Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online 2018-8
The Elicitation of Frontline,Customer-Contact,Hotel Employee Innovative Behavior: Illuminating the Central Roles of Readiness for Change and Absorptive Capacity
Although service innovations have been recognized to be important for the long-term strategic success of hospitality firms, to date, the elicitation of innovative behavior has received little attention in the extant hospitality research literature. In the current study, we used a matched set of responses from 294 frontline, customer-contact, hotel employees and their direct supervisors to address this lack. Consistent with extant human resource management (HRM) studies that have advocated the agent-centered perspective, this study’s results illuminate a causal chain through which employee self-reported (Time 1, Source 1) perceived high-investment human resource practices (HIHRP) augments individual frontline, customer-contact, hotel employee supervisor-rated (Time 2, Source 2) innovative behavior. This study contributes to the extant hospitality and HRM research literatures by elucidating individual hotel employee self-reported perceived HIHRP as a key proximal determinant and individual hotel employee supervisor-rated innovative behavior as a key proximal consequence of two positive organizationally relevant individual-level psychological outcomes: that is, frontline, customer-contact, hotel employee self-reported readiness for change and absorptive capacity. Findings, implications, and limitations as well as avenues for future research are discussed.
AlfesK.ShantzA. D.TrussC.SoaneE. C. (2013). The link between perceived human resource management practices, engagement and employee behavior: A moderated mediation model. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 24, 330-351.
2.
ArmenakisA. A.HarrisS. G.MossholderK. W. (1993). Creating readiness for organizational change. Human Relations, 46, 681-702.
3.
BaronR. M.KennyD. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 51, 1173-1182.
4.
BoonC.BelschakF. D.Den HartogD. N.PijnenburgM. (2014). Perceived human resource management practices. Journal of Personnel Psychology, 13, 21-33.
5.
CadwalladerS.JarvisC. B.BitnerM. J.OstromA. L. (2010). Frontline employee motivation to participate in service innovation implementation. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 38, 219-239.
6.
ChadwickC.WayS. A.KerrG.ThackerJ. W. (2013). Boundary conditions of the high-investment human resource systems-small-firm labor productivity relationship. Personnel Psychology, 66, 311-343.
7.
ChangS.GongY.ShumC. (2011). Promoting innovation in hospitality companies through human resource management practices. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 30, 812-818.
8.
ChangS.GongY.WayS. A.JiaL. (2013). Flexibility-oriented HRM systems, absorptive capacity, and firm innovativeness and market responsiveness. Journal of Management, 39, 1924-1951.
9.
CohenW. M.LevinthalD. A. (1990). Absorptive capacity: A new perspective on learning and innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 35, 128-152.
10.
Del ValM. P.FuentesC. M. (2003). Resistance to change: A literature review and empirical study. Management Decision, 41, 148-155.
11.
EnzC. A.WayS. A. (2016). Implementing service innovations in European hotels. Service Science, 8, 97-107.
12.
ErhardtN.Martin-RiosC.WayS. A. (2009). From bureaucratic forms towards team-based knowledge work systems: Implications for human resource management. International Journal of Collaborative Enterprise, 1, 160-179.
13.
Etemad-SajadiR.WayS. A.BohrerL. (2016). Airline passenger loyalty: The distinct effects of airline passenger perceived pre-flight and in-flight service quality. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 57, 219-225.
14.
GardnerT. M.WrightP. M.MoynihanL. M. (2011). The impact of motivation, empowerment, and skill-enhancing practices on aggregate voluntary turnover: The mediating effect of collective affective commitment. Personnel Psychology, 64, 315-350.
15.
HonA. H.LuiS. S. (2016). Employee creativity and innovation in organizations: Review, integration, and future directions for hospitality research. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 28, 862-885.
16.
JanssenO. (2000). Job demands, perceptions of effort-reward fairness and innovation work behavior. Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology, 73, 287-302.
17.
JensenJ. M.PatelP. C.MessersmithJ. G. (2013). High-performance work systems and job control: Consequences for anxiety, role overload, and turnover intentions. Journal of Management, 39, 1699-1724.
18.
JiangK.HuJ.LiuS.LepakD. P. (2017). Understanding employees’ perceptions of human resource practices: Effects of demographic dissimilarity to managers and coworkers. Human Resource Management, 56, 69-91.
19.
KehoeR. R.WrightP. M. (2013). The impact of high-performance human resource practices on employees’ attitudes and behaviors. Journal of Management, 39, 366-391.
20.
KingN. (1990). Innovation at work: The research literature. In WestM. A.FarrJ. L. (Eds.), Innovation and creativity at work (pp. 15-59). Chichester, UK: John Wiley.
21.
KwahkK. Y.KimH. W. (2008). Managing readiness in enterprise systems-driven organizational change. Behaviour & Information Technology, 27, 79-87.
22.
LewinK. (1947). Frontiers in group dynamics. Human Relations, 1, 143-153.
23.
LiaoH.ToyaK.LepakD. P.HongY. (2009). Do they see eye to eye? Management and employee perspectives of high-performance work systems and influence processes on service quality. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97, 371-391.
24.
LittleT. D.CunninghamW. A.ShaharG.WidamanK. F. (2002). To parcel or not to parcel: Exploring the question, weighing the merits. Structural Equation Modeling, 9, 151-173.
25.
LöwikS. J. A. (2013). Micro-foundations of absorptive capacity: A study on knowledge processes for innovation in SMEs. Enshede, Netherlands: University of Twente.
26.
LöwikS.KraaijenbrinkJ.GroenA. (2012). The effects of prior knowledge, networks, and cognitive style on individuals’ absorptive capacity. Academy of Management Proceedings2012:11-1; doi: 10.5465/AMBPP.2012.197.
27.
McDonaldR. P.HoM. H. (2002). Principles and practice in reporting structural equation analyses. Psychological Methods, 7, 64-82.
28.
MessersmithJ. G.PatelP. C.LepakD. P.Gould-WilliamsJ. S. (2011). Unlocking the black box: Exploring the link between high-performance work systems and performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96, 1105-1118.
29.
MichaelisB.StegmaierR.SonntagK. (2010). Shedding light on followers’ innovation implementation behavior: The role of transformational leadership, commitment to change, and climate for initiative. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 25, 408-429.
30.
NishiiL. H.LepakD. P.SchneiderB. (2008). Employee attributions of the “why” of HR practices: Their effects on employee attitudes and behaviors, and customer satisfaction. Personnel Psychology, 61, 503-545.
31.
NishiiL. H.WrightP. (2008). Variability within organizations: Implications for strategic human resource management. In SmithD. B. (Ed.), The people make the place: Dynamic linkages between individuals and organization (pp. 225-248). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
32.
PloyhartR. E.WeekleyJ. A.RamseyJ. (2009). The consequences of human resource stocks and flows: A longitudinal examination of unit service orientation and unit effectiveness. Academy of Management Journal, 52, 996-1015.
33.
PreacherK. J.HayesA. F. (2008). Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behavior Research Methods, 40, 879-891.
34.
TummersL. G.KruyenP. M.VijverbergD.VoesenekT. (2013). Connecting HRM and change management: How HR practices can stimulate change readiness. Presented at the PSG XV: PATI (Public Administration, Technology and Innovation), September 2013, Edinburgh, Scotland.
35.
TummersL. G.KruyenP. M.VijverbergD.VoesenekT. (2015). Connecting HRM and change management: The importance of proactivity and vitality. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 28, 627-640.
36.
VanderpoolC.WayS. A. (2013). Investigating work-family balance, job anxiety, and turnover intentions as predictors of healthcare and senior services customer-contact employee voluntary turnover. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 54, 149-160.
37.
Van WinkelenC.McKenzieJ. (2011). Knowledge works: The handbook of practical ways to identify and solve common organizational problems for better performance. Chichester, UK: John Wiley.
38.
WayS. A. (2002). High performance work systems and intermediate indicators of firm performance within the U.S. small business sector. Journal of Management, 28, 765-785.
39.
WayS. A.JohnsonD. E. (2005). Theorizing about the impact of strategic human resource management. Human Resource Management Review, 15, 1-19.
40.
WayS. A.LepakD. P.FayC. H.ThackerJ. W. (2010). Contingent workers’ impact on standard employee withdrawal behaviors: Does what you use them for matter?Human Resource Management, 49, 109-138.
41.
WayS. A.SimonsT.LeroyH.TulejaE. (in press). What’s in it for me? Middle manager behavioral integrity and performance. Journal of Business Ethics, in press (published online 24May2016). doi: 10.1007/s10551-016-3204-9.
42.
WayS. A.SturmanM. C.RaabC. (2010). What matters more? Contrasting the effects of job satisfaction and service climate on hotel food and beverage managers’ job performance. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 51, 379-397.
43.
WayS. A.TraceyJ. B.FayC. H.WrightP. M.SnellS. A.ChangS.GongY. (2015). Validation of a multidimensional HR flexibility measure. Journal of Management, 41, 1098-1131.
44.
XiaoZ.TsuiA. S. (2007). When brokers may not work: The cultural contingency of social capital in Chinese high-tech firms. Administrative Science Quarterly, 52, 1-31.
