The impact of hotel employee satisfaction on hospitability performance

Purpose − The hospitality industry is characterized by the complexity of managing guest experiences, which forces human resources managers to find new ways of managing relationships with employees and guests. Good relations in an organization (often displayed by organizational culture) are the main incentive for stimulating positive behavior among employees. The purpose of this paper is to examine factors related to employee satisfaction and hospitality in order to understand positive behavior in organizations. Design – Regarding the theory assumptions, the research tests premises about causal relationship between exogenous (3 types of satisfaction inside the organization) and endogenous variables (employee hospitality). Methodology − For the purposes of this paper, quantitative research methods were applied to a sample of 266 questionnaires filled out by the participants of a training program organized by the Association of Employers in Croatian Hospitality (AECH). Firstly, Exploratory Factor Analysis extracts four factors which represent four main latent variables. Results from the EFA are also tested using Confirmatory Factory Analysis. CFA specifies how well measurement variables represent a specific concept. Subsequently, structural equation modelling (SEM) is applied to test the structural connection between concepts and to define which concepts are interconnected in order to help understand the nature of those connections. Findings − this study shows the importance of satisfaction with management relations and coworker relations and their joint influence on overall job satisfaction and hospitality (positive behavior inside the organization) Originality of the research − Findings should be useful for hotel managers who aim to improve their relations with frontline employees and increase productivity.