The linkage of frontline employees’ neuroticism, rumination and negative affect: a moderated moderated mediation model

Purpose Drawing on response style theory and conservation of resources theory, this study aims to examine how neuroticism indirectly influences negative affect via rumination, and whether this mediating effect is moderated directly by individual resources (i.e. emotion regulation) and indirectly by social resources (i.e. perceived organizational support [POS]). Design/methodology/approach A total of 181 valid responses were collected using two-wave self-reported questionnaires in Taiwan, and the research hypotheses were tested using partial least squares regression. Findings The results showed that when both emotion regulation and POS are low, neuroticism has a positive indirect effect on negative affect via rumination. However, this effect weakens or becomes insignificant under other conditions. Originality/value The findings of this study offer a more in-depth examination of the relationships among the traits, rumination, negative affect and both internal and external resources of frontline employees in the service industries. Neuroticism, as a personality trait, is not easily changed. Therefore, helping frontline employees at service sites improve their rumination, training them to regulate their emotions and enhancing the POS can be useful strategies for managers and human resource departments to pursue.