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Purpose

Based on the self-regulation perspective, the current research examines how authoritarian leadership behaviors influence employee service performance via work engagement.

Design/methodology/approach

We collected multi-source data from 820 service employees and 211 supervisors in star-rated hotels.

Findings

We found a U-shaped effect of authoritarian leadership on employee work engagement, and that work engagement transmitted the curvilinear effects of authoritarian leadership to service performance indicators (i.e. service quality and customer-oriented organizational citizenship behavior). Furthermore, employee proactive personality mitigated the U-shaped effect of authoritarian leadership on work engagement and the indirect U-shaped effects of authoritarian leadership on service performance indicators through work engagement.

Originality/value

This study highlights the potential detrimental effect of moderate authoritarian leadership in service contexts and enriches the understanding of the nonlinear effects of authoritarian leadership.

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