Unwilling or Unable? The Impact of Role Clarity and Job Competence on Frontline Employees’ Taking Charge Behaviors in Hospitality Industry

Hotels expect front-line staff to demonstrate greater flexibility and proactively take on more responsibility beyond their job duties, which helps to provide better customer service in an environment of uncertainty and change. Accordingly, employees' taking charge behaviors have received widespread attention in academia and practice. Through a three-wave online survey of 352 front-line employees and their supervisors from 13 high-star hotels in the Greater Bay Area of China, this study examined the influence mechanisms of role clarity and job competence on the employees' taking charge behavior and the moderating effect of supervisor developmental feedback. The findings indicate that frontline employees' role clarity and job competence can enhance taking charge behavior by increasing their organization-based self-esteem. It empirically validates Proactive Motivation Theory and clarifies that employees' proactive engagement in extra-role responsibilities depends not only on their willingness but also on sufficient competence and a clear understanding of their job roles. Supervisor developmental feedback is more acceptable to employees as a form of informational support and can enhance the impact of role clarity and job competence on frontline employees' taking charge behaviors.