Team leader humility and team proactive customer service behavior: A regulatory focus perspective

Abstract

Proactive customer service behavior has garnered widespread attention in the hotel industry. However, its antecedents at the team level have been underestimated. The current study, drawing upon regulatory focus theory, developed a comprehensive framework to test the effect of team leader humility on team proactive customer service behavior, the mediating effects of team promotion and prevention focus, and the moderating role of cooperate social responsibility (CSR). By using three-wave and multi-level data from 124 teams composed of 448 hospitality employees, this study supported the positive relationship between team leader humility and team proactive customer service behavior and the mediating effects. Moreover, CSR moderated the relationship between team leader humility and team promotion focus. When CSR was implemented at higher levels, team leader humility resulted in increased team promotion focus. These findings provide significant insights for enhancing the collective proactive customer service behavior of team members in the hospitality industry.