How, When and Why Is Job Insecurity Associated with Customer Orientation of Employees? A Mixed-Methods Investigation in the Tourism Industry

The rapid advancement of technologies and the lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated the job insecurity of tourism employees. This study aims to investigate how, when and why job insecurity is associated with customer orientation of tourism employees with different genders and industry tenures. A mixed-methods approach, encompassing a quantitative survey succeeded by a qualitative inquiry, was adopted to acquire an in-depth understanding of the study relationships. The quantitative results reveal that job insecurity is negatively and indirectly associated with customer orientation through decreased work engagement; job insecurity is also directly associated with customer orientation, but the direct path is only significant among female employees whose industry tenure is at or below the sample mean. The qualitative study then explored plausible reasons behind the quantitative results. The results enrich the understanding of the association between tourism employees’ job insecurity and its outcomes, and provide a theoretical foundation and practical guidance for differentiated management strategies for motivating tourism employees under the current prevailing atmosphere of job insecurity.