Will hotel employees’ perception of unethical managerial behavior affect their job satisfaction? : A study of Chinese hotel employees in China

Purpose – This study aims to investigate how Chinese hotel employees (Zhejiang province in mainland China) perceive unethical managerial behavior. It targets to identify any underlying dimensions that exist among the hotel employees. This study also aims to discover any relationship between overall job satisfaction and the derived dimensions. The effects of demographic variables on employees’ job satisfaction and its relationship with unethical managerial behavior are also investigated. Recommendations are presented to hoteliers and human resources practitioners on developing an ethical climate in the hotel industry. Design/methodology/approach – Quantitative mixed methods incorporated both in-depth interviews on identifying 20 unethical managerial behaviors among hotel employees, and statistical analyses of the dimensions of the said behaviors were applied to this research. As quantitative analysis was the principal data analysis method adopted to test the hypotheses on hotel employees’ perception of unethical managerial behavior and job satisfaction, a self-administrated questionnaire was developed. A total of 268 completed questionnaires were collected, and factor analysis, multiple regression, independent t -test and ANOVA were conducted to analyze the data. Findings – Three factors of unethical managerial behavior were developed: unethical treatment of employees; unfair and broken promises to employees; and inequity and unsympathetic treatment of employees. “Unethical treatment of employees” was found to be significantly related to overall job satisfaction among hotel employees in multiple regression analysis. Demographic differences were also found to exert effects on the three factors and overall job satisfaction. Practical implications – This paper successfully identified three underlying dimensions that exist among Chinese hotel employees’ perception of unethical managerial behavior. Three recommendations are presented to hoteliers as well as human resources practitioners for developing an ethical climate in the hotel industry. Originality/value – This study contributes to advance the understanding of the hotel employees’ perception of unethical managerial behavior. The relationship between job satisfaction and the derived three underlying dimensions is discovered.