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Hell Is Empty, and All the Devils Are Here: Nexus between Toxic Leadership, Crisis Communication, and Resilience in COVID-19 Tourism

Author

Listed:
  • Inhyouk Koo

    (Endicott College of International Studies (ECIS), Woosong University, Daejeon 34606, Korea)

  • Mahwish Anjam

    (College of Business Studies, Al-Ghurair University, Dubai 37374, United Arab Emirates)

  • Umer Zaman

    (Endicott College of International Studies (ECIS), Woosong University, Daejeon 34606, Korea)

Abstract

Sustainable travel has been redefined by the pandemic, as tourism destinations continue their struggle to stay resilient and vibrant. The COVID-19 crisis has fueled a lackluster performance and declined tourism growth worldwide while imposing serious threats to employees’ resilience across the globe. However, little is known about the interaction between the global tourism crisis and employees’ resilience in toxic leadership environments. To augment the existing understanding of the way employee resilience unfolds to respond to a crisis under toxic leadership, we draw on predictive research involving the UAE tourism industry. The UAE’s economy was forced to shrink largely due to its long-lasting dependency on inbound tourism. Hence, the study data were collected from 412 employees working in the hospitality and tourism industry in the UAE. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the impact of toxic leadership on crisis communication and employees’ resilience in the UAE’s tourism industry. The results showed that both employee resilience and crisis communication are negatively influenced by toxic leadership in COVID-19 tourism. Furthermore, crisis communication positively influences employee resilience, and significantly mediates its relationship with toxic leadership. Interestingly, the findings suggest that the toxic work culture constantly blurs the lines of communication, and, ultimately, the contagious behavior of toxic leaders overwhelms the resilience of employees while they respond to a crisis. The theoretical and practical implications of this research are not confined to toxic leadership; however, the strategies to nurture crisis communication and employee resilience for sustainable tourism are presented in an evolutionary perspective based on the conservation of resources theory.

Suggested Citation

  • Inhyouk Koo & Mahwish Anjam & Umer Zaman, 2022. "Hell Is Empty, and All the Devils Are Here: Nexus between Toxic Leadership, Crisis Communication, and Resilience in COVID-19 Tourism," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-19, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:17:p:10825-:d:901980
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Adedapo Oluwaseyi Ojo & Olawole Fawehinmi & Mohd Yusoff Yusliza, 2021. "Examining the Predictors of Resilience and Work Engagement during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-18, March.
    2. Samma Faiz Rasool & Mansi Wang & Minze Tang & Amir Saeed & Javed Iqbal, 2021. "How Toxic Workplace Environment Effects the Employee Engagement: The Mediating Role of Organizational Support and Employee Wellbeing," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-17, February.
    3. Wei-Li Wu & Yi-Chih Lee, 2020. "Do Work Engagement and Transformational Leadership Facilitate Knowledge Sharing? A Perspective of Conservation of Resources Theory," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-17, April.
    4. Chen, Hong & Liu, Bei & Li, Yi & Cai, Yujie, 2022. "The relationship between negative life events and resilience among Chinese service employees: Nonlinearly moderated by lifestyle habits," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    5. Umer Zaman & Syed Hassan Raza & Saba Abbasi & Murat Aktan & Pablo Farías, 2021. "Sustainable or a Butterfly Effect in Global Tourism? Nexus of Pandemic Fatigue, COVID-19-Branded Destination Safety, Travel Stimulus Incentives, and Post-Pandemic Revenge Travel," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-21, November.
    6. Umer Zaman & Stuart J. Barnes & Saba Abbasi & Mahwish Anjam & Murat Aktan & Muddasar Ghani Khwaja, 2022. "The Bridge at the End of the World: Linking Expat’s Pandemic Fatigue, Travel FOMO, Destination Crisis Marketing, and Vaxication for “Greatest of All Trips”," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-21, February.
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