Empowerment in the Hospitality Industry: an Exploration of Antecedents and Outcomes

Abstract

Does empowerment lead to positive employee outcomes? If so, to which antecedents should management turn in order to foster greater employee empow erment ? This study explored a number of potential antecedents and outcomes of empowerment among employees in the hospitality industry. A structural model was developed based on current theory and research and analyzed using structural equations modeling. The model was tested against data gathered from 182 employ ees in 33 hospitality organizations. From the data found, investments in efforts to foster psychological empowerment among hospitality employees seem worthwhile as satisfaction with promotion opportunities should rise, and turnover intentions decrease.