Building Sustainable Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Hospitality: Structural Relationships of Rapport, Trust, and Psychological Capital Among Airline Cabin Crew

This study examines the structural relationships among rapport, trust, psychological capital (PsyCap), and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) in the emotionally demanding work context of airline cabin crews. Grounded in the job demands–resources (JD-R) model and social exchange theory (SET), we propose and test a sequential mediation model in which rapport is positively associated with trust, trust is positively associated with PsyCap, and PsyCap is positively associated with OCB. Based on survey data from 248 South Korean flight attendants, structural equation modeling (SEM) demonstrates that rapport is indirectly associated with OCB through the sequential mediation of trust and PsyCap, rather than displaying a significant direct association. The findings indicate that rapport functions not merely as an immediate behavioral driver but as a relational asset that is linked to the psychological capacities essential for sustainable organizational behavior. This study contributes to the theory by integrating JD-R and SET perspectives to explain how relational and psychological resources are jointly related to OCB. While the primary focus was on mediation, future research should test potential moderation effects, such as how job demands or emotional labor may shape the strength of these pathways—aligning with the JD-R model’s interactive assumptions. Practically, the results suggest that airline organizations and other service industries can promote sustainable human resource management by cultivating trust-based relational capital and strengthening employees’ PsyCap through targeted training, mentoring, and supportive leadership practices. These insights extend beyond aviation to other service sectors characterized by high emotional labor demands, offering a pathway to strengthen human resource sustainability and organizational social sustainability.