The effect of supervisors and employees' ethics and organizational support on proactive performance: moderated mediation model in two studies

Purpose This study combines social learning theory and social exchange theory to examine how organizational support (OS) moderates the indirect relationship between ethical leadership (EL) and proactive customer service performance (PCSP). Two mediators, counterproductive work behavior (CWB) and moral identity, are explored in this relationship. Design/methodology/approach The two studies employed the PROCESS models to evaluate the hypotheses. Each study used distinct methodologies. Study 1 sample consisted of 414 employees from the tourism industry. Study 2 adopted a sample from 440 supervisor-subordinate dyads in the hospitality sector. Findings The findings support all hypotheses except that OS moderates the association between EL and moral identity only in the tourism context. Practical implications The findings reveal that EL's effect is insufficient to reduce employees' CWB. This research suggests implementing integrated leadership and OS programs to mitigate CWB in service organizations. Originality/value This paper presents new insights into integrating the effects of EL and OS to boost employees' behaviors and PCSP in the tourism and hospitality sectors.