Relationship between Emotional Labor and Customer Orientation among Airline Service Employees: Mediating Role of Depersonalization

Drawing on Hobfoll's conservation of resources theory and Maslach's burnout theory, this study proposed and tested a conceptual model depicting relationships among the two forms of emotional labor strategies, depersonalization and customer orientation (CO). The model also examined the mediating role of depersonalization in the relationship between emotional labor and CO. Multigroup analyses were conducted to examine moderating effects of job position and job responsibility. Data obtained from cabin crews, airport service staff, and call center representatives working for an airline company in Korea were used to gauge these relationships. Results of structural equation modeling revealed that deep acting affects CO positively while surface acting affects CO negatively. The results further suggest that these relationships are mediated by both reduced and increased depersonalization, and the strength of the direct relationships may differ by employee position and area of service work. Theoretical and management implications are discussed based on the findings.