Job crafting behavior of hotel employees: examining the effects of Pygmalion leadership, employees’ internal locus of control and creative self-confidence

Purpose This study aimed to examine the mediating effects of internal locus of control and creative self-confidence on the effect Pygmalion leadership has on the job crafting behavior of hotel employees. Design/methodology/approach The partial least squares structural equation modeling procedure were followed to analyze the study data (n = 355). The model was first specified in the statistical software, and the measurement and structural models were assessed to ensure that they meet the minimum quality criteria before the significance of the hypothesized paths was assessed. Findings Pygmalion leadership significantly affected internal locus of control (B = 0.507, p < 0.001) and creative self-confidence (B = 0.547, p < 0.001) of the hotel employees. Internal locus of control (B = 0.246, p < 0.05) and creative self-confidence (B = 0.575, p < 0.001) significantly affected the employees’ job crafting behavior. Also, the effect of Pygmalion leadership on job crafting behavior of the employees was fully mediated by internal locus of control (B = 0.125, p < 0.05) and creative self-confidence (B = 0.315, p < 0.001). Practical implications Management of hotels could implement interventions that will make supervisors adopt Pygmalion leadership skills because it enhances employees’ psychological resources and job crafting behavior that culminate in meeting customer needs. Employees could be encouraged to enhance their psychological resources to be able to meet customer demands. Originality/value This study is one of the few that explores job crafting as an outcome variable in the hospitality sector, which deepens our theoretical understanding of the predictors of job crafting. By focusing on Pygmalion leadership, this study emphasizes an important yet understudied leadership style in the hospitality sector and reveals the psychological mechanisms through which it affects employee behavior.