Sustaining Affective Commitment and Extra-Role Service among Hospitality Employees: Interactive Effect of Empowerment and Service Training

Abstract

The success of hospitality sector firms depends largely on the degree to which frontline employees offer a high-quality service to customers. In this context it is of vital importance to determine how to promote positive employees’ attitudes and behaviors through the human resource practices. This study analyzes the indirect effect of empowerment via affective commitment on the extra-role service. In addition, the moderating effect of service training on the empowerment–affective commitment–extra-role service relationship is explored. The data was collected from a sample of frontline employees working in three-to-five-star urban hotels in Santiago de Compostela (Spain). The results of the study suggest that for empowerment to lead to greater emotional attachment to the organization and extra-role customer service, it is necessary for frontline employees to perceive that they have received a moderated-high level of training in customer service. This finding is particularly interesting for frontline employees’ management in hotels sector.