The influence of perceived organizational exploitation on frontline hospitality employees’ workplace deviance: an organizational justice perspective

Purpose Drawing on organizational justice theory, this study aims to investigate how perceived organizational exploitation induces frontline hospitality employees’ organizational and interpersonal deviance. Specifically, this study explored the mediating effect of distributive and procedural justice, as well as the moderating effect of justice sensitivity. Design/methodology/approach The focal research analyzed multiphase survey data from 267 frontline service employees with structural equation modeling. Findings The results revealed that perceived organizational exploitation induced frontline hospitality employees’ organizational and interpersonal deviance through their perceptions of distributive and procedural justice. Moreover, employees’ justice sensitivity amplified perceived organizational exploitation’s harmful impact on justice perceptions and its conditional influence on organizational and interpersonal deviance. Practical implications Organizations should take actions to reduce the occurrence of exploitation to prevent employees’ workplace deviance behaviors. Moreover, organizations can foster employees’ justice perceptions and take care of employees with strong justice sensitivity to reduce the destructive behaviors triggered by organizational exploitation. Originality/value By investigating frontline employees’ workplace deviant behaviors, this research identifies new outcomes of exploitation by hospitality organizations. Moreover, the research contributes by offering a justice-based perspective to understand the effects of perceived organizational exploitation. Furthermore, this research helps identify a new boundary condition of being exploited by organizations.