From shared leadership to proactive customer service performance: a multilevel investigation

Purpose This study aims to develop and examine a cross-level model of the link between shared leadership and hotel employees’ proactive customer service performance (PCSP) by investigating employees’ harmonious passion as a mediator and employees’ traditionality as a moderator. Design/methodology/approach The hypotheses were tested using hierarchical linear modeling based on multilevel data from 353 frontline service employees in 148 teams across 10 Chinese hotels. Findings The results revealed that shared leadership promoted frontline service employees’ PCSP by enhancing their harmonious passion. Moreover, when employees traditionality was high, harmonious passion was less influenced by shared leadership. When employees traditionality was low, shared leadership exerted a more positive influence on harmonious passion. In addition, harmonious passion mediated the interactive effect of shared leadership and traditionality on frontline service employees’ PCSP. Practical implications The findings suggest that organizations should cultivate shared leadership to promote frontline service employees’ PCSP. Organizations should also seek to enhance employees’ harmonious passion and foster a low-traditionality environment with the aim of maximizing the positive influence of shared leadership. Originality/value First, this research expands the leadership-PCSP literature by shifting the research focus from vertical leadership to shared leadership. Second, it offers a novel framework based on self-determination theory to clarify the influence of shared leadership on PCSP. Finally, the focus on the moderating impact of traditionality identifies a new contextual factor that influences the effectiveness of shared leadership.