Emotional labor management in e-smile service: does pay-for-performance work?

Purpose This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of the pay-for-performance scheme in enhancing emotional labor management in e-smile service, drawing on self-determination theory. The authors develop a moderated mediation model, with perceived insider status as the moderator and two performance indicators as the outcome variables. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected in two waves from 387 online customer service agents in China. Hypotheses were tested using path analysis conducted in Mplus 7.4. Findings The results indicate that pay-for-performance enhances both surface acting and deep acting in e-smile service. Surface acting positively impacts task performance, whereas deep acting enhances both task performance and proactive customer service performance. Furthermore, perceived insider status weakens the mediating effect of surface acting between pay-for-performance and task performance. Originality/value This study sheds light on how pay-for-performance influences surface acting and deep acting emotional labor strategies through the dual pathways of control and autonomy. It highlights the effectiveness of pay-for-performance in managing emotional labor and promoting performance in the online service context, offering fresh insights that contrast findings from traditional face-to-face service settings.