A systematic literature review of emotional labor research from the hospitality and tourism literature

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an exhaustive review of emotional labor research from the hospitality and tourism literature by outlining the theories, the antecedents and the outcomes of emotional labor, as well as the underlying mechanisms (i.e. mediators and moderators) of emotional labor. Design/methodology/approach This study provides a qualitative and critical review of emotional labor research from the hospitality and tourism literature, providing insights into the trends and gaps in the literature. Findings The conservation of resources theory and affective event theory are the two most common theories in the reviewed literature. Emotional intelligence and personality are the most commonly investigated antecedents while burnout and job satisfaction are the most investigated outcomes of emotional labor. Stress and burnout are the most examined mediators of emotional labor and subsequent outcomes, such as commitment, turnover intentions and well-being. Moderators include leader-member exchange, job position, gender and climate of authenticity. Practical implications Four major gaps for research and practice are identified as follows: the lack of an overarching theoretical framework; inconsistency in how emotional labor is defined and measured; the vast majority of emotional labor studies are cross-sectional studies; and no research examines potential interventions to help service employees engage in effective emotional labor strategies. Originality/value This review offers a model providing a comprehensive framework that outlines the various antecedents, outcomes, mediators and moderators of emotional labor and corresponding theories for future research.

Acting the part: Emotional intelligence and job satisfaction as predictors of emotional labor in travel agencies

“…The preferred instrument used to measure emotional intelligence, emotional labor and job satisfaction in this study was a questionnaire. The constructs used in this research have been mainly studied using quantitative methods, using instruments whose reliability and validity have been attested to in previous research (Acosta-Prado and Zárate-Torres, 2019; Eşitti and Kasap, 2020; Khairy, 2020; Lee and Madera, 2019; Li et al., 2018; Pacheco et al., 2019; Viseu et al., 2020; Wang, 2019), so this tool was considered as the best for reaching the goals of the study in an effective manner. Moreover, the questionnaire method enables the gathering of a larger amount of data, using already validated survey scales and ensuring the anonymity of respondents (which is of particular importance when researching job-related issues, when employees may not feel comfortable providing honest answers).…”

“…Lee and Madera (2019) reviewed the literature on emotional labor in tourism and hospitality and found that emotional intelligence was frequently studied as an antecedent of emotional labor, along with the influence of personality traits, but that the mediating effects of emotional intelligence on the relationship between emotional labor and other factors had not been explored. This analysis was confirmed in a meta-analysis by Xu et al.…”

“…(2020), Marques et al. (2018) and Lee and Madera (2019) emphasized the importance of studying the influence of employees’ satisfaction with job conditions and the influence of job conditions on emotional labor in a tourism context. In the tourism industry, this relationship and the possible mediators of such a relationship has not been explored until now, indicating a significant research gap in this field.…”

Collecting Repeated Data Over Time: Applying Experience Sampling Methodology to the Hospitality Management Context

“…Surface acting refers to an employee emotional regulation strategy that modifies external expressions, whereas deep acting refers to the emotional regulation strategy genuinely feel the emotions that are required and expected. Even though extant literature has found that emotional labor predicts multiple employee well-being and performance constructs (Hülsheger & Schewe, 2011; Kammeyer-Mueller et al, 2013; L. Lee & Madera, 2019), most previous studies consider emotional labor (i.e., surface acting and deep acting) as a static, trait-like construct and largely focuses on examining the intrapersonal effect of emotional labor on employees’ well-being or performance.…”

“…Second, the Example 2 highlighted that ESM can examine the within-person component of constructs (e.g., surface acting and deep acting) that are considered as static and trait-like in an existed theory (e.g., emotional labor theory; Grandey, 2000). Most of the previous emotional labor studies in hospitality research treated employees’ surface acting and deep acting as between-individual constructs that are stable over time (Hülsheger & Schewe, 2011; Kammeyer-Mueller et al, 2013; L. Lee & Madera, 2019).…”