Impact of Self‐Image Congruity of Flight Attendants on Self‐Enhancement and Customer‐Orientation: Moderating Role of Need for Cognition and Elaboration on Potential Outcomes

ABSTRACT This study examines how self‐image congruity influences self‐enhancement and customer‐oriented behavior among flight attendants, while investigating the moderating roles of need for cognition and elaboration on potential outcomes. Data from 241 South Korean flight attendants were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The results show that actual, ideal, and social self‐image congruity significantly enhance self‐enhancement, whereas ideal social self‐image congruity has no significant direct effect. Self‐enhancement positively affects customer‐oriented attitudes and behaviors. In addition, the relationship between actual self‐image congruity and self‐enhancement is stronger among individuals with higher need for cognition, while the relationship between ideal self‐image congruity and self‐enhancement is stronger among those with higher elaboration on potential outcomes. By identifying self‐enhancement as a key psychological mechanism, this study extends self‐congruity theory to professional service employees and highlights the importance of cognitive processing tendencies in identity‐based psychological processes.