Abusive supervision and hospitality employees’ helping behaviors: The joint moderating effects of proactive personality and ability to manage resources

Abstract

Purpose

Drawing on the conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study aims to examine the influence of abusive supervision on hospitality employees’ helping behaviors, especially, the joint moderating effects of proactive personality and ability to manage resources (i.e. RMA) in the hypothesized relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a two-phase design, this study gathered data from 353 employees of ten hotels located in China. To test the hypotheses, the study conducted a series of hierarchical multiple regression analyses.

Findings

Findings demonstrated that abusive supervision was negatively related to hotel employees’ helping behaviors. Moreover, both proactive personality and RMA jointly moderated the abusive supervision–helping behavior relationship. Specifically, when both proactive personality and RMA had high degrees, the abusive supervision–employees’ helping behaviors linkage was weakest. Conversely, the strongest impact of abusive supervision on employees’ helping behaviors occurred when both proactive personality and RMA were low.

Practical implications

Hotel managers should reduce mistreatment and cultivate employees’ both proactive personality and RMA, to inhibit the decline of helping behavior resulting from abusive supervision.

Originality/value

First, the current study provides a novel theoretical underpinning of the COR theory to explain the abusive supervision–helping behavior association, particularly in the hospitality context. Second, this study contributes to the boundary effects of abusive supervision on helping behavior by investigating the moderating roles of individual differences (i.e. proactive personality and RMA).

Citation

Zhao, H. and Guo, L. (2019), "Abusive supervision and hospitality employees’ helping behaviors: The joint moderating effects of proactive personality and ability to manage resources", International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 31 No. 4, pp. 1977-1994. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-01-2018-0100