How and why does inner resignation (quiet quitting) impact service innovation behavior? A moderator role of ethical leadership

Tourism enterprises are labor-intensive, and the service innovation behavior of employees plays an important role in keeping these enterprises ahead of their competitors. Inner resignation (IR) is a relatively new concept in organizational life, and it is a situation that should be prevented due to its negative impact on the organization. In this study, the moderating role of ethical leadership (EL) in reducing the negative effect of inner resignation on service innovation behavior (SIB) was examined with a cross-cultural comparison for Turkish and German tourism employees. A total of 743 employees working in hotels in Turkey and Germany were surveyed using a questionnaire. The results of the research show that employees’ inner resignation has a negative impact on their service innovation behavior. On the other hand, ethical leadership plays a moderating role in the effect of inner resignation on service innovating behavior. The moderator role of ethical leadership perceptions in this relationship was also examined separately for German and Turkish employees due to cultural differences. While the moderating role of ethical leadership in the effect of German employees’ inner resignation on service innovating behavior was found to be statistically significant, this role was found to be insignificant for Turkish employees.