Supervisor incivility and employee withdrawal in the tourism sector

Abstract

Abstract The issue of workplace incivility is becoming more prevalent in service-oriented industries due to its negative effects on employee well-being and organizational performance. However, previous research has primarily examined isolated outcomes of supervisor incivility, providing a limited understanding of the psychological mechanism and cultural boundary conditions through which perceived supervisor incivility (PSI) influences multiple employee withdrawal behaviours, particularly in the tourism sector. This study investigates the effects of PSI on employee withdrawal behaviours in the tourism sector, with emotional exhaustion (EEX) as a mediating mechanism and power distance orientation (PDO) as a moderating factor. Data were collected from 253 frontline tourism employees in China and analyzed through PLS-SEM. The findings reveal that PSI is positively associated with EEX, which is associated with higher levels of turnover intention (TIN), service sabotage behaviour (SSB), and psychological withdrawal (PSW). Furthermore, PDO positively moderates the relationship between PSI and EEX. By integrating EEX and PDO within a single theoretical framework, this study advances understanding of how supervisory incivility is associated with employee withdrawal behaviours in tourism organizations. The findings provide theoretical insights into workplace incivility and offer practical implications for tourism organizations seeking to promote healthier and more sustainable work environments.