Emotional intelligence and adaptability – Service encounters between casino hosts and premium players

The premium player segment has been widely acknowledged as the largest single contributor to casino revenues. So-called casino hosts are an important influence on player perceptions of service quality and ultimately on loyalty and casino profitability in their capacity as service representatives servicing this segment. To date little research has investigated the relationship between casino hosts and premium players. This study focused on service encounters between casino hosts and premium players, particularly in the case of relationships between emotional intelligence, adaptability and the service performance of casino hosts. A mediation model involving these constructs was proposed and tested, drawing upon theory and the relationship that has been established between basic personality traits and surface traits. In the current study emotional intelligence was identified as a basic personality trait, and adaptability is viewed as a surface trait. The results arising from a structural equation analysis confirmed the validity of the mediation model and found that the inclusion of adaptability as a mediator into the relationship between emotional intelligence and service performance provided a greater proportion of variance than a model which excluded mediation. Based on the research findings implications for researchers and practitioners were outlined.