This study seeks to investigate intergroup anxiety and self-presentation as two competing mechanisms that explain how negative meta-stereotypes (NMSs) influence turnover intention and to explore how a sense of power moderates these effects.
One cross-sectional survey and one scenario-based experiment were conducted. Structural equation modeling was utilized to analyze data from the cross-sectional survey, while PROCESS modeling was applied in the scenario-based experiment.
Hotel employees’ NMSs increased turnover intention through intergroup anxiety rather than self-presentation. Additionally, a sequential mediation was observed, whereby NMSs heighten intergroup anxiety, reducing self-presentation and increasing turnover intention. Furthermore, hotel employees having higher power over customers showed greater resilience to NMSs, experienced less intergroup anxiety, and thus engaged in more proactive self-presentation.
Managers should implement strategies such as promoting positive meta-stereotypes, encouraging deeper employee–customer interactions and adopting empowering leadership practices.
The findings enrich our understanding of the psychological mechanism by which NMSs influence hotel employees’ turnover intentions. Furthermore, our findings make contributions by modeling a sense of power as a boundary condition for such effects.
