Examining the cross-level mechanisms of the influence of supervisors’ job crafting on frontline employees’ engagement and performance

Purpose: Frontline employees’ proactive behaviors (i.e. job crafting) are critical to satisfying customers’ idiosyncratic needs. If the supervisors practice job crafting, their subordinates are more likely to mimic such behaviors. However, there has been limited research on how leaders’ job crafting can influence subordinates’ job crafting. This study aims to examine the cross-level mechanisms (i.e. trickle-down effects) of supervisors’ job crafting on the subordinates’ attitudes and performance. Specifically, such trickle-down effects can be explained via two cross-level mechanisms of the supervisors’ job crafting on the subordinates’ work engagement and performance: social learning mechanism and job demands-resources mechanism. Design/methodology/approach: A three-wave cross-lagged study was conducted in two-week intervals. The valid responses from 67 supervisors and their 201 subordinates were collected. The data set was analyzed using multilevel Structural Equation Modeling. Findings: The results demonstrated that the social learning and job demands-resources mechanisms are not independent. The supervisor’s job crafting improves employment relationships, subsequently encourages subordinates’ job crafting and ultimately enhances work engagement and work performance. Practical implications: The findings suggested that hospitality organizations should encourage job crafting among supervisors and managers. A proactive hotel manager can establish strong employment relationships, motivate subordinates to work proactively and obtain positive work outcomes. Originality/value: The findings enrich the knowledge about the trickle-down effects of supervisors on subordinates in terms of job-crafting behaviors. In particular, this study found a new theoretical perspective that the job demands-resources and social learning mechanisms may not be independent, and the subordinates’ perception of the employment relationship plays a critical role.