A CSR Perspective to Drive Employee Creativity in the Hospitality Sector: A Moderated Mediation Mechanism of Inclusive Leadership and Polychronicity

Jiajing Shao, Jacob Cherian, Li Xu, Muhammad Zaheer, Sarminah Samad, Ubaldo Comite, Liana Mester and Daniel Badulescu
Additional contact information
Jiajing Shao: Economics and Management School, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
Jacob Cherian: College of Business, Abu Dhabi University, Abu Dhabi 59911, United Arab Emirates
Li Xu: Economics and Management School, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
Muhammad Zaheer: Department of Management Sciences, Faculty of Management, Virtual University of Pakistan, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Sarminah Samad: Department of Business Administration, College of Business and Administration, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia
Ubaldo Comite: Department of Business Sciences, University Giustino Fortunato, 82100 Benevento, Italy
Liana Mester: Department of International Business, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Oradea, 410087 Oradea, Romania

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 10, 1-22

Abstract: The hospitality sector, especially the hotel business, is at a crossroads. Dynamic business environments, rivalries, and isomorphisms in service operations are significant challenges for hotel enterprises. Fostering employee creativity is undoubtedly something that can well position a hotel in the face of competition. Research shows that corporate social responsibility (CSR) perceptions of employees for an enterprise can motivate them to be engaged in creativity. At the same time, it has also been mentioned that corporate leaders could significantly influence the behavior of employees. Nevertheless, employee creativity in a CSR framework has not been well-explored in a hospitality context. Moreover, the role of leadership, especially inclusive leadership styles, has been less discussed to spur employee creativity from a CSR perspective. To bridge the above knowledge gaps, this study investigates the relationship between CSR and employee creativity with the mediating effect of inclusive leadership in the hotel industry of a developing economy. Moreover, the conditional indirect effect of employee polychronicity was also tested in the proposed mediated relationship. For data collection, an adapted questionnaire was taken into consideration by employing a paper–pencil method ( n = 427). A hypothetical model was refined and validated through structural equation modeling (SEM). The results confirmed that CSR can drive employee creativity significantly, and inclusive leadership partially mediates this relationship. It was also realized that polychronicity has a significant conditional indirect effect on the above-mediated relationship. These outcomes contribute to improvements in the hotel management, as well-designed CSR activities both improve the hotel’s image as an ethical enterprise and increase creativity among employees.

Keywords: CSR; hospitality; inclusive leadership; employee creativity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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