The role of customer mistreatment and emotional exhaustion in the relationship between surface acting and turnover intention

Abstract In the hospitality industry, service provided by frontline staff is critical to business success. Therefore, the emotional performance of service personnel will become an important factor that affects service quality. This study explores the relationships among surface acting, customer mist...
Ausführliche Beschreibung

Abstract In the hospitality industry, service provided by frontline staff is critical to business success. Therefore, the emotional performance of service personnel will become an important factor that affects service quality. This study explores the relationships among surface acting, customer mistreatment, emotional exhaustion, and turnover intention. In addition, we focused on the mediating effect of customer mistreatment and employee emotional exhaustion on employee surface acting and turnover intention. We used survey data collected from 251 participants within the hospitality industry in Taiwan. The results revealed that customer mistreatment acts as a mediator between service-employee surface acting and their turnover intention. More specifically, surface acting by service employees relates to turnover intention, initially through customer mistreatment and subsequently through emotional exhaustion. We conclude with a discussion on the theoretical and practical implications of our results and suggest potential avenues for future research. Ausführliche Beschreibung