Leadership and followers' voice behavior in hospitality and tourism industry: mapping the state of the art trends and future direction

Purpose This study investigates the knowledge structure surrounding leadership styles and employee voice behavior within the hospitality and tourism sector. The primary objective is to offer a comprehensive overview of global research trends in this domain through a bibliometric analysis. Design/methodology/approach A total of 746 relevant publications were retrieved from the Web of Science database. To achieve the study's objective, two science mapping techniques, bibliographic coupling and co-word analysis, were employed. VOSviewer (version 1.6.18) was utilized as a visualization tool to map and interpret the research network effectively. Findings Results reveal that the first study on the topic appeared in 1998, but scholarly interest remained limited in the following years. Research activity resumed in 2001 and began gaining traction in 2004, with a steady rise in publications leading up to a peak in 2024. Current and emerging trends based on bibliographic coupling relate to employee voice for sustainable innovation in tourism and hospitality. In contrast, future trends based on co-word analysis relate to leadership dynamics and employee voice in enhancing organizational performance. Research limitations/implications The present study offers valuable practical insights for the hospitality and tourism industry by emphasizing the significance of cultivating supportive leadership that encourages employee voice, thereby enhancing performance and innovation. Nonetheless, it recognizes certain limitations that may constrain the breadth of its findings. Originality/value This study advances social exchange theory in the tourism and hospitality literature by showing that supportive and fair leadership encourages employee voice behavior, which subsequently enhances service quality, innovation and organizational performance. Additionally, it contributes to the growing body of research by examining the relationship between leadership and employee voice behavior in the hospitality and tourism sector through a quantitative and visually oriented bibliometric approach.