Empowering supervision and service sabotage: A moderated mediation model based on conservation of resources theory

In this study, we examine the relationship between empowering supervision and service sabotage by hospitality service employees. Drawing on conservation of resources theory, we explain the mediating role of work engagement. In addition, we further investigate the moderating role of general self-efficacy in strengthening the relationship between empowering supervision and work engagement. Using time-lagged data from eleven hotels in China, we found that, by enhancing work engagement, empowering supervision negatively influenced service employees' service sabotage. Furthermore, our findings suggested that general self-efficacy strengthened both the direct effect of empowering supervision on work engagement and the indirect effect of empowering supervision on service sabotage via work engagement such that the relationships were stronger when general self-efficacy was high rather than low. Based on the study findings, theoretical and managerial implications and future research directions are discussed.