Socially responsible human resource practices and hospitality employee outcomes

Purpose - This paper aims to unfold the mediation mechanism of job crafting, through which socially responsible human resource practices (SRHR practices) influence work meaningfulness and job strain among hospitality employees. It also seeks to unravel the moderating effect of authentic leadership on this indirect relationship. Design/methodology/approach - Three survey waves were conducted to collect data from 825 employees and 128 managers from 34 four- or five-star hotels in two major cities in Vietnam. The data were analyzed through structural equation modeling to test the hypothesized relationships. Findings - The results lent credence to the positive relationship between SRHR practices and employees' meaningfulness of work as well as the negative nexus between SRHR practices and employees' job strain. These relationships were mediated by employee engagement in job crafting. The results further revealed that authentic leadership functioned as a negative moderator for the impact of SRHR practices on job crafting as well as the indirect effects of SRHR practices on the two employee outcomes via job crafting. Practical implications - The findings suggest to hospitality organizations that employees may find their work more meaningful and less stressful if they implement SRHR practices to enable them to craft their tasks. Hospitality organizations should also realize the role of authentic behavior among managers in stimulating employee job crafting behavior particularly when SRHR practices are not fully in place. Originality/value - This study advances the understanding of the mechanisms that translate SRHR practices into hospitality employee outcomes. This work also extends the contingency perspective in the HRM literature by unraveling authentic leadership as a contingency for the impacts of SRHR practices.

Automated summary

This study reveals the mediation mechanism of job crafting through which socially responsible human resource practices influence work meaningfulness and job strain among hospitality employees, as well as the moderating effect of authentic leadership on this relationship. The findings highlight the importance of implementing SRHR practices and fostering authentic leadership behavior in hospitality organizations to improve employee outcomes.