Internal Branding in Hotels: Interaction Effects of Employee Engagement, Workplace Friendship, and Organizational Citizenship Behavior

Hazem Ahmed Khairy (), Mohamed Fathy Agina, Nadir Aliane and Mohammed Ezzat Hashad
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Hazem Ahmed Khairy: Department of Hotel Management, Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, University of Sadat City, Sadat City 32897, Egypt
Mohamed Fathy Agina: Hotel Management Department, Higher Institute for Specific Studies, Heliopolis, Cairo 11771, Egypt
Nadir Aliane: Management Department, College of Business Administration, King Faisal University, Hofuf 31982, Saudi Arabia
Mohammed Ezzat Hashad: Department of Hotel Management, Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, University of Sadat City, Sadat City 32897, Egypt

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 5, 1-16

Abstract: This study aimed to investigate three variables that may interact with internal branding (IB) in the hotel context: employee engagement (EE), workplace friendship (WF), and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). This study adopted a survey methodology. 385 valid responses were collected from employees of 20 five-star chain hotels located in the Greater Cairo region of Egypt. The data were analyzed using PLS-SEM. The results demonstrated that there is a significant relationship between OCB and WF with EE, in addition to OCB, EE, and WF with IB. The mediating role of EE between OCB and IB, besides the moderating role of WF on the relationship between OCB and EE, was also determined. Contrary to the hypothesized model, results showed an insignificant relationship between WF and IB. This study provides a theoretical contribution to deepen the understanding of the internal branding concept in the context of the hotel industry. Practically, this research may be helpful for hotel enterprises in engendering and sustaining effective internal branding practices, which, in turn, could establish new links between internal and external hotel customers. Study limitations and potential directions for further research were also presented.

Keywords: internal branding; organizational citizenship behavior; employee engagement; workplace friendship; hotels (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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