Does inclusive leadership influence task performance of hospitality industry employees? Role of psychological empowerment and trust in leader

Saeed Siyal; Jin Liu; Long Ma; Kalpina Kumari; Maria Saeed; Chunlin Xin; Sonia Najam Hussain

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15507

Does inclusive leadership influence task performance of hospitality industry employees? Role of psychological empowerment and trust in leader

Heliyon. 2023 Apr 24;9(5):e15507. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15507. eCollection 2023 May.

Authors

Saeed Siyal¹, Jin Liu², Long Ma³, Kalpina Kumari⁴, Maria Saeed², Chunlin Xin¹, Sonia Najam Hussain⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Economics and Management, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029 PR China.
² School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081 PR China.
³ Business School of Central South University, Changsha 410083 PR China.
⁴ Jinnah Sindh Medical University, Karachi 75510 Pakistan.
⁵ Sukkur IBA University, Sukkur 65200 Pakistan.

Abstract

Drawing on the social exchange theory, this research advances the understanding of leadership and task performance in the hospitality industry in China by exploring the impact of inclusive leadership on the task performance of subordinates working in dyadic forms. The current literature is scarce on the role of leadership in increasing the task performance of employees working in teams in dyadic forms. Multi-level sample of 410 leaders-subordinates in the hospitality industry was used to derive the research findings using PLS-SEM. The results indicated a positive influence of inclusive leadership on the task performance of subordinates. Psychological empowerment mediated this direct relationship. In addition, trust in leaders strengthened the direct link of inclusive leadership with task performance and psychological empowerment. The findings demonstrate that leaders in the hospitality industry should adopt an inclusive leadership style as it contributes to employee task performance, which improves the industry's performance.

Keywords: COVID-19; Hospitality industry; Inclusive leadership; Psychological empowerment; Task performance; Trust in leader.