How abusive leadership could harm employee job performance in hospitality and tourism businesses? The roles of social loafing and anti-citizenship behavior

Leadership is vital in the hospitality industry, influencing employee performance, guest satisfaction, and overall success, but abusive leadership, marked by hostile verbal and non-verbal behavior, can severely damage employee performance. Therefore, this study utilized the Social Exchange Theory as a framework to explain how abusive leadership, social loafing, and anti-citizenship behavior are interconnected in the workplace. More specifically, this study attempts to examine the impact of abusive leadership (AL) on employee job performance (EJP). It also aims to explore the mediating roles of social loafing (SL) and team anti-citizenship behavior (TAB) in the relationship between AL and EJP. This research utilized the PLS-SEM method and collected data by questionnaire from 408 sampled employees working in five-star hotels and travel agencies in the Greater Cairo region in Egypt. The results show that abusive leadership significantly decreases employee job performance. In addition, abusive leadership significantly increases social loafing and team anti-citizenship behavior. Furthermore, EJP is negatively affected by SL and TAB. The results also confirm that SL and TAB significantly mediate the relationship between AL and EJP. This study enhances the application of Social Exchange Theory (SET) in workplaces, enhances understanding of AL, SL, and TAB's roles in Egyptian settings, and enriches existing theories in AL, SL, TAB, and EJP. This study also offers practical insights for scholars and professionals to enhance employee performance, thus gaining a competitive edge.