The mediating role of work engagement on the relationship between interpersonal adaptability and dealing with uncertain and unpredictable work situations
, et | 31 janv. 2024
Article Category: Research Article
Publié en ligne: 31 janv. 2024
Pages: 142 - 153
Reçu: 18 mai 2023
Accepté: 06 sept. 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ejthr-2023-0012
Mots clés
© 2023 Suat Akyürek et al., published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
It is imperative for enterprises to swiftly respond to the dynamic nature of customer demands and preferences in order to optimise customer satisfaction and gain a competitive edge. Organisations have realised that to survive in an ever-changing marketplace, they must develop unique dynamic characteristics that improve their competitive advantage (Diamantidis & Chatzoglou, 2019). Human performance is one of the dimensions that organisations cultivate in order to ensure their sustainability (Li et al., 2019), and they rely on high-quality human resources – skilled and well-developed employees – for success. In the context of the service industry, individual and organisational adaptability is critical for addressing change and responding quickly during make-or-break moments.
Individual adaptability to changes at work refers to the viability of an individual’s reaction to unanticipated requests coming about from the novel and frequently ill-defined issues that can arise from instability, complexity, and rapid changes in work conditions (Chan, 2000). Adaptability is one of the most important factors affecting job performance and job satisfaction (Cullen et al., 2014). If employees respond well to new work requirements and needs, and can deal with uncertain and unpredictable work situations (DUWS), there may be a positive effect on their job performance (Pulakos et al., 2000).
In the rapidly evolving contemporary world, the rate of transformations we face are steadily increasing in their many forms. This demands an increased degree of flexibility in professional and social settings. Interpersonal adaptability is a psycho-social trait and refers to the aptitude of individuals in managing interpersonal engagement amidst changing at an accelerating rate circumstances. This term encompasses the fit between an individual’s interpersonal behaviours, thoughts, and emotions, and the contextual demands of interpersonal interactions, and is indicative of one’s level of fitness in these respects (Chan 2000; Oliver, 2012). Employees demonstrate adaptive performance by skilfully changing behaviour patterns to suit the imperatives of new work scenarios and conditions (Pulakos et al., 2000). Achieving effective adaptive performance necessitates employees’ proficiency in effectively managing uncertain and unpredictable work situations that may arise (Charbonnier-Voirin & Roussel, 2012).
Due to the heightened frequency and complexity of interpersonal engagements in contemporary occupational environments, scholars and professionals have taken an interest in the need for interpersonal adaptability amongst workers (Chan, 2014). Numerous scholars have addressed the concept of adaptability in the context of uncertain and unpredictable work environments (see Pulakos et al., 2000; Cullen et al., 2014; Mc Loughlin and Priyadarshini, 2021).
The engagement of an employee within their organisation is consequential to the overall benefit of all stakeholders. Highly-engaged employees contribute usefully to the improvement of their organisations with a sense of purpose and commitment. The individual abilities of these employees play an important role in increasing organisations’ success and ensuring effective and productive work. The demonstration of individual talent is critical to increasing the employees’, and therefore businesses’, performance. Employees who are engaged in their jobs consistently perform at higher levels, and such employees also facilitate innovation and push their organisations towards progress (Van Allen, 2013; Parent & Lovelace, 2018). Albrecht et al. (2015) argued that the concept of engagement constitutes a thoroughly-conceptualised and extensively-researched strategy for the acquisition, advancement and maintenance of competitive advantage. Parent and Lovelace (2018) highlighted that organisational engagement can play a significant role in facilitating an individual’s adaptability in response to changes within the organisational context.
To summarise, we offer a model, with testable propositions, on the mediating role of work engagement in the relationship between interpersonal adaptability and DUWS. This study provides an updated understanding of the mediating role of work engagement in the relationship between interpersonal adaptability and dealing with uncertain and unpredictable work situations. Figure 1 shows our research model; below, we review the literature that our model is based upon.
Figure 1:
Research model
New technologies, globalisation, and changes in jobs call for personnel to adapt to various novel situations in the workplace (Pulakos et al., 2002). As the nature of work changes quickly, employees’ ability to learn novel abilities and adapt to diverse contexts is becoming an important factor in helping organisations achieve their goals (Charbonnier-Voirin et al., 2010). The concept of adaptive behaviour in employees has attracted attention as an important concept in recent years. Employee adaptive behaviour can be defined as the deliberate alteration of service delivery and interpersonal behaviour in staff to meet customer necessities and to respond to customer demands (Gwinner et al., 2005). Adaptive performance typically includes multiple behaviours relative to distinct work environments. Examples of adaptive performance include creative problem-solving, dealing with ambiguous and unpredictable work statuses, adapting to technological novelties, and interpersonal adaptation [IA] (de Jong & de Ruyter, 2004).
IA can be considered a particularly important performance indicator in the tourism business; in the service industry, employees need to be increasingly adaptable, multidirectional, and tolerant of ambiguity in order to work effectively in changing and diverse environments. In fact, this requirement will only intensify as the pace of change continues to accelerate. Both investigators and practitioners have begun to take steps to understand and improve workplace adaptability; however, adaptability, versatility, and flexibility are notions that are not well-described in the psychological field, and thus they are hard to measure and estimate efficiently, to say nothing of educating people about them (Pulakos et al., 2006).
The tendency of workers to actively regulate themselves to suit new tasks and new environments is called adaptability (Wang et al., 2011). Ployhart and Bliese (2006) describe adaptability as “the ability, skill, disposition, motivation or willingness of an individual to change or fit different task, social, or environmental features.” Adaptability is an ambiguous construct that is claimed to be related to many different situations (Sony & Mekoth, 2016). According to Pulakos et al. (2000), adaptive performance is a multidimensional construct defined as the capacity to solve creative problems; engage in DUWS; learn new duties, technologies, and processes; and adapt interpersonally, culturally, and physically; demonstrate IA; and adjust the interpersonal format to achieve aims by working with novel teams, colleagues, or clients (Pulakos et al., 2006). When workers feel that they are compatible with their co-workers, they will be more likely to be satisfied with their work, as there will be less interpersonal conflict. In addition, high person-to-group adaptability is associated with an individual’s access to more social resources and greater support (Wang et al., 2011).
Adaptive performance is defined as the ability of workers to modify their behaviour to fulfil the requests of new environments, situations, or events (Johnson, 2001). Adaptation performance evinces the successful orientation of employees toward changes (Han & Williams, 2008). In this context, it is a particularly relevant concept to companies that encounter complicated and variable business circumstances (Charbonnier-Voirin & Roussel, 2012). At this point, the complex and variable structure of the tourism sector, and especially the food and beverage sector (Davis et al., 2018), makes the adaptation of the employees in these industries even more important. In the context of the tourism industry, according to Sony and Mekoth (2016), interpersonal adaptation is characterised as the verbal, nonverbal, and emotional adaptive behaviour that a tourism employee can demonstrate according to the customer’s needs or situation through interpersonal communication.
According to Mc Loughlin and Priyadarshini (2021), adaptability expresses employee’s capacity for change; Ployhart and Bliese (2006), meanwhile, define interpersonal adaptability as the tendency of an individual to be flexible and open-minded when coping with different people. Similarly, according to Le et al. (2022), interpersonal adaptability describes the extent to which a worker is adaptable in communicating with clients. According to Sony and Mekoth (2015), interpersonal adaptability means taking into account the opinions of others, and changing their own ideas if appropriate (Mc Loughlin & Priyadarshini, 2021). Workers may need to regulate their work according to the interpersonal requirements of their own organisation’s staff, or that of other organisations (Sony & Mekoth, 2022). In this context, interpersonal adaptation is the ability to regulate emotions, thoughts, and behaviours according to others’, in the service of meeting the situational requirements that arise when individuals interact and achieving goals (Oliver & Lievens, 2014). In other words, interpersonal adaptation is the adjustment and harmonisation of employees’ different behaviours and working styles with respect to other employees (Üstün & Büyükbaş, 2020).
Adaptability is an important component of the business-performance field (Allworth & Hesketh, 1999). Adaptive performance is defined as the capacity to learn new tasks; confidence in approaching those tasks; flexibility; and dealing well with change (Hesketh & Neal, 1999). Today, with adaptive performance becoming increasingly important in the workplace, identifying employees with the ability to adapt to changing tasks and cases can contribute to a business’s competitive advantage (Huang et al., 2014).
To develop in times of crisis and vagueness, organisations must also invest substantially in developing their employees’ skills and instilling greater adaptability, with the goal of developing adaptive performance (Olafsen et al., 2021). Adaptive performance includes the ability to work creatively and acquire new talents, the capacity to work under high-pressure conditions, and the ability to adapt to various social contexts (Pulakos et al., 2000). Adaptability is described as “the readiness to cope with the predictable tasks of preparing for and participating in the work role and with the unpredictable adjustments prompted by changes in work and working conditions” (Savickas, 1997).
The DUWS dimension measures how efficiently a worker has been in regulating their plans, aims, activities, and priorities to cope with changing situations (Mc Loughlin & Priyadarshini, 2021). In other words, the ability of employees to DUWS enables them to adapt to unpredictable conditions and take reasonable precautions to cope with them (Pulakos et al., 2002).
Increasing efficiency is a critical issue in today’s organisations (Pradhan & Jena, 2016). It is only possible when employees are committed to the job. Work engagement is a positive, satisfactory, emotionally-motivated state of work-related well-being (Bakker & Leiter, 2010). It is described as a positive, satisfying work-related state of consciousness characterised by robustness, absorption, and dedication (Schaufeli et al., 2002). Accordingly, another definition of WE refers to the optional behaviours that encourage an employee’s desire to stay at their company and the efficient functioning of the organisation, combined with their emotional commitment (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2022). As a result, a high level of work engagement in employees can improve their overall work performance (Li et al., 2012).
According to Pulakos et al. (2000), employees’ ability to DUWS is a substantial indicator of their adaptability. At this point, interpersonal adaptability is a signifier of the extent to which a worker is adaptable when communicating with customers (Le et al., 2022). According to Sony and Mekoth (2022), employee performance is an important predictor of how successful or unsuccessful a worker will be in the workplace. DUWS and IA are important indicators of employee performance (Pulakos et al., 2000; Sony & Mekoth, 2014). Considering that every employer is looking for employees who can figure out issues in an organisation (Velury, 2005), it is expected that the personnel in food and beverage businesses will have the ability to cope with ambiguous situations as well.
The ability of workers to tailor themselves to distinct and novel situations is regarded as a resource of distinction and is considered unfeasible to imitate. It also has major significance in the competitiveness of enterprises and their power to continue their existence (Üstün & Büyükbaş, 2020). Businesses that excel at adaptive behaviour will likely be the most efficient in today’s competitive market (Didin & Ben-Roy, 2017). In the context of today’s competitive market environment, interpersonal adaptability amongst food and beverage department employees is very important for the success of the food and beverage businesses. We suggest that ensuring adaptability among employees, especially in food and beverage businesses, will have a positive effect on the personnel working in this department in dealing with uncertain and unpredictable business situations.
Studies conducted in previous years have developed a common model of employee adaptability and examined its relationship with different variables (see Mc Loughlin and Priyadarshini, 2021; Sony & Mekoth, 2017; Sony & Mekoth, 2014; Charbonnier-Voirin & Roussel, 2012; Wang et al., 2011; Griffin et al., 2010; Griffin et al., 2007; Ployhart & Bliese, 2006; Gwinner et al., 2005; Pulakos et al., 2002; Pulakos et al., 2000). However, we could not find any study examining the effect of the interpersonal adaptability of employees in food and beverage businesses on coping with indefinite and unpredictable work statuses. Based on the above rationale, we hypothesised:
In today’s competitive environment, businesses prefer people who can show adaptive performance. Therefore, the adaptability of employees is becoming more and more important (Mc Loughlin & Priyadarshini, 2021). The adaptability of workers in organisations is a significant factor known to affect organisational outcomes, such as work contentment and work performance (Cullen et al., 2014; Malik & Kanwal, 2018). Moreover, employees with higher levels of interpersonal adaptability are more likely to perform co-creation behaviours in service encounters than those with lower adaptability (Le et al., 2022)
Adaptive performance and work engagement are probably positively correlated in both individual and team grades (Costa et al., 2016). Adaptive performance can be characterised as the degree to which an individual adapts to modify their job role or environment (Griffin et al., 2007). Interpersonal adaptability has a positive effect on work performance and work satisfaction (Sony & Mekoth, 2017). Adaptability means the quality of being able to modify behaviour without major hardship in adapting to new or changing conditions (Savickas, 1997). Adaptability should be positively correlated with perceived organisational assistance such that workers with top adaptability will create more positive perceptions of organisational support than employees with low adaptability. The resulting support perceptions will positively affect their work satisfaction and performance levels (Cullen et al., 2014; Pradhan & Jena, 2016). With this in mind, we propose hypothesis 2.
Work satisfaction is an important component of organisational behaviour. Employee satisfaction with the work environment has been found to be highly conducive to positive assessments of an employee’s work status and work-related behaviours (Salazar et al., 2005). There is a negative relationship between worker conflict and work satisfaction in organisations (Jung et al., 2023). Employees with low work satisfaction also have lower work engagement (Salazar et al., 2005; Schaufeli et al., 2006) and this reduces the overall performance of their organisation (Cullen et al., 2014). A high level of work engagement in workers, conversely, can have a positive effect on DUWS (Pradhan & Jena, 2016). In our study, we hypothesise that a high level of work engagement among employees in the food and beverage industry may be effective in DUWS. Hence, we propose hypothesis 3 below:
Adaptability amongst employees in organisations can be effective in DUWS (de Jong & de Ruyter, 2004). Coping with discontented customers, in particular, calls for significant motivation. Such interactions often include disagreement and restlessness, eliciting alienation and/or escape reactions in workers (Smith et al., 2010). For this reason, a high level of adaptability among employees in the food and beverage industry may be effective in resolving the factors that contribute to customer dissatisfaction.
In the workplace, workers frequently take on distinct duties in their work, which requires them to regulate their behaviour toward distinct states to meet the requirements of their work (Le et al., 2022). There is a growing consensus that employees’ adaptability affects their overall performance (Allworth & Hesketh, 1999; Johnson, 2001; Pulakos et al., 2002; Huang et al., 2014; Sony & Mekoth, 2014; Pradhan & Jena, 2016). Changing technologies can result in an ever-changing work style that employees must adapt to quickly. In particular, interconnected global economies require continual change and adaptation (e.g., meeting customers from different backgrounds who may be studying or traveling abroad). However, constructive business changes, such as unifications and acquisitions, call for employees to adapt to new environments. Adaptation therefore plays a critical role in the performance of workers and, ultimately, their organisations (Huang et al., 2014). In these circumstances, it is substantial to define the variables that mediate the effects of adaptation among employees on DUWS. Therefore, we posit that:
This study chose the food and beverage departments of hospitality enterprises due to the fact that employees in these departments have high levels of interaction both within and between departments, and because these departments are also crucial areas that supply customer needs.
This research employs quantitative methodologies to test the research hypotheses, applying path analysis on cross-sectional data that was collected using the snowball sampling technique. A total of 20 hotels were randomly selected from 106 five-star hotels registered in Kuşadası, Bodrum, Fethiye, and Serik, which are well-known tourist destinations in the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism directory. Research data was collected using online survey tools. The questionnaire prepared for online data collection was created through Google Forms. The survey link was sent to hotel employees who are friends, relatives, friends or acquaintances of the researchers using WhatsApp application. Data was obtained between August 2022 and April 2023. While Kline (1994) state that the sample size should be 10 times the number of items in the scale, Comrey and Lee (1973) suggest rating adequate sample sizes of 100 to 200 units as poor and low, and 300 and above as good. Charter (1999) recommends that at least 400 data units are required for quantitative research. In this study, 502 employees were reached within the scope of the research, and this number was considered to be sufficient.
The descriptive statistics indicate that there were more male (69.9%) than female employees. Almost half of the employees (45%) were between 18 and 29 years old, and the largest group was single. About 31.5% of employees had earned a high school diploma followed by a bachelor’s degree (26.7%) or associate degree (19.1%). With regards to work experience at their current department, 27.5% had been working between 1 and 3 years, and 25.3% had been working for less than 1 year. About 41.2% of employees had been part of the restaurant industry for more than ten years, and 31.1% for fewer than 3 years.
Interpersonal Adaptability (IA): A four-item scale developed by Charbonnier-Voirin and Roussel (2012) and adapted to Turkish by Üstün and Büyükbaş (2020) was used to measure IA. One sample item was “Developing good relationships with all my counterparts is an important factor of my effectiveness.” The Cronbach’s alpha was reported to be 0.875.
Work Engagement (WE): A nine-item scale developed by Schaufeli et al. (2006) was used to measure WE. One sample item was, “At my work, I feel that I am bursting with energy.” Cronbach’s alpha was reported to be 0.918.
Dealing with Uncertain and Unpredictable Work Situations (DUWS): A four-item scale developed by Charbonnier-Voirin and Roussel (2012) and adapted into the Turkish language by Üstün and Büyükbaş (2020) was used to measure ability to deal with uncertain and unpredictable work situations. One sample item was, “I easily reorganise my work to adapt to the new circumstances.” The Cronbach’s alpha was reported to be 0.898. A five-point Likert-type scale (1–5) was utilised.
The research model was tested by applying the structural equation modelling method with the help of SPSS/AMOS 22.0. The study was designed based on a two-step approach (Anderson & Gerbing, 1988). A two-step research design allows tests of significance for all pattern coefficients. The unidimensionality of the measures was verified with discriminant and convergent validity, and then internal consistency was demonstrated using the composite reliability assessments. Normality and multicollinearity in the developed research model were evaluated. Afterwards, the structural model was tested to determine results in relation to the hypotheses.
Before analysing the measurement model, the normality assumption was checked and an examination of multicollinearity was put forth. The normality test is performed by evaluating Skewness and Kurtosis values in SPSS. The values we obtained do not exceed the limits of −3 and +3, proving that the data has a normal distribution, as shown in Table 1 (DeCarlo, 1997).
Mean, SD, and Normality
| Interpersonal adaptability | 4.15 | 0.87 | −1.526 | 2.847 | 0.637 | 1.569 |
| Work engagement | 3.83 | 0.96 | −.892 | 0.396 | 0.637 | 1.569 |
| Dealing with uncertain and unpredictable work situations | 4.18 | 0.86 | −1.464 | 2.430 | - | - |
Multicollinearity was verified by checking the value of variation inflation factor (VIF) in SPSS. The results revealed that each of the constructs have a VIF value <2, meaning there is no multicollinearity issue in the study (Hair et al., 2011). The VIF is also presented in Table 1. Table 1 also includes the values of mean and standard deviation (SD). Interpersonal adaptability has mean = 4.15 and SD = 0.87; work engagement has mean = 3.83 and SD = 0.96; and dependent variables have mean = 4.18 and SD = 0.86.
In this research, Harman’s one-factor test was carried out to detect common method variance (CMV). This method is one of the most widely-used techniques for CMV analysis (Kim & Song, 2022; Yadav & Dhar, 2022). The total variance in a single factor was found to be below the 50% threshold, indicating that the CMV is not considered to be serious (Gui-Feng et al., 2009).
Based on the confirmatory factor analysis output, measurement model presented a good fit. The goodness-of-fit indexes utilised were (χ2/df = 2.850 (p <0.00)); Goodness of Fit Index (GFI) = 0.932; Comparative Fit Index (CFI)= 0.966; Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA)= 0.061; and Tucker Lewis Index (TLI) = 0.958, determined in the required ranges (Hair et al., 2006).
Before examining the path coefficients of the structural model, the measurement model was evaluated in terms of its validity and reliability. Reliability measures were appraised according to their composite reliability (CR). Validity of the factors was estimated using convergent and discriminant validity. The composite reliability (also known as internal consistency reliability) should exceed the value of 0.70 (Fornell & Larcker, 1981; Hair et al., 2014; Wen & Ye, 2011). Convergent validity was estimated by average variance extracted (AVE) and found to be at the recommended 0.50 level (Hair et al., 1998). As shown in Table 2, all CR and AVE values exceed the recommended threshold. Furthermore, as shown in Table 3, we also verified the discriminant validity of measurement model because the correlations between pairs of constructs did not match the AVE’s square roots (Fornell & Larcker, 1981; Hair et al., 2014).
Summary of results for reflective measurement model
| I adapt my work practices to the requirements and suggestions of others | 0.861 | 0.679 | 0.893 | 0.875 |
| I adjust my work practices if someone points out a better solution | 0.847 | |||
| I try to understand the viewpoints of my counterparts to improve my interaction with them | 0.902 | |||
| Developing good relationships with all my counterparts is an important factor of my effectiveness | 0.668 | |||
| At my work, I feel that I am bursting with energy | 0.717 | |||
| When I get up in the morning, I feel like going to work | 0.710 | |||
| At my job, I feel strong and vigorous | 0.803 | |||
| My job inspires me | 0.770 | 0.540 | 0.913 | 0.918 |
| I am enthusiastic about my job | 0.747 | |||
| I am proud of the work that I do | 0.745 | |||
| I feel happy when I am working intensely | 0.714 | |||
| I get carried away when I am working | 0.640 | |||
| I am immersed in my work | 0.761 | |||
| I quickly determine how to act to solve problems. | 0.759 | 0.678 | 0.893 | 0.898 |
| I can fully focus on the situation to act quickly | 0.820 | |||
| I easily reorganise my work to adapt to the new circumstances | 0.879 | |||
| I quickly analyse possible solutions and their effects to choose the most reasonable | 0.833 | |||
Discriminant validity
| Interpersonal Adaptability | 0.824 | ||
| Work Engagement | 0.602 | ||
| Dealing with Uncertain and Unpredictable Work Situations | 0.745 | 0.626 |
IA: Interpersonal adaptability; WE: Work engagement; DUWS: Dealing with uncertain and unpredictable work situations.
According to the results of the structural equation modelling, it indicates that a suitable model has a fit with the data (Chi-square/df = 2.652, at p < 0.001; AGFI=0.910, CFI = 0.970, TLI = 0.962, NFI = 0.954, and RMSEA = 0.057).
The relationships between interpersonal adaptability, work engagement, and dealing with uncertain and unpredictable work situation were analysed using structural equation modelling. Table 4 reveals that hypothesis results indicate support for all the causal relationships. The results show that interpersonal adaptability has a positive impact on dealing with uncertain and unpredictable work situation (H1) (standardised coefficient β = 0.650, at p < 0.000), while work engagement has an important effect on dealing with uncertain and unpredictable work situations (H3) (β = 0.268, at p < 0.000). In addition, R-square analysis reveals that the 72% variation is due to interpersonal adaptability and work engagement in dealing with uncertain and unpredictable work situations. Interpersonal adaptability also has a positive impact on work engagement (H2) (β =0.669, p < 0.000). R-square analysis determined that the 45% variation is due to interpersonal adaptability in work engagement.
Structural model results
| IA→DUWS | 0.650 | 0.528 | 0.758 | *** | Supported | |
| IA→WE | 0.669 | 0.584 | 0.741 | *** | Supported | |
| WE→DUWS | 0.268 | 0.162 | 0.384 | *** | Supported | |
| IA→WE→DUWS | 0.179 | 0.109 | 0.269 | *** | Supported |
IA: Interpersonal adaptability; WE: Work engagement; DUWS: Dealing with uncertain and unpredictable work situations.
p < .000
To check the mediating role of work engagement between interpersonal adaptability and dealing with uncertain and unpredictable work situations (H4), it was compared with the indirect effect (β = 0.179). Since the direct effect (H1) and indirect effect (H4) are important and both have positive values, this is a case of partial and complementary mediation (see Table 4).
This study offers important theoretical implications for the food and beverage industries, which constitute an important component of the hospitality business. The scale developed by Charbonnier-Voirin and Roussel (2012) and adapted into Turkish by Üstün and Büyükbaş (2020) was tested with service and kitchen workers working in five-star hotels.
To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the mediating role of work engagement in the relationship between food and beverage industry employees’ interpersonal adaptability and their DUWS. Our first finding was that interpersonal adaptability has positive effects on DUWS. This finding is in line with the results of similar studies (Mc Loughlin & Priyadarshini, 2021; Sony & Mekoth, 2017; Sony & Mekoth, 2014). The second finding obtained within the scope of the study is that interpersonal adaptability has positive effects on work engagement. This finding corroborates those of Costa et al. (2016). The third and most important finding is that work engagement in hotel businesses has positive effects on DUWS. The ultimate theoretical finding is that work engagement mediates the relationship between interpersonal adaptability and DUWS. It is thought that the aforementioned theoretical results will make important contributions to increasing the performance and productivity of the employees in the food and beverage industry. The theoretical and practical results of the study mentioned above are given in greater detail below.
Service quality depends on process management. The main purpose of input evaluation is to improve output quality. All service segments that are based on a customer-centric approach emphasise attention on creating value for customers and defining customer-focused targets. The key to customer satisfaction is to be able to answer to what customers want.
One of the basic input elements in process management is employees. In this context, employees, who are the leading actors of the service process, affect the quality of all output components. This study draws particular attention to culinary and service employees as backline and frontline service providers in the hotel organisations that make up our sample.
The findings have important implications for practitioners. On the one hand, the study indicates the significance of interpersonal adaptability in developing work engagement and DUWS. Interpersonal adaptability skills should be cultivated by managers in food and beverage departments, especially among cooks and waiters, in the service of DUWS. In this context, adaptability among employees can be increased through practices such as orientation meetings, joint projects to improve cooperation, and special celebration days. It should not be forgotten that the increase in interpersonal adaptability among employees has positive effects on their work engagement, and will positively affect their overall work performance. As a result, it is important for managers of food and beverage departments to apply the above-mentioned theoretical results in practice to optimise the performance, engagement, and adaptability of the service and kitchen employees in hotels.
While this study has several implications, it has also some limitations. First, the sample of the research is limited to five-star hotel employees; the exclusion of four- and three-star hotels populations limits its applications. Future studies, with the inclusion of other hotel businesses, will allow the results to be generalised on a regional level. Second, this research model was concerning only one variable, i.e., interpersonal adaptability, as the only predictor of DUWS. Future research should be focused on other antecedents of DUWS, such as employee training and development and/or employee motivation. Finally, future studies could complete the analysis by investigating the moderating effects of employee demographic characteristics.