Investigating the interplay between emotional labor, innovative work behavior and service recovery performance among frontline employees in the telecommunication sector of Pakistan

Purpose The purpose of the present study is to examine the influence of innovative work behavior (IWB) on service recovery performance (SRP) with the intervention of emotional labor (EL) among frontline employees of Pakistan’s telecommunications sector. Design/methodology/approach Based on a positivist philosophy, the quantitative research design was considered suitable for attaining the intended research objectives. Data were collected purposively from 412 frontline employees from four mobile cellular companies in Pakistan using structured questionnaires. The hypothesized model was tested using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 25 with an extension of Process Model 4 and Smart PLS 4. Findings The results showed a significant positive relation between IWB and SRP. In addition, IWB positively influences the first dimension of EL, which is deep acting (DA), whereas it negatively relates to surface acting (SA) in another dimension. Furthermore, SA was also found to be negatively associated with SRP. On the contrary, the study found no significant relation between DA and SRP. The mediating results show that the relationship of DA was significant between IWB and SRP, whereas SA is insignificant between IWB and SRP. Originality/value The study focused on the intervening role of EL among IWB and SRP in Pakistan’s telecom sector. The use of IWB as an influencer on EL to predict SRP is relatively less studied. The research critically examines the influence of IWB on EL and how IWB regulates frontline employees’ emotions and vice versa. The study provides a new perspective and challenges existing assumptions to the management and authorities to revisit their work roles, settings and performance indicators for frontline employees in the telecom sector.