A Study of the Role of Work Engagement in Promoting Service-Oriented Organizational Citizenship Behavior in the Malaysian Hotel Sector

Buffeted by fast‐changing patterns of demand, the competitive hospitality industry requires a more precise understanding of the drivers of worker engagement that lead to high‐quality service and customer satisfaction. To that end, a study of 438 customer‐contact employees in 34 four‐ and five‐star hotels in Malaysia used a proposed research model to test the direct relationships of four human resources management practices—service training, service rewards, performance appraisal, and information sharing—with work engagement, as well as to examine the mediating role of work engagement in the relationships between the four practices and service‐oriented organizational citizenship behavior. The results showed that training and, in particular, performance appraisal programs elevate service‐oriented organizational citizenship behavior through the mediating role of work engagement. Human resource managers in the hotel industry, therefore, can enhance the engagement of—and ultimate service delivery from—their frontline employees by refining their organizations’ training and appraisal policies and practices. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. An analysis of the workplace behavior and attitudes of frontline employees in 34 upscale Malaysian hotels indicates that the key to worker engagement, and ultimately high levels of service quality, lies in training and performance appraisal practices.