Job Satisfaction as a Mediator between Humanistic Employee Management and Service Quality in the Hotel Industry

Authors

  • ER Ummi Kalsum Hospitality Managemnet, Room Division, Politeknik Pariwisata NHI Bandung, Indonesia
  • Rahmawati PSDKU Sragen, Politeknik Pariwisata Bali, Indonesia
  • Lia Afriza Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Ekonomi Pariwisata Bandung, Indonesia
  • Andika Isma Universitas Negeri Makassar, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62794/je3s.v7i1.188

Keywords:

humanistic employee management, job satisfaction, service quality, room division, hotel industry

Abstract

This study examines the effect of humanistic employee management on service quality through job satisfaction in the Rooms Division of four-star hotels in Greater Bandung. In the hospitality industry, service quality depends not only on operational efficiency but also on how employees are managed and supported. Using a quantitative approach, survey data were collected from Rooms Division employees and analyzed with Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to test the direct and indirect relationships among the variables. The results show that humanistic employee management has a significant positive effect on both job satisfaction and service quality. Job satisfaction also significantly influences service quality and partially mediates the relationship between humanistic employee management and service quality. These findings indicate that employee-centered management practices contribute to better employee attitudes and more consistent service performance. The study highlights the importance of humanistic management in high-contact hotel operations, particularly in Front Office and Housekeeping, where employee well-being and service delivery are closely interconnected.

References

Ali, F., Kim, W. G., Li, J., & Jeon, H. M. (2018). Make it delightful: Customers’ experience, satisfaction and loyalty in Malaysian theme parks. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 7, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2016.05.003

Alola, U. V., Avci, T., & Ozturen, A. (2019). Organization sustainability through human resource capital: The impacts of supervisor incivility and self-efficacy. Sustainability, 11(8), 2254. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11082254

Ampofo, E. T. (2020). Do job satisfaction and work engagement mediate the effects of servant leadership on service quality? Evidence from the hospitality industry. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 44, 100–109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2020.05.009

JA Bardi. (2011). Hotel Front Office Management. Fifth edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. http://lib.bvu.edu.vn/bitstream/TVDHBRVT/20912/1/Hotel-management-and-operations.pdf

Belias, D., Koustelios, A., Sdrolias, L., & Aspridis, G. (2020). Job satisfaction, role conflict and autonomy of employees in the hospitality industry. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 20(4), 452–464. https://doi.org/10.1177/1467358419848203

Bourini, I., Jahmani, A., Mumtaz, R., & Al-Bourini, F. A. (2019). Investigating the managerial practices' effect on employee-perceived service quality with the moderating role of supportive leadership behavior. European Research on Management and Business Economics, 25(1), 8-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iedeen.2018.11.001

Buil, I., Martínez, E., & Matute, J. (2019). Transformational leadership and employee performance: The role of identification and engagement. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 79, 64–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2018.12.006

Chen, Y., & Chen, C. (2021). The impact of leadership on service performance: The mediating role of job satisfaction. Tourism Management, 82, Article 104120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2021.104120

Chiang, C. F., & Jang, S. (2018). An expectancy theory model for hotel employee motivation: The moderating role of communication satisfaction. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 71, 28–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2017.12.002

Coun, M. J. H., De Ruiter, M., & Peters, P. (2023). At your service: Supportiveness of servant leadership, communication frequency and communication channel fostering job satisfaction across generations. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1183203. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1183203

DA Ohyver, L Judijanto, I Islahuddin, A Apriyanto, ERU Kalsum, M Anas. Transformasi Industri Perhotelan di Era Digital. (2025). PT. Sonpedia Publishing Indonesia.

Dorta-Afonso, D., Romero-Domínguez, L., & Benítez-Núñez, C. (2023). It’s worth it! High performance work systems for employee job satisfaction: The mediational role of burnout. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 108, 103364. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2022.103364

Eva, N., Robin, M., Sendjaya, S., van Dierendonck, D., & Liden, R. C. (2019). Servant leadership: A systematic review and call for future research. The Leadership Quarterly, 30(1), 111–132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2018.07.004

Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., Sarstedt, M., Danks, N. P., & Ray, S. (2022). Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using R: A workbook. Springer.

Hair, J. F., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2019). When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM. European Business Review, 31(1), 2–24. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-11-2018-0203

Heimerl, P., Haid, M., Benedikt, L., & Scholl-Grissemann, U. (2020). Factors influencing job satisfaction in hospitality industry. SAGE Open, 10(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020982998

Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2016). Testing measurement invariance of composites using partial least squares. International Marketing Review, 33(3), 405–431. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMR-09-2014-0304

Iman, N., & Nitawati, E. Y. (2025). The Influence of Remote Working and Organizational Support on Work Engagement with Job Satisfaction as a Mediating Variable in Service Sector Companies in Indonesia. Journal of Economic Education and Entrepreneurship Studies, 6(2), 203–217. Retrieved from https://journal.feb-unm.com/index.php/JE3S/article/view/112

Imran, R., Majeed, M., & Ayub, A. (2021). Impact of perceived organizational support on employee engagement: Mediating role of job satisfaction. Global Business Review, 22(1), 67–83. https://doi.org/10.1177/0972150919856970

Kang, H. J., Busser, J., & Choi, H. M. (2018). Does service climate matter? International Journal of Hospitality Management, 67, 163–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2017.10.011

Karatepe, O. M., & Olugbade, O. A. (2016). The mediating role of work engagement in the relationship between high-performance work practices and job outcomes. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 53, 132–140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2015.11.003

Kim, M., & Beehr, T. A. (2018). Organization-based self-esteem and meaningful work mediate effects of empowering leadership. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 25(4), 385–398. https://doi.org/10.1177/1548051818762337

Lee, Y. K., Kim, S., & Kim, D. Y. (2019). The impact of human resource practices on service quality and performance. Service Business, 13(3), 451–474. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11628-018-0350-2

Lin, M., Ling, Q., Liu, Y., & Hu, R. (2021). The effects of service climate and internal service quality on frontline hotel employees’ service-oriented behaviors. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 97, 102995. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2021.102995

Melé, D. (2016). Understanding humanistic management. Humanistic Management Journal, 1(1), 33–55.

Nunkoo, R., Teeroovengadum, V., Thomas, P., & Leonard, L. (2017). Integrating service quality as a second-order construct. Journal of Travel Research, 56(5), 598–613. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287516663195

O’Fallon M.J., Rutherford. D.G., Hotel Management and Operations. Fifth Edition. (2011). John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Paek, S., Schuckert, M., Kim, T. T., & Lee, G. (2015). Why is hospitality employees’ psychological capital important? International Journal of Hospitality Management, 50, 9–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2015.07.004

Pirson, M. (2017). Humanistic management: Protecting dignity and promoting well-being. Cambridge University Press.

Pirson, M., & Lawrence, P. R. (2015). Humanism in business—Toward a paradigm shift? Journal of Business Ethics, 130(3), 549–565. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2199-z

Pamungkas, S. A., Dwiastanti, A., & Anggoro, Y. (2025). Job Satisfaction Reviewed from the Factors of Salary, Work Facilities, and Leadership. Journal of Economic Education and Entrepreneurship Studies, 6(4), 415–422. https://doi.org/10.62794/je3s.v6i4.8

Qiu, S., Dooley, L. M., & Xie, L. (2020). How servant leadership and self-efficacy interact to affect service quality in the hospitality industry: A polynomial regression with response surface analysis. Tourism Management, 78, 104051. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2019.104051

RP Ishak, L Ludijanto, ERU Kalsum, A Yulianto. (2025). Sumber Daya Manusia Industri Pariwisata dan Perhotelan. PT. Sonpedia Publishing Indonesia.

Sarstedt, M., Ringle, C. M., & Hair, J. F. (2021). Partial least squares structural equation modeling. In C. Homburg et al. (Eds.), Handbook of Market Research. Springer.

Sürücü, L., & Maslakçi, A. (2020). Validity and reliability in quantitative research. Business & Management Studies: An International Journal, 8(3), 2694–2726.

Van, L. T.-H., Lang, L. D., Ngo, T. L.-P., & Ferreira, J. (2024). The impact of internal social responsibility on service employees’ job satisfaction and organizational engagement. Service Business, 18, 101-131. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11628-024-00555-1

Wong, I. A., & Wang, Y. (2017). How do hotels foster customer loyalty? International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 29(7), 1918–1937. doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-12-2016-0699

William S. Gray., Salvatore C. Liguori. (2003)

Younies, H., & Al-Tawil, T. N. (2020). Hospitality workers’ reward and recognition. International Journal of Law and Management. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLMA-02-2020-0046

Zhang, R., Yin, K., Dong, N., Sheldon, O., Cui, G., & Zhang, Z. (2025). A meta-analysis of leadership and service performance in the hotel and tourism industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 37(7), 2425-2447. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-06-2024-0918

Downloads

Published

2026-02-15

How to Cite

Kalsum, E. U., Rahmawati, R., Afriza, L., & Isma, A. (2026). Job Satisfaction as a Mediator between Humanistic Employee Management and Service Quality in the Hotel Industry. Journal of Economic Education and Entrepreneurship Studies, 7(1), 24–34. https://doi.org/10.62794/je3s.v7i1.188

Issue

Section

Articles