Su Jin Han

This study was designed to examine how important a balance between exploitation (proximity to existing technologies, products and services) and exploration (proximity to existing consumer segments) representing innovation ambidexterity, would be for improved restaurant performance. Also investigated was whether or not innovation ambidexterity played different roles in performance with respect to stages of business life cycles represented by startup and established restaurants. Using data obtained from 317 owners and managers of independent casual dining restaurants, a nonlinear approach was adopted to test our hypotheses. Results supported the significant and positive relationship between innovation ambidexterity and restaurant performance. More specifically, balancing exploitative and exploratory innovation was significantly and positively associated with startup restaurant performance. However, its relationship with established restaurant performance was not significant. Results also confirmed that exploitative innovation was more important than exploratory innovation for startup restaurants, while exploratory innovation was more important for established restaurants.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) refers to the set of behaviors that businesses ought to or are expected to perform in a society. Many companies expect to increase profits through CSR behavior. However, it is a reasonable question to consider whether employees commit to an organization when they do not agree with the organizations’ CSR behavior. Therefore, this study explores the effect of fit between employees’ perceptions of CSR and organizations’ CSR behavior on organization commitment. This study found that the fit between employees’ perceptions and organizations’ CSR behavior has a positive effect on commitment. Among the four CSR dimensions of economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic social responsibility, all dimensions excluding philanthropic responsibility are positively related to organizational commitment. Finally, comparing the effects of fit in Korea and China the effect of fit for ethical social responsibility differed between the two countries.

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the influence of restaurant manager’s emotional intelligence (EI) and manager support on service employees’ attitudes and performance by applying affective event theory.Design/methodology/approach: The multi-level research approach incorporates three different levels of analysis: employees’ job satisfaction and service performance; manager’s EI and support; and) restaurant unit level service under pressure. Data were collected from wait staff employed in full-service restaurants in the southeastern region of the USA. This research uses the hierarchical linear model to process the survey data.Findings: The findings indicate that manager EI and support have a significant impact on employees’ job satisfaction, and further leads to high levels of service performance. The moderating effect of service under pressure between leader’s EI and employees’ job satisfaction is not statistically significant.Practical implications: Results suggest practical management implications to restaurant managers and frontline service employees. This study’s research findings imply management training and development programs should help managers regulate their own and better understand service employees’ emotions. Findings further highlight the important role manager support has upon employee’s job satisfaction and frontline service performance.Originality/value: The present study offers a comprehensive perspective to better understand the variation of employees’ job satisfaction that arises from three different sources: between individuals, between teams and between restaurants. The findings also provide new insight into EI scale development.

Purpose: This study aims to acquire a better understanding about consequences of workplace incivility upon restaurant frontline service employees caused by customers, supervisors and coworkers. The moderating roles of perceived organizational support (POS) and emotion regulation ability (ERA) were also tested to determine the possibility for reducing the negative effect of workplace incivility upon the emotional exhaustion of restaurant frontline service employees.Design/methodology/approach: Using data obtained from 239 restaurant frontline service employees, a 35-item instrument was used to assess workplace incivility and its effects upon emotional exhaustion, perceived service performance, POS and ERA. A structural equation model was used to test hypotheses. The multi-group approach was used to investigate the moderating effects POS and ERA have upon the relationships between workplace incivility, emotional exhaustion and perceived service performance.Findings: Results documented that workplace incivility significantly increases emotional exhaustion and further leads to low levels of job service performance. Customer incivility was especially found to have the strongest power for increasing emotional exhaustion, followed by supervisor incivility. Also, results confirmed that POS and ERA play significant roles in moderating the relationships between workplace incivility, emotional exhaustion and perceived service performance. Based upon this study’s findings, theoretical and practical implications are offered for developing successful employee management strategies.Practical implications: Results suggest specific practical management implications pertaining to restaurant frontline service employees. This study’s research findings recommend the development of more efficient support programs designed to diffuse potential situations involving workplace incivility. Findings further highlight the important role employee ERA has upon the effects of incivility and frontline service performance. Implications are provided with respect to specific strategic direction management should consider to recruit and select the most appropriate employees for restaurant frontline service positions.Originality/value: The current study’s conceptual research was developed in an attempt to simultaneously address all three dimensions of workplace incivility to examine how they affect employee emotions and their job performance.