Skip to main content
Log in

Emotional contagion and collective commitment among leaders and team members in deluxe hotel

  • Empirical article
  • Published:
Service Business Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Emotional contagion is important in predicting employees’ behaviors and organizational performance, as people are inevitably affected by emotions. This study examines the effects of emotional contagion among deluxe hotel employees on burnout and collective commitment. It also studies the moderating impact of employees’ coworker exchange and leader–member exchange on the relationships between emotional contagion, burnout, and collective commitment. A survey was carried out among 281 employees in Food & Beverage departments at 10 deluxe hotels in Seoul, South Korea. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the measured items, and a structural equation modeling was utilized to verify that the proposed hypotheses were correct. The analysis showed that the employees with higher emotional contagion showed a high level of burnout. When the employees’ level of burnout was higher, their collective commitment decreased. In addition, emotional contagion was found to have a significantly indirect negative effect on collective commitment via burnout. When the degree of interaction with superiors and coworkers was low, the negative influence of burnout on commitment was maximized. Limitations and future research directions are also discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allen NJ, Meyer JP (1990) The measurement and antecedents of affective, continuance and normative commitment to the organization. J Occup Psychol 63(1):1–18

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson JC, Gerbing DW (1988) Structural equation modeling in practice: a review and recommended two-step approach. Psychol Bull 103(3):411–423

    Google Scholar 

  • Bagozzi RP, Yi YJ (1988) On the evaluation of structural equation models. J Acad Mark Sci 16(1):74–94

    Google Scholar 

  • Baker CR, Omilion-Hodges LM (2013) The effect of leader-member exchange differentiation within work unit on coworker exchange and organizational citizenship behavior. Comm Res Rep 30(4):313–322

    Google Scholar 

  • Bakker AB, Schaufeli WB (2000) Burnout contagion processes among teachers. J Appl Soc Psychol 30(11):2289–2308

    Google Scholar 

  • Bakker AB, Schaufeli WB, Sixma HJ, Bosveld W (2001) Burnout contagion among general practitioners. J Soc Clinical Psychol 20(1):82–98

    Google Scholar 

  • Bakker AB, Demerouti E, Verbeke W (2004) Using the job demands-resources model to predict burnout and performance. Hum Resour Manag 43(1):83–104

    Google Scholar 

  • Bakker AB, Hakanen JJ, Demerouti E, Xanthopoulou D (2007) Job resources boost work engagement, particularly when job demands are high. J Educ Psychol 99(2):274–284

    Google Scholar 

  • Bal PM, Boehm SA (2017) How do ideals influence client satisfaction? the role of exhaustion, collective commitment, and age diversity. J Manag 45(4):1461–1487

    Google Scholar 

  • Barsade SG, Coutifaris CGV, Pillemer J (2018) Emotional contagion in organizational life. Res. in Organ. Beha. 38:137–151

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhullar N (2012) Relationship between mood and susceptibility to emotional contagion: is positive mood more contagious? North American J Psychol 14(3):517–530

    Google Scholar 

  • Borchgrevink CP, Boster FJ (1994) Leader-member exchange: a test of the measurement model. Hosp Res J 17(3):75–100

    Google Scholar 

  • Borchgrevink CP, Boster FJ (1997) Leader-member exchange development: a hospitality antecedent investigation. Intl J Hosp Manag 16(3):241–259

    Google Scholar 

  • Brislin RW (1980) Translation and content analysis of oral and written material. In: Triandis HC, Berry JW (eds) Handbook of cross-cultural psychology. Allyn and Bacon, Boston, pp 389–444

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen KY, Chang CW, Wang CH (2019) Frontline employees’ passion and emotional exhaustion: the mediating role of emotional labor strategies. Intl J Hosp Manag 76:163–172

    Google Scholar 

  • Chun JS, Shin Y, Choi JM, Kim MS (2013) How does corporate ethics contribute to firm financial performance? the mediating role of collective organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behavior. J Manag 39(4):853–877

    Google Scholar 

  • Cordes CL, Dougherty TW (1993) A review and an integration of research on job burnout. Acad Manag Rev 18(4):621–656

    Google Scholar 

  • Dansereau F Jr, Graen GB, Haga WJ (1975) A vertical dyad linkage approach within formal organization: a longitudinal investigation of the role making process. Organ Behav Hum Perform 13(1):46–78

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisenberger RE, Karagonlar G, Stinglhamber F, Neves P, Becker TE, Gonzalez-Morales MG (2010) Leader-member exchange and affective organizational commitment: the contribution of supervisor’s organizational embodiment. J Appl Psychol 95(6):1085–1103

    Google Scholar 

  • Fornell C, Larcker DF (1981) Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. J Mark Res 18(1):39–50

    Google Scholar 

  • George D, Mallery P (2003) SPSS for windows step by step: a simple guide and reference. Allyn & Bacon, MA

    Google Scholar 

  • Golman D (1995) Emotional Intelligence. Bantam Book, NY

    Google Scholar 

  • Graen GB, Uhl-Bien M (1995) Relationship-based approach to leadership: development of leader-member exchange (LMX) theory of leadership over 25 years: applying a multi-level multi-domain perspective. Leadership Q 6(2):219–247

    Google Scholar 

  • Hair JF Jr, Black WC, Babin BJ, Anderson RE (2010) Multivariate data analysis: a global perspective, 7th edn. NJ, Pearson Prentice Hall

    Google Scholar 

  • Han HJ, Verma R (2012) The effect of corporate culture and strategic orientation on financial performance. Center for Hosp Res 12(4):6–14

    Google Scholar 

  • Hatfield E, Cacioppo JT, Rapson RL (1992) Primitive emotional contagion. In: Clark MS (ed) Review of personality and social psychology. Thousand Oaks, Sage Publications Inc, CA, pp 151–177

    Google Scholar 

  • Hatfield E, Cacioppo JT, Rapson RL (1994) Emotional Contagion. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Heo CG, Jo J, Shin KH (2013) The role of empathy (emotional contagion and empathic concern) in service relationship. Korean J Psychol 26(4):579–597

    Google Scholar 

  • Hess U, Philippot P, Blairy S (1998) Facial reactions to emotional facial expressions: affect or cognition? Cognition Emotion 12:509–531

    Google Scholar 

  • Hochschild A (1983) The managed heart: commercialization of human feeling. University of California Press, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • Hofmann V, Stokburger-Sauer NE (2017) The impact of emotional labor on employees’ work-life balance perception and commitment: a study in the hospitality industry. Intl J Hosp Manag 65(1):47–58

    Google Scholar 

  • Huang X, Chan SCH, Lam W, Nan X (2010) The joint effect of leader-member exchange and emotional intelligence on burnout and work performance in call centers in China. Intl J Hum Resour Manag 21(7):1124–1144

    Google Scholar 

  • Jeon A (2016) The effect of pre-flight attendant’s emotional intelligence, emotional labor, and emotional exhaustion on commitment to customer service. Ser Bus 10(2):345–367

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim MH, Kwak WJ (2016) Effects of person-job fit, job engagement, and co-worker exchange on co-worker job engagement. Productivity Rev 30(3):283–305

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim SM, Oh JY (2012) Employee emotional response toward healthcare organization’s service recovery efforts and its influences on service recovery performance. Ser Bus 6(3):297–321

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim C, Park W (2015) Emotionally exhausted employees’ affective commitment: testing moderating effects using three-way interactions. Soc Behav Pers: Intl J 43(10):1699–1714

    Google Scholar 

  • Lau DC, Liden RC (2008) Antecedents of coworker trust: leaders’ blessings. J Appl Psychol 93(5):1130–1138

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee J (2005) Effects of leadership and leader-member exchange on commitment. Leader Organ Develop J 26(8):655–672

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee C, An M, Noh Y (2015) The effects of emotional display rules on flight attendants’ emotional labor strategy, job burnout and performance. Ser Bus 9:409–425

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee JH, Ok C, Hwang J (2016) An emotional labor perspective on the relationship between customer orientation and job satisfaction. Intl J Hosp Manag 54:139–150

    Google Scholar 

  • Li X, Sanders K, Frenkel S (2012) How leader-member exchange, work engagement and HRM consistency explain Chinese luxury hotel employees’ job performance. Intl J Hosp Manag 31(4):1059–1066

    Google Scholar 

  • Li J, Canziani BF, Barbieri C (2018) Emotional labor in hospitality: positive affective displays in service encounters. Tour Hosp Res 18(2):242–253

    Google Scholar 

  • Maslach C (1982) Burnout: the cost of caring. Prentice Hall, NJ

    Google Scholar 

  • Maslach C, Leiter MP (2008) Early predictors of job burnout and engagement. J Appl Psychol 93(3):498–512

    Google Scholar 

  • Maslach C, Leiter MP (2016) Understanding the burnout experience: recent research and its implications for psychiatry. World Psychiatry 15(2):103–111

    Google Scholar 

  • Maslach C, Schaufeli WB, Leiter MP (2001) Job burnout. Annu Rev Psychol 52:397–422

    Google Scholar 

  • Mehrabian A, Epstein N (1972) A measure of emotional empathy. J Pers 40:525–543

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer JP, Allen NJ (1984) Testing the “side-bet theory” of organizational commitment: some methodological considerations. J Appl Psychol 69(3):372–378

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller KI, Koesten J (2008) Financial feeling: an investigation of emotion and communication in the workplace. J Appl Comm Res 36(1):8–32

    Google Scholar 

  • Mowday R, Steers R, Porter L (1979) The measure of organizational commitment. J Voca Behav 14(2):224–227

    Google Scholar 

  • Omdahl BL, O’Donnell C (1999) Emotional contagion, empathic concern and communicative responsiveness as variables affecting nurses’ stress and occupational commitment. J Adv Nurs 29(6):1351–1359

    Google Scholar 

  • Park S, Schuckert M, Kim TG, Lee GH (2015) Why is hospitality employees’ psychological capital important? the effects of psychological capital on work engagement and employee morale. Intl J Hosp Manag 50:9–26

    Google Scholar 

  • Petitta L, Naughton S (2015) Mapping the association of emotional contagion to leaders, colleagues, and clients: implication for leadership. Organ Manag J 12(3):178–192

    Google Scholar 

  • Petitta L, Probst TM, Ghezzi V, Barbarabelli C (2019) Cognitive failures in response to emotional contagion: their effects on workplace accidents. Accid Anal Prev 125:165–173

    Google Scholar 

  • Podsakoff PM, MacKenzie SB, Lee JY, Podsakoff NP (2003) Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. J Appl Psychol 88(5):879–903

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaufeli WB, Leiter MP, Maslach C, Jackson SE (1996) Maslach burnout inventory-general survey. In: Maslach C, Jackson SE, Leiter MP (eds) The Maslach Burnout Inventory-Test Manual, 3rd edn. Consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alto, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • Sherony KM, Green SG (2002) Coworker exchange: relationship between coworkers, leader-member exchange, and work attitude. J Appl Psychol 87(3):542–548

    Google Scholar 

  • Siebert DC, Siebert CF, Taylor-McLaughlin A (2008) Susceptibility to emotional contagion. J Soc Ser Res 33(3):47–56

    Google Scholar 

  • Takeuchi R, Yun S, Wong KFE (2011) Social influence of a coworker: a test of the effect of employee and coworker exchange ideologies on employees’ exchange qualities. Organ Behav Hum Dec Proc 115(2):226–237

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas CH, Lankau MJ (2007) Preventing burnout: the effects of LMX and mentoring on socialization, role stress, and burnout. Hum Resour Manag 48(3):417–432

    Google Scholar 

  • Torrente P, Salanova M, Llorens S (2013) Spreading engagement: on the role of similarity in the positive contagion of team work engagement. J Work Organ Psychol 29(3):153–159

    Google Scholar 

  • Ustrov Y, Valverde M, Ryan G (2016) Insights into emotional contagion and its effects at the hotel front desk. Intl J Conte Hosp Manag 28(10):2285–2309

    Google Scholar 

  • Verbeke W (1997) Individual differences in emotional contagion of salespersons: its effect on performance and burnout. Psychol Mark 14(6):617–636

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang EST (2014) The effects of relationship bonds on emotional exhaustion and turnover intentions in frontline employees. J Ser Mark 28(4):319–330

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiss HM, Cropanzano R (1996) Affective events theory: a theoretical discussion of the structure, causes and consequences of affective experiences at work. In: Staw BM, Cummings LL (eds) Res Organ Behav: Ann Series Analytical Essays and Critical Rev. JAI Press, CT, pp 1–74

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Y, Guo Y, Newman A (2017) Identity judgements, work engagement and organizational citizenship behavior: the mediating effects based on group engagement model. Tour Manag 61:190–197

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhou Y, Lu J, Liu X, Zhang P, Chen W (2014) Effects of core self-evaluations on the job burnout of nurses: the mediator of organizational commitment. PLoS ONE 9(4):1–4

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hyo Sun Jung.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Appendix

Appendix

1.1 Emotional contagion (six items)

  • The people around me have a great influence on my mood.

  • I become nervous if others around me seem to be nervous.

  • I often find that I can remain cool in spite of the excitement around me.®

  • I am able to remain calm even though those around me worry.®

  • I tend to lose control when I am bringing bad news to people.

  • I am very sensitive in picking up other people’s feelings.

1.2 Burnout (five items)

  • At my work, I feel confident that I am effective at getting things done.

  • I feel burned out from my work.

  • I feel emotionally drained from my work.

  • I feel frustrated by my job.

  • Working with people all day is really a strain for me.

1.3 CWX (five items)

  • My coworker understands my job needs.

  • I feel close to my coworkers.

  • My coworker would personally use his/her power to help me solve my work problems.

  • My working relationship with coworkers is extremely effective.

  • I always know how satisfied my coworker is with what I do.

1.4 LMX (five items)

  • My working relationship with my supervisor is better than average.

  • I feel close to my supervisor.

  • My supervisor and I see things the same way.

  • I speak often with my supervisor about job-related issues.

  • My supervisor and I speak with each other about issues not related to work.

1.5 Employees’ collective commitment (five items)

  • I feel a strong sense of belongingness to my organization.

  • My organization has a great deal of personal meaning for me.

  • I really feel as if this organization’s problems are my own.

  • I feel “emotionally attached” to my organization.

  • I enjoy discussing about my organization with people outside it.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Jung, H.S., Yoon, H.H. Emotional contagion and collective commitment among leaders and team members in deluxe hotel. Serv Bus 13, 737–754 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11628-019-00403-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11628-019-00403-7

Keywords

Navigation