporating both social exchange and social identity perspectives in explaining an underexplored linkage between service climate and employee BCB. We suggest that hotel providers should put an emphasis on fostering a supportive service climate and should take into account the role of employee’s power distance orientation in promoting employee BCB.