The inverted-U influence of leader benevolence on extra-role customer service behavior

Abstract

Leader benevolence is a leadership style pursued by enterprise supervisors, especially in enterprises rooted in Chinese Confucian culture. Based on reciprocity theory, this paper aims to explore the effect of team leader benevolence on employees’ extra-role customer service behavior through work effort and the moderating effect of contingent reward leadership. By analyzing data from 405 employees and 102 team supervisors in Chinese hospitality firms, the results show that leader benevolence has a significant inverted U-shaped relationship with employees’ work effort. Specifically, work effort mediates the relationship between leader benevolence and extra-role customer service behavior. The effect of leader benevolence on work effort is moderated by contingent reward leadership which in turn moderates the indirect effect of leader benevolence on extra-role customer service behavior through work effort. Aside from the contribution to leadership and organizational behavior literature, our conclusions and implications can also benefit hospitality firm managers and employees.