How and when illegitimate tasks affect hospitality employees’ service sabotage? The roles of psychological contract breach and collectivism

Illegitimate tasks are becoming increasingly prevalent in the hospitality industry, yet their adverse effects have been largely understated. Grounded in social exchange theory, the present research explores how and when illegitimate tasks impact hospitality employee’ service sabotage. A three-wave, dual-source survey involving 215 supervisor-employee dyads from 9 hotels indicated that illegitimate tasks induced hospitality employees’ psychological contract breach, which in turn accounted for a significant increase in service sabotage. Meanwhile, employee collectivism lessened the damaging impact of illegitimate tasks on psychological contract breach and subsequent service sabotage. In light of these findings, this study provided theoretical contributions, practical implications, and suggestions for future research. • Illegitimate tasks positively affect hospitality employees’ service sabotage. • Psychological contract breach mediates the relationship betweenillegitimate tasks and service sabotage. • Collectivism lessens the impact of illegitimate tasks on psychological contract breach. • Collectivism lessens the indirect impact of illegitimate tasks on service sabotage via psychological contract breach.