ARTICLE IN PRESS

Hospitality Management 26 (2007) 645–665

www.elsevier.com/locate/ijhosman

Conflict, exhaustion, and motivation: A study of

frontline employees in Northern Cyprus hotels
Osman M. Karatepe, Orhan Uludag
School of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Eastern Mediterranean University, Gazimagusa,
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, via Mersin 10, Turkey

Abstract

This study develops and tests a model that investigates the effects of work-family conflict,
emotional exhaustion, and intrinsic motivation on affective job outcomes using data from frontline
employees in Northern Cyprus hotels. Results show that work-family conflict is positively related to
emotional exhaustion. Work-family conflict was found to be negatively associated with job
satisfaction. However, the study results demonstrate that work-family conflict did not depict any
significant relationships with affective organizational commitment and intention to leave. Results
indicate that emotional exhaustion leads to job dissatisfaction, decreased affective organizational
commitment, and high levels of intention to leave. Results reveal that intrinsic motivation is
significantly related to emotional exhaustion, job satisfaction, and affective organizational
commitment. In addition, the study results provide empirical support for the positive impact of
job satisfaction on affective organizational commitment and the negative effects of job satisfaction
and affective commitment to the organization on intention to leave. Discussion and implications of
the results are presented in the study.
r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Work-family conflict; Emotional exhaustion; Intrinsic motivation; Frontline employees; Northern
Cyprus

1. Introduction

The management of frontline employees in hotel organizations delineates interesting

paradoxes. On the one hand, frontline employees are of paramount importance to the

Corresponding author. Tel.: +90 392 630 1116; fax: +90 392 365 1584.
E-mail addresses: osman.karatepe@emu.edu.tr (O.M. Karatepe), orhan.uludag@emu.edu.tr (O. Uludag).

0278-4319/$ - see front matter r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ijhm.2006.05.006
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646 O.M. Karatepe, O. Uludag / Hospitality Management 26 (2007) 645–665

delivery of service quality (Hartline and Ferrell, 1996). On the other hand, frontline
employees remain underpaid, undertrained, and overworked (Karatepe and Sokmen,
2006). Frontline employees are also prone to work-family conflict (Karatepe and Sokmen,
2006) and emotional exhaustion (Ledgerwood et al., 1998). Work-family conflict and
emotional exhaustion are among the two critical constructs in explaining the attitudes and
behaviors of frontline employees in high-stress work environments (Babakus et al., 1999;
Boles et al., 1997). In addition, a large-scale survey by the Gallup Management Consulting
Group identifies intrinsic motivation as one of the key talents of the best salespeople
(Brewer, 1994).
Building on the existing literature, this study develops a model of the effects of work-
family conflict, emotional exhaustion, and intrinsic motivation on frontline employees’ job
satisfaction, affective organizational commitment, and intention to leave. The study then
tests the model in the Northern Cyprus hotel industry. Due to their boundary-spanning
roles, frontline hotel employees (e.g., front desk agents, food servers, and concierges) have
frequent contact with customers and are expected to deal with a variety of customers’
needs and requests. With this realization, the need for this research is accentuated by
characteristics of frontline employees due to their boundary-spanning roles in hotel
organizations.
Following the theoretical background and research model, the hypothesized relation-
ships are presented. Then, the methodology and results of the empirical study are
discussed. The study concludes with the management implications and directions for future
research.

2. Theoretical background and research model

A careful review of the literature indicates that there are a number of problems in the
hotel industry such as inadequate pay, low job security, limited training and development
opportunities, and excessive turnover (Cheng and Brown, 1998; Deery and Shaw, 1999;
Pizam and Thornburg, 2000). There are also problems pertaining to unsocial work hours
and workloads in the hotel industry (Karatepe and Sokmen, 2006; Rowley and Purcell,
2001). Consequently, frontline hotel employees are unlikely to be capable of balancing
work requirements with family and/or social commitments. In this case, they experience
work-family conflict, which is defined as ‘‘a form of interrole conflict in which the general
demands of, time devoted to, and strain created by the job interfere with performing
family-related responsibilities’’ (Netemeyer et al., 1996, p. 410). Boles et al. (1997) have
argued that the changing nature of the workforce has increased the potential for conflict
between work requirements and family and/or social responsibilities. Allen et al. (2000)
have noted that employed parents report conflict between their work requirements and
their desire to spend more time with the members of their families.
In addition to work-family conflict, there is evidence that frontline hotel employees are
susceptible to emotional exhaustion (Ledgerwood et al., 1998), which is one of the
components of burnout. Maslach and Jackson (1981), who developed the Maslach
Burnout Inventory, claimed that burnout is a multi-dimensional construct that consists of
three distinct components—emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and diminished
personal accomplishment. They defined burnout as ‘‘a syndrome of emotional exhaustion
and cynicism that occurs frequently among individuals who do ‘people-work’ of some
kind’’ (Maslach and Jackson, 1981, p. 99). Many researchers have agreed that emotional
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exhaustion is the first stage of the ‘burnout syndrome’ (Cordes and Dougherty, 1993;
Gaines and Jermier, 1983). Such emotional exhaustion is related to depletion of emotional
resources, and involves feelings of fatigue, being ‘used up’, and frustration (Gaines and
Jermier, 1983). Employees who work in boundary-spanning positions are especially
susceptible to high levels of emotional exhaustion. As Cordes and Dougherty (1993,
p. 644) observed: ‘‘Individuals y in boundary-spanning positions will experience higher
levels of emotional exhaustion compared to those y in non-boundary-spanning
positions’’.
Work-family conflict and emotional exhaustion are likely to exert detrimental effects on
frontline hotel employees’ affective job outcomes such as job satisfaction, affective
organizational commitment, and intention to leave. This notion is consistent with the
conservation of resources (COR) theory. Specifically, the COR theory establishes a
framework for the impacts of work-family conflict and intrinsic motivation on emotional
exhaustion and the effects of work-family conflict and emotional exhaustion on the
abovementioned job outcomes (Grandey and Cropanzano, 1999; Hobfoll, 1989; Lee and
Ashforth, 1996). The COR theory posits that individuals seek to obtain, retain, protect,
and foster resources (Hobfoll, 1989, 2002). Resources are defined as ‘‘those objects,
personal characteristics, conditions, or energies that are valued by the individual or that
serve as a means for attainment of these objects, personal characteristics, conditions, or
energies’’ (Hobfoll, 1989, p. 516). According to the theory, individuals lose resources in the
process of juggling work and family roles. Thus, the potential or actual loss of resources
leads to emotional exhaustion, job dissatisfaction, low levels of affective organizational
commitment, and high levels of intention to leave. The theory also suggests that employees
become dissatisfied with their jobs, display lower affective commitment to the
organization, and have higher intentions to leave the organization, when they are
emotionally exhausted (Lee and Ashforth, 1996).
Consistent with the COR theory, intrinsic motivation is one of the personal
characteristics that may aid stress resistance (Hobfoll, 1989). Intrinsic motivation refers
to an individual’s ‘‘feeling of challenge or competence derived from performing a job’’
(Keaveney, 1992, p. 151). Thomas (2000) asserted that a sense of meaningfulness, choice,
competence, and progress are the psychological signs of intrinsic motivation. Thus,
intrinsic motivation should result in lower emotional exhaustion. Moreover, intrinsic
motivation leads to low levels of burnout (Low et al., 2001), increased job satisfaction
(Miller, 2002), and high levels of affective organizational commitment (Eby et al., 1999).
The current study notes several gaps in the tourism and hospitality literature and the
extant literature on these subjects. First, the potential job outcomes of work-family conflict
for employees in boundary-spanning positions have received little empirical attention
(Boles et al., 1997; Karatepe and Sokmen, 2006; Netemeyer et al., 2004). In addition, the
majority of the research on work-family conflict has been conducted in developed
economies. There is a need for more empirical research about work-family conflict in
developing economies (Aycan and Eskin, 2005). Moreover, in developing economies,
resources allocated to the effective solutions of problems associated with work-family
conflict appear to be limited (Hill et al., 2004; Netemeyer et al., 2004). It is apparent that
the impact of work-family conflict on job outcomes of frontline employees in developing
countries is worthy of further empirical research attention.
Secondly, a meta-analysis review by Allen et al. (2000) revealed anomalous results
among various studies of the impact of work-family conflict on employees’ job satisfaction,
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affective organizational commitment, and intention to leave. These findings indicate that
there is a need for clarification in this area.
Thirdly, empirical studies in marketing settings have reported mixed findings regarding
the effect of emotional exhaustion on frontline employees’ job satisfaction (e.g., Babakus
et al., 1999; Boles et al., 1997; Karatepe, 2006). Therefore, there is a need for more
empirical research pertaining to the impact of emotional exhaustion on frontline
employees’ job satisfaction. In addition, a careful analysis of Allen et al.’s (2000) meta-
analysis (noted above) reveals that individual empirical studies reviewed in that study used
various samples (including schoolboard parents, nurses, engineers, prison guards, small
business owners, and school educators) to examine the relationship between work-family
conflict and burnout/emotional exhaustion. It is thus apparent that specific empirical
research is also needed with respect to employees who hold boundary-spanning positions
on the effect of work-family conflict on emotional exhaustion.
Fourthly, intrinsic motivation is known to be a significant personal characteristic in
successful frontline employees (salespeople) (Brewer, 1994). A meta-analytic study showed
that intrinsic motivation had a greater influence on affective organizational commitment

Work-family
conflict
H3 (-)
(W-FCON) H10 (+)
H6 (-)
Job satisfaction
(JSAT) H12 (-)
H1 (+) H4 (-)

H5 (+)
H9 (+)
Emotional Intention to leave
exhaustion (INTLEAVE)
(EEXHAUST) H11 (+)
H13(-)
H2 (-) H7 (-)
Affective
H8 (+) organizational
commitment (AOC)
Intrinsic motivation
(INTMOT)

Control variables
Age
Gender
Education
Organizational tenure
Marital status
The number of children

Fig. 1. Research model.

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than on general job satisfaction (Eby et al., 1999). In addition, there is a paucity of research
on the specific impact of intrinsic motivation on frontline employees’ emotional
exhaustion. The present study therefore examines the impact of intrinsic motivation on
emotional exhaustion, job satisfaction, and affective organizational commitment.
In summary, this study addresses certain identified gaps in the literature and thus
provides managers with important implications for business practice in mitigating the
detrimental effects of work-family conflict and emotional exhaustion on affective
outcomes among frontline hotel employees.
Fig. 1 shows the conceptual framework for the study. It illustrates the effects of work-
family conflict, emotional exhaustion, and intrinsic motivation on frontline employees’
affective outcomes (job satisfaction, affective organizational commitment, and intention to
leave). The conceptualization also considers the effects of work-family conflict and
intrinsic motivation on emotional exhaustion. The model also explores the impact of job
satisfaction on affective organizational commitment and the effects of job satisfaction and
affective organizational commitment on intention to leave.

3. The hypothesized relationships

As the COR theory indicates, individuals experience emotional exhaustion, when they
lose resources (e.g., time, money, and knowledge) while handling difficulties stemming
from work and family roles. There is empirical evidence for this relationship. For example,
Bacharach et al. (1991) used similar items to the emotional exhaustion items in the
Maslach Burnout Inventory and reported that work-home conflict was positively
associated with burnout in two samples of non-marketing employees (nurses and
engineers). Boles et al. (1997) showed that salespeople experiencing high levels of work-
family conflict reported increased emotional exhaustion. The following hypothesis is
therefore proposed:
H1. Work-family conflict is positively related to emotional exhaustion among frontline
employees.

Intrinsic motivation is one of the personal characteristics and may help individuals
manage difficulties associated with emotional exhaustion (Hobfoll, 1989). The present
study posits that intrinsically motivated employees are able to work better in boundary-
spanning positions that require employees to cope with high levels of emotional
exhaustion. The following hypothesis is therefore proposed:

H2. Intrinsic motivation is negatively related to emotional exhaustion among frontline

employees.
Job satisfaction can be defined as ‘‘the pleasurable emotional state resulting from the
appraisal of one’s job as achieving or facilitating the achievement of one’s job values’’
(Locke, 1969, p. 316). Boles and Babin (1996) found that work-family conflict decreased
food servers’ job satisfaction. Boles et al. (1997) reported that work-family conflict was
negatively associated with job satisfaction among salespeople. According to the COR
theory, individuals coping with work and family roles lose resources. If they lose resources,
then they will be less satisfied with their jobs. The following hypothesis is therefore
proposed:
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H3. Work-family conflict is negatively related to job satisfaction among frontline

employees.
As previously noted, emotional exhaustion is the first stage of the burnout syndrome
(Cordes and Dougherty, 1993; Gaines and Jermier, 1983), and such emotional exhaustion
can thus lead to detrimental job outcomes, such as job dissatisfaction. As the COR theory
indicates, individuals have job dissatisfaction as a result of resource loss and emotional
exhaustion (Lee and Ashforth, 1996). In a study of hospital employees, Iverson et al.
(1998) demonstrated that emotional exhaustion was negatively associated with job
satisfaction. Babakus et al. (1999) reported that high levels of emotional exhaustion
experienced by salespeople influenced their job satisfaction deleteriously. In view of these
findings, the following hypothesis is proposed:
H4. Emotional exhaustion is negatively related to job satisfaction among frontline
employees.
Miller (2002) provided conceptual evidence that intrinsically motivated employees have
higher job satisfaction, and Low et al. (2001) demonstrated empirically that high levels of
intrinsic motivation lead to high levels of job satisfaction among salespeople. Karatepe
(2006) also found evidence in Turkish retail banks that intrinsic motivation was positively
associated with frontline employees’ job satisfaction. The following hypothesis is therefore
proposed:
H5. Intrinsic motivation is positively related to job satisfaction among frontline
employees.
Organizational commitment can be defined as ‘‘the relative strength of an individual’s
identification with and involvement in a particular organization’’ (Steers, 1977, p. 46). This
definition is consistent with Allen and Meyer’s (1990) concept of affective organizational
commitment. As mentioned earlier, the COR theory demonstrates that individuals lose
resources while juggling work and family roles. The loss of these resources may lead to
undesired outcomes such as diminished affective commitment to the organization. A
limited number of empirical studies have investigated the relationship between work-
family conflict and affective organizational commitment (Allen et al., 2000). However,
these studies, which used a variety of samples (including executives, managers, school
educators, graduate students, and working mothers), produced inconsistent results on the
relationship between the two constructs (Allen et al., 2000). The present study investigates
the effect of work-family conflict on affective organizational commitment using a sample
of frontline employees in a hotel setting, and the following hypothesis is proposed:
H6. Work-family conflict is negatively related to affective organizational commitment
among frontline employees.
The COR theory also provides a basis for the relationship between emotional exhaustion
and affective organizational commitment. When individuals lose resources such as time,
energy, and knowledge, they are emotionally exhausted. Heightened emotional exhaustion
then leads to erosion of organizational commitment (Lee and Ashforth, 1996). There is
empirical support for the relationship between the two constructs. For instance, Babakus
et al. (1999) reported that emotional exhaustion had a significant negative effect on
affective organizational commitment among salespeople, and Cropanzano et al. (2003)
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reported a similar finding in a health-care setting. In view of these findings, the following
hypothesis is proposed:
H7. Emotional exhaustion is negatively related to affective organizational commitment
among frontline employees.
Research demonstrates that intrinsic motivation exerts a significant positive influence on
affective organizational commitment (Eby et al., 1999). Recent research also indicates that
there is a significant positive correlation between the two constructs (Low et al., 2001). The
following hypothesis is therefore proposed:
H8. Intrinsic motivation is positively related to frontline employees’ affective organiza-
tional commitment.
A meta-analysis by Meyer et al. (2002) indicated that job satisfaction had a strong
positive correlation with affective organizational commitment. Brashear et al. (2003) found
that higher levels of job satisfaction led to higher levels of affective commitment to the
organization for a sample of salespeople in privately owned retail stores in Poland. The
following hypothesis is therefore proposed:
H9. Job satisfaction is positively related to frontline employees’ affective organizational
commitment.
Intention to leave triggers actual turnover, and turnover is a significant problem in the
tourism and hospitality industry (Lam et al., 2003). As the COR theory suggests,
individuals may think of changing their situations, when their resources become scarce
(Grandey and Cropanzano, 1999). Thus, individuals may prefer to maintain their limited
resources by intending to leave the organization. Research indicates that work-family
conflict has been positively correlated with intention to leave for samples of teachers,
administrators, and salespeople (Netemeyer et al., 1996). Recent research also
demonstrates that work-family conflict has increased salespeople’s turnover intentions in
the US, Puerto Rico, and Romanian samples (Netemeyer et al., 2004). In the present
research model, work-family conflict is linked to frontline employees’ intentions to leave
the organization, and the following hypothesis is proposed:
H10. Work-family conflict is positively related to frontline employees’ intentions to leave
the organization.
The research model depicted in Fig. 1 also demonstrates that emotional exhaustion
increases intention to leave. This is congruent with the COR theory. Specifically, when
individuals lose resources or face the threat of resource loss, they are emotionally
exhausted. In order to preserve their scarce resources individuals would be willing to leave
the current organization. Indeed, based on the COR theory, turnover appears to be a final
solution for emotionally exhausted employees (Wright and Cropanzano, 1998). A meta-
analysis review by Lee and Ashforth (1996) showed a significant positive correlation
between emotional exhaustion and turnover intentions. Boles et al. (1997) found that
salespeople experiencing elevated levels of emotional exhaustion had high levels of
turnover intentions. Cropanzano et al. (2003) also reported that emotional exhaustion was
a significant predictor of turnover intentions. In view of these findings, the following
hypothesis is proposed:
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H11. Emotional exhaustion is positively related to frontline employees’ intentions to leave

the organization.
A plethora of empirical studies have demonstrated that high levels of job satisfaction
and/or affective organizational commitment result in decreased turnover intentions
(Babakus et al., 1999; Brashear et al., 2003; Kim et al., 2005; Susskind et al., 2000). The
following hypotheses are therefore proposed:
H12. Job satisfaction is negatively related to frontline employees’ intentions to leave the
organization.

H13. Affective organizational commitment is negatively related to frontline employees’

intentions to leave the organization.

4. Methodology

4.1. Setting and sample

The above hypotheses were tested using a sample of Turkish frontline employees
in 3-, 4-, and 5-star hotels in Northern Cyprus. A sample of frontline employees in the
hotel industry was chosen because these employees have frequent contact with customers
(Rust et al., 1996), are overworked (Singh, 2000), face the challenges of balancing work
requirements with family and/or social responsibilities (Boles and Babin, 1996), and
experience higher levels of emotional exhaustion than do other employees in service
organizations as a result of their boundary-spanning positions (Cordes and Dougherty,
1993). Boles et al. (1997) discuss that work-family conflict is not limited to only married
individuals or those with children. They further discuss that single parents and other
individuals may also have difficulty in balancing work requirements with family and/or
social obligations. Therefore, this study does not focus exclusively on one subgroup (e.g.,
married individuals with children) (cf. Boyar et al., 2003).
There are twenty-eight 3-, eight 4-, and six 5-star hotels in the research location, and the
total bed capacity of these hotels is 7948 (Statistical Yearbook of Tourism, 2003). These
small- and medium-sized hotels are classified as resort hotels, and the Northern Cyprus
hotel industry consists largely of family-run hotel businesses (Kilic and Okumus, 2005).
Frontline employees in Northern Cyprus hotels face several current problems—including
irregular work schedules, lack of training, lack of empowerment, lack of rewards, long
work hours, heavy workloads, and lack of family-friendly benefits.
The research team contacted the managements of three-, four-, and five-star hotels
in the region, explained the purpose of the study, and requested their permission and
support for data collection. According to the information received from the managements
of the hotels, the total number of frontline employees in the research location was 943,
made up of 396 in 3-star hotels, 258 in 4-star hotels, and 289 in 5-star hotels. However, the
managements of three 3-star hotels and three 4-star hotels refused permission for data
collection. Allowing for hotels that did not participate, the number of frontline employees
in the research location was 872, each of whom personally received a copy of a
questionnaire. A detailed explanation on the questionnaire was provided, and all par-
ticipants were assured of the confidentiality and anonymity of their responses. Participants
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were requested to self-administer the questionnaires. Of the 872 questionnaires distributed,

677 were retrieved by the cut-off date for data collection (a response rate of 77.6%).

4.2. Measurement

Each of the constructs shown in Fig. 1 was operationalized using scales derived from the
relevant literature. Work-family conflict was measured using five items derived from
Netemeyer et al. (1996) and Boles et al. (2001). The response scale was a 5-point scale, in
which ‘5’ indicated ‘strong agreement’ and ‘1’ indicated ‘strong disagreement’. Higher
scores indicated greater work-family conflict.
Emotional exhaustion was operationalized using eight items from the Maslach Burnout
Inventory (Maslach and Jackson, 1981). Responses to the emotional exhaustion items were
elicited on 5-point scales ranging from ‘5’ ¼ ‘strongly agree’ to ‘1’ ¼ ‘strongly disagree’.
Higher scores indicated greater emotional exhaustion.
Intrinsic motivation was measured using four items derived from Low et al. (2001).
Responses to the intrinsic motivation items were elicited on 5-point scales ranging from
‘5’ ¼ ‘strongly agree’ to ‘1’ ¼ ‘strongly disagree’. Higher scores indicated greater intrinsic
motivation.
An eight-item scale derived from Hartline and Ferrell (1996) was used to evaluate job
satisfaction in terms of: (i) overall job; (ii) co-workers; (iii) supervisor(s); (iv) hotel’s
policies; (v) support given to frontline employees; (vi) pay; (vii) opportunities for
advancement, and (viii) customers. Each of these items used a 5-point scale ranging from
‘5’ ¼ ‘extremely satisfied’ to ‘1’ ¼ ‘extremely dissatisfied’. Higher scores indicated greater
job satisfaction.
Affective organizational commitment was operationalized using five items derived from
Mowday et al. (1979). The complete organizational commitment scale of these authors had
consisted of affective and behavioral commitment items (Bettencourt and Brown, 2003).
However, because the present study assessed only affective organizational commitment,
only five items from the original scale were used. Responses to the affective organizational
commitment items were elicited on 5-point scales ranging from ‘5’ ¼ ‘strongly agree’ to
‘1’ ¼ ‘strongly disagree’. Higher scores indicated greater affective organizational commit-
ment.
Three items were adapted from Boshoff and Allen (2000) to measure frontline
employees’ intentions to leave the organization. The intention to leave items were
measured on 5-point scales from ‘5’ ¼ ‘strongly agree’ to ‘1’ ¼ ‘strongly disagree’. Higher
scores indicated greater intention to leave.
The questionnaire was originally prepared in English, and then translated into Turkish
by using the back-translation method (McGorry, 2000). The survey instrument was tested
with a pilot sample of 30 frontline employees. No changes were made to the instrument as
a result of this pilot test.
Demographic variables (such as age, gender, education, organizational tenure, marital
status, and the number of children) were statistically controlled due to their potential
relationships with the study variables. Age and education were measured using 5-point
scales. Organizational tenure was measured using a 6-point scale. The number of children
was measured using a 4-point scale. Gender was coded as a binary variable (0 ¼ male and
1 ¼ female). Marital status was also coded as a binary variable (0 ¼ single or divorced and
1 ¼ married).
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All measures were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis using LISREL 8.30
(Joreskog and Sorbom, 1996) to test for dimensionality, convergent and discriminant
validity (Anderson and Gerbing, 1988). The hypothesized relationships depicted in Fig. 1
were measured with LISREL 8.30 using path analysis.

5. Results

5.1. Respondents’ profile

Most of the respondents (50.7%) were aged between 18 years and 27 years, whereas
30.6% were aged between 28 years and 37 years. The majority of the respondents (57.3%)
were male. Almost one-third (31.9%) had secondary and high school education, whereas
56.2% had university education. Almost half of the respondents (47.9%) had tenures of
1–5 years, whereas 29% had tenures of less than 1 year. In all, 40.2% of the respondents
were married, whereas the rest were single or divorced. Almost two-thirds (65%) had no
children, whereas 34.6% had 1–4 children.

5.2. Dimensionality, convergent and discriminant validity of the scales

The results of the confirmatory factor analysis indicated a moderate fit of the six-factor
model to the data on the basis of a number of fit statistics (w2 ¼ 2759.15, df ¼ 480, GFI
[Goodness of Fit Index] ¼ 0.80, NFI [Normed Fit Index] ¼ 0.80, NNFI [Non-Normed Fit
Index] ¼ 0.81, CFI [Comparative Fit Index] ¼ 0.83, RMSEA [Root Mean Square Error of
Approximation] ¼ 0.08). As shown in Table 1, the magnitudes of the standardized
loadings ranged from 0.49 to 0.89, and all t values (ranging from 12.87 to 28.58) were
significant. The majority of the standardized loadings were above 0.70. Model fit statistics
and the magnitudes of the loadings provided support for convergent validity (Anderson
and Gerbing, 1988).
To assess discriminant validity, a series of pairwise confirmatory factor analyses was
employed. A two-dimensional model for each pair of study constructs was first developed,
and then items representing each factor were forced into a single factor solution. The
results of various fit statistics were better for a two-factor model. The results confirm that
each set of items represents a single underlying construct, and thus provides evidence of
discriminant validity (Anderson and Gerbing, 1988). As depicted in Table 1, coefficient
alphas were as follows: work-family conflict 0.85; emotional exhaustion 0.90; intrinsic
motivation 0.83; job satisfaction 0.87; affective organizational commitment 0.77; and
intention to leave 0.87. All were greater than the benchmark of 0.70 (Nunnally, 1978).
Composite scores for each measure were computed by averaging scores across items
representing that measure. Table 2 shows that the correlations among the study constructs
ranged from 0.13 (work-family conflict and intrinsic motivation) to 0.77 (emotional
exhaustion and intention to leave). Means and standard deviations of the composite scores
are shown in Table 2.

5.3. Correlation analysis results

Table 2 shows that several control variables had significant correlations with the study
variables. Age (r ¼ 0:11) and marital status (r ¼ 0:09) had positive correlations with
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Table 1
Scale items, reliabilities and confirmatory factor analysis results

Scale items Standardized t-Values Alpha

loadings

Work-family conflict (W-FCON) 0.85

The demands of my work interfere with home, family and social life 0.70 19.61
Because of my job, I can’t involve myself as much as I would like in 0.80 23.72
maintaining close relations with my family, spouse, or friends
Things I want to do at home do not get done because of the demands my 0.77 22.46
job puts on me
I often have to miss important family and social activities because of my 0.68 18.78
job
There is a conflict between my job and the commitments and 0.73 20.85
responsibilities I have to my family, spouse, or friends
Emotional exhaustion (EEXHAUST) 0.90
I feel emotionally drained from my work 0.69 20.02
I feel used up at the end of the workday 0.61 17.06
I feel fatigued when I get up in the morning and have to face another day 0.71 20.85
on the job
Working with people all day is really a strain for me 0.83 25.99
I feel burned out from my work 0.87 27.88
I feel frustrated by my job 0.81 25.24
I feel I am working too hard on my job 0.56 15.47
I feel like I am at the end of my rope 0.75 22.56
Intrinsic motivation (INTMOT) 0.83
When I do work well, it gives me a feeling of accomplishment 0.69 19.11
I feel a great sense of personal satisfaction when I do my job well 0.74 20.85
When I perform my job well, it contributes to my personal growth and 0.80 23.34
development
My job increases my feeling of self esteem 0.73 20.69
Job satisfaction (JSAT) 0.87
My overall job 0.72 20.86
My fellow workers 0.66 18.60
My supervisor(s) 0.78 23.39
This hotel’s policies 0.79 23.91
The support provided by this hotel 0.76 22.40
My salary 0.57 15.49
The opportunities for advancement with this hotel 0.58 15.78
This hotel’s customers 0.49 12.87
Affective organizational commitment (AOC) 0.77
My values and those of the hotel’s are similar 0.55 14.07
I really care about the future of this hotel 0.64 17.15
I am proud to tell others that I work for this hotel 0.60 15.58
I am willing to put in a great deal of effort beyond that normally 0.69 18.81
expected in order to help the hotel to be successful
For me, this is the best of all possible organizations for which to work 0.71 19.31
Intention to leave (INTLEAVE) 0.87
I often think about leaving this hotel 0.89 28.58
It would not take much to make me leave this hotel 0.75 22.07
I will probably be looking for another job soon 0.86 27.19

Notes: Each item is measured on five-point scales. All loadings are significant at the 0.01 level or better. All
reliability coefficients are above the cut-off level of 0.70.
 656

Table 2
Correlations, means and standard deviations of composite scores of study variables

Variable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

1. Age 1.00
2. Gender 0.09* 1.00
3. Education 0.05 0.02 1.00
4. Organizational tenure 0.53** 0.08* 0.01 1.00
5. Marital status 0.46** 0.10* 0.02 0.25** 1.00
6. The number of children 0.56** 0.09* 0.01 0.38** 0.61** 1.00
7. W-FCON 0.02 0.02 0.14** 0.07 0.01 0.01 1.00
8. EEXHAUST 0.11** 0.06 0.32** 0.11** 0.09* 0.06 0.47** 1.00
9. INTMOT 0.13** 0.01 0.17** 0.01 0.10* 0.06 0.13** 0.45** 1.00
10. JSAT 0.00 0.08* 0.12** 0.13** 0.05 0.06 0.27** 0.34** 0.29** 1.00
11. AOC 0.04 0.07 0.14** 0.10* 0.05 0.06 0.27** 0.45** 0.47** 0.49** 1.00
12. INTLEAVE 0.05 0.03 0.28** 0.14** 0.00 0.00 0.41** 0.77** 0.38** 0.43** 0.48** 1.00
Mean 1.75 0.43 2.74 2.02 0.40 1.42 3.02 2.72 4.07 3.41 3.82 2.75
Standard deviation 0.94 0.50 1.05 0.90 0.49 0.62 0.97 0.97 0.81 0.83 0.69 1.17
ARTICLE IN PRESS

Notes: Composite scores for each variable were obtained by averaging scores across items representing that measure. The scores range from 1 to 5. Age and education
were measured using 5-point scales. Organizational tenure was measured using a 6-point scale. The number of children was measured using a 4-point scale. Higher
scores indicate older, more educated, longer tenure, and more children. Gender was coded as a binary variable (0 ¼ male and 1 ¼ female). Marital status was also
coded as a binary variable (0 ¼ single or divorced and 1 ¼ married).
W-FCON ¼ Work-family conflict; EEXHAUST ¼ Emotional exhaustion; INTMOT ¼ Intrinsic motivation; JSAT ¼ Job satisfaction; AOC ¼ Affective organiza-
tional commitment; INTLEAVE ¼ Intention to leave.
O.M. Karatepe, O. Uludag / Hospitality Management 26 (2007) 645–665

*All correlations are significant at the 0.05 level.

**All correlations are significant at the 0.01 level. Correlations without any asterisks are insignificant.
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O.M. Karatepe, O. Uludag / Hospitality Management 26 (2007) 645–665 657

emotional exhaustion. Gender had a positive correlation with job satisfaction (r ¼ 0:08).
Education had positive correlations with work-family conflict (r ¼ 0:14), emotional
exhaustion (r ¼ 0:32), and intention to leave (r ¼ 0:28). Organizational tenure also had
positive correlations with job satisfaction (r ¼ 0:13) and affective organizational
commitment (r ¼ 0:10). These positive correlations indicate that older, better educated,
and married employees reported higher levels of emotional exhaustion. The positive
correlations also show that female employees reported higher job satisfaction. Employees
with longer tenure had higher levels of job satisfaction and affective organizational
commitment. Better educated employees also reported higher levels of work-family conflict
and intention to leave.
Table 2 shows that age (r ¼ 0:13) and marital status (r ¼ 0:10) had negative
correlations with intrinsic motivation. Education had negative correlations with intrinsic
motivation (r ¼ 0:17), job satisfaction (r ¼ 0:12), and affective organizational
commitment (r ¼ 0:14). Organizational tenure also had negative correlations with
emotional exhaustion (r ¼ 0:11) and intention to leave (r ¼ 0:14). These negative
correlations show that older and married employees had less favorable perceptions of
intrinsic motivation. The negative correlations also indicate that better educated employees
reported lower levels of intrinsic motivation, job satisfaction, and affective organizational
commitment. Finally, employees with longer tenure had less favorable perceptions of
emotional exhaustion and intention to leave.

5.4. Model test results

The hypothesized relationships were tested with LISREL 8.30 using path analysis. The
empirical results indicate that the model fits the data well (w2 ¼ 7:11, df ¼ 2, p ¼ 0:03, GFI
[Goodness of Fit Index] ¼ 1.00, NFI [Normed Fit Index] ¼ 1.00, NNFI [Non-Normed Fit
Index] ¼ 0.93, CFI [Comparative Fit Index] ¼ 1.00, RMSEA [Root Mean Square Error of
Approximation] ¼ 0.06). Of the 13 hypothesized relationships, 11 were supported, whereas
two were not. It should be noted that a number of demographic variables were statistically
controlled because of their potential relationships with the study variables. The main
results reported in this section remain intact with or without the control variables in the
model. The model test results are presented in Table 3.
Table 3 shows that education and organizational tenure had significant effects on work-
family conflict. The rest of the control variables were not significantly related to work-
family conflict. The control variables jointly explained 3% of the variance in work-family
conflict. As shown in Table 3, better educated employees reported higher levels of work-
family conflict. This finding suggests that better educated employees were not easily able to
balance their work requirements with their family and/or social responsibilities—perhaps
as a result of excessive workloads imposed on them by hotel management. Employees with
longer tenure experienced lower levels of work-family conflict. It seems likely that, as
employees worked for a longer time in the same organization, they learnt how to cope with
the difficulties associated with work-family conflict.
As shown in Table 3, the results of the path analysis demonstrated that work-family
conflict (W-FCON) had a significant positive effect on frontline employees’ emotional
exhaustion (EEXHAUST). Hypothesis 1 was thus supported. Intrinsic motivation
(INTMOT) exerted a significant negative impact on frontline employees’ emotional
exhaustion (EEXHAUST). Hypothesis 2 was thus also supported. Without control
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Table 3
Model test results

Control variables and hypotheses Standardized t-values Supported/

parameter not supported
estimates

I. Impact on work-family conflict (W-FCON)

Control variables
Age-W-FCON 0.06 1.18* —
Gender-W-FCON 0.02 0.42* —
Education-W-FCON 0.14 3.58 —
Organizational tenure-W-FCON 0.11 2.39 —
Marital status-W-FCON 0.00 0.04* —
The number of children-W-FCON 0.02 0.36* —
R2 ¼ 0.03
II. Impact on emotional exhaustion (EEXHAUST)
Control variables
Age-EEXHAUST 0.10 2.47 —
Gender-EEXHAUST 0.07 2.29 —
Education-EEXHAUST 0.20 6.87 —
Organizational Tenure-EEXHAUST 0.15 4.32 —
Marital status-EEXHAUST 0.03 0.89* —
The number of children-EEXHAUST 0.01 0.33* —
Hypotheses
H1. W-FCON-EEXHAUST 0.38 13.08 Supported
H2. INTMOT-EEXHAUST 0.35 11.61 Supported
R2 ¼ 0.42
III. Impact on intrinsic motivation (INTMOT)
Control variables
Age-INTMOT 0.16 3.15 —
Gender-INTMOT 0.00 0.07* —
Education-INTMOT 0.16 4.33 —
Organizational tenure-INTMOT 0.10 2.24 —
Marital status-INTMOT 0.08 1.60* —
The number of children-INTMOT 0.04 0.71* —
R2 ¼ 0.06
IV. Impact on job satisfaction (JSAT)
Control variables
Age-JSAT 0.05 1.06* —
Gender-JSAT 0.09 2.41 —
Education-JSAT 0.01 0.30* —
Organizational tenure-JSAT 0.10 2.39 —
Marital status-JSAT 0.05 1.15* —
The number of children-JSAT 0.05 1.00* —
Hypotheses
H3. W-FCON-JSAT 0.16 4.12 Supported
H4. EEXHAUST-JSAT 0.16 3.37 Supported
H5. INTMOT-JSAT 0.20 4.97 Supported
R2 ¼ 0.17
V. Impact on affective organizational commitment (AOC)
Control variables
Age-AOC 0.05 1.16* —
Gender-AOC 0.03 1.03* —
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Table 3 (continued )

Control variables and hypotheses Standardized t-values Supported/

parameter not supported
estimates

Education--AOC 0.01 0.31* —

Organizational tenure-AOC 0.04 1.16* —
Marital status-AOC 0.01 0.36* —
The number of children-AOC 0.10 2.39 —
Hypotheses
H6. W-FCON-AOC 0.06 1.73* Not
Supported
H7. EEXHAUST-AOC 0.18 4.41 Supported
H8. INTMOT-AOC 0.29 8.45 Supported
H9. JSAT-AOC 0.33 9.94 Supported
R2 ¼ 0.39
VI. Impact on intention to leave
Control variables
Age-INTLEAVE 0.01 0.44* —
Gender-INTLEAVE 0.02 0.84* —
Education-INTLEAVE 0.03 1.36* —
Organizational tenure-INTLEAVE 0.03 1.07* —
Marital status-INTLEAVE 0.06 1.89* —
The number of children-INTLEAVE 0.00 0.09* —
Hypotheses
H10. W-FCON-INTLEAVE 0.03 1.18* Not
supported
H11. EEXHAUST-INTLEAVE 0.65 21.53 Supported
H12. JSAT-INTLEAVE 0.14 5.10 Supported
H13. OCOM-INTLEAVE 0.11 3.71 Supported
R2 ¼ 0.63

Notes: Age and education were measured using 5-point scales. Organizational tenure was measured using a
6-point scale. The number of children was measured using a 4-point scale. Higher scores indicate older, more
educated, longer tenure, and more children. Gender was coded as a binary variable (0 ¼ male and 1 ¼ female).
Marital status was also coded as a binary variable (0 ¼ single or divorced and 1 ¼ married).
W-FCON ¼ Work-Family Conflict; EEXHAUST ¼ Emotional Exhaustion; INTMOT ¼ Intrinsic Motivation;
JSAT ¼ Job Satisfaction; AOC ¼ Affective Organizational Commitment; INTLEAVE ¼ Intention to Leave.
*Not significant. All other t-values are significant at the 0.05 level or better.

variables, work-family conflict and intrinsic motivation explained 37% of the variance in
emotional exhaustion. With the addition of control variables, the proportion of explained
variance increased to 42%.
As shown in Table 3, age, gender, education, and organizational tenure had significant
effects on emotional exhaustion, whereas marital status and the number of children did
not. Older and better educated employees reported higher levels of emotional exhaustion,
whereas employees with longer tenure reported less emotional exhaustion. Thus, older and
better educated employees might have been fed up with coping with customers’ requests
and complaints. However, employees who had worked for a longer time in the same
organization might have learnt how to cope with the difficulties associated with emotional
exhaustion. Female employees reported lower levels of emotional exhaustion. This finding
might be attributed to the nature of boundary-spanning positions—in that frontline service
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jobs require empathy and caring for customers. In these circumstances, female employees
who are suffering from emotional exhaustion might have coped with their jobs better than
their male counterparts under similar levels of emotional exhaustion.
Table 3 demonstrates that age, education, and organizational tenure had significant
effects on intrinsic motivation. The rest of the control variables did not show any
significant effects on intrinsic motivation. The control variables explained 6% of the
variance in intrinsic motivation. The results indicate that older and better educated
employees had lower intrinsic motivation—perhaps due to the difficulties inherent in
boundary-spanning positions. However, the results show that employees with longer
tenure reported higher intrinsic motivation. This suggests that employees who were more
intrinsically motivated learnt, as they worked for a longer time in the organization, how to
cope with the difficulties that are inherent in boundary-spanning positions.
Path analysis shows that work-family conflict (W-FCON) had a significant negative
relationship with frontline employees’ job satisfaction (JSAT). Hypothesis 3 was thus
supported. The results of the path analysis indicate that emotional exhaustion
(EEXHAUST) was negatively associated with frontline employees’ job satisfaction
(JSAT). Hypothesis 4 was thus supported. Path analysis shows that intrinsic motivation
(INTMOT) was positively related to frontline employees’ job satisfaction (JSAT).
Hypothesis 5 was thus supported. Without control variables, work-family conflict,
emotional exhaustion, and intrinsic motivation explained 16% of the variance in job
satisfaction. Table 3 shows that the control variables improved the explained variance by
1%. With the exceptions of gender and organizational tenure, none of the control variables
exerted a significant impact on job satisfaction.
As shown in Table 3, female employees reported higher levels of satisfaction with their
jobs. Improved working conditions might have increased female employees’ satisfaction
with their jobs. In addition, employees with longer tenure were more satisfied with their
jobs.
Path analysis failed to demonstrate that work-family conflict (W-FCON) was negatively
related to frontline employees’ affective organizational commitment (AOC). Hypothesis 6
was thus not supported. Path analysis showed that emotional exhaustion (EEXHAUST)
had a significant negative influence on frontline employees’ affective organizational
commitment (AOC). Hypothesis 7 thus supported. Path analysis showed that intrinsic
motivation (INTMOT) was positively associated with frontline employees’ affective
organizational commitment (AOC). Hypothesis 8 was thus supported. Path analysis also
showed that job satisfaction (JSAT) was positively related to frontline employees’ affective
organizational commitment (AOC). Hypothesis 9 was thus supported.
Without control variables, work-family conflict, emotional exhaustion, intrinsic
motivation, and job satisfaction explained 39% of the variance in affective organizational
commitment. With the addition of control variables, there was no improvement in the
proportion of explained variance. With the exception of the number of children, none of
the control variables had a significant effect on affective organizational commitment. As
shown in Table 3, employees with more children reported less affective organizational
commitment. It seems reasonable to assume that employees with more children spent more
time on their family and/or social responsibilities, and thus reported less affective
commitment to the organization.
The results of the path analysis show that work-family conflict (W-FCON) was not a
significant predictor of intention to leave (INTLEAVE). Hypothesis 10 was thus not
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supported. Path analysis showed that emotional exhaustion (EEXHAUST) was positively
associated with intention to leave (INTLEAVE). Hypothesis 11 was thus supported. Path
analysis showed that job satisfaction (JSAT) had a significant negative impact on intention
to leave (INTLEAVE). Hypothesis 12 was thus supported. Finally, Table 3 shows that
affective organizational commitment (AOC) had a significant negative association with
intention to leave (INTLEAVE). Thus, hypothesis 13 was also supported.
Without control variables, work-family conflict, emotional exhaustion, job satisfaction,
and affective organizational commitment explained 63% of the variance in intention to
leave. Table 3 demonstrates that the control variables did not improve the proportion of
explained variance. In addition, none of the control variables showed a significant impact
on intention to leave.

6. Discussion and implications

6.1. Discussion

The path analyses supported most of the hypothesized relationships. The incorporation
of control variables into the research model did not change the significance level of the
effects of independent variables on dependent variables.
The empirical findings demonstrated that frontline employees who had difficulty in
spending time with their family and/or social commitments as a result of their job-related
responsibilities were susceptible to elevated levels of emotional exhaustion. This finding is
consistent with that of Boles et al. (1997). Because frontline employees in Northern Cyprus
faced a number of problems, including irregular work schedules, long work hours, and
heavy workloads, they were incapable of balancing job-related responsibilities with family
and/or social responsibilities, and they therefore became emotionally exhausted. The
empirical findings also demonstrated that intrinsically motivated employees displayed low
levels of emotional exhaustion. It appears that frontline employees who really cared about
their work and had feelings of competence in fulfilling job-related tasks experienced less
emotional exhaustion. Because little is known about the effect of intrinsic motivation on
frontline employees’ emotional exhaustion, this finding makes a useful contribution to the
existing knowledge base.
The present empirical investigation also showed that both work-family conflict and
emotional exhaustion had deleterious effects on the job satisfaction of frontline employees.
Consistent with that of Babakus et al. (1999), frontline employees who lacked emotional
energy were less satisfied with their jobs. It should also be noted that, according to the
results of the path analyses, the magnitudes of the effects of work-family conflict and
emotional exhaustion were equivalent. In addition, the empirical results showed that
intrinsically motivated employees reported higher job satisfaction. This finding is
congruent with prior empirical and conceptual evidence (Karatepe, 2006; Miller, 2002).
Overall, the findings provide empirical support for the contention that work-family
conflict and emotional exhaustion are two constructs that have significant adverse effects
on job satisfaction in the high-stress work environment.
In this study, emotional exhaustion was found to have a significant negative relationship
with affective organizational commitment, whereas work-family conflict did not.
According to the results of the path analyses, the effect of intrinsic motivation on
affective organizational commitment appeared to be greater than its effect on job
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satisfaction. This finding provides partial support for that of Eby et al. (1999). The
significant negative relationship between emotional exhaustion and affective organiza-
tional commitment, as reported here, is consistent with past findings (Babakus et al., 1999).
As hypothesized, job satisfaction was found to have a significant positive association with
affective organizational commitment, which supports the findings of Bettencourt and
Brown (2003) and Brashear et al. (2003).
Because intention to leave is an immediate precursor to actual staff turnover, and
because turnover is an important problem in the tourism and hospitality industry, it is
important that hotel managers recognize the potential antecedents of employees’ intentions
to leave. Consistent with other studies (Karatepe, 2006; Kim et al., 2005; Meyer et al.,
2002), the results of this study have revealed that the antecedents of intention to leave are
increased emotional exhaustion, decreased job satisfaction, and low levels of affective
organizational commitment. A close scrutiny of the model test results shows that
emotional exhaustion had a strong positive impact on intention to leave. This result
indicates that frontline employees think about leaving the organization when they are
emotionally exhausted. Other antecedents of intention to leave are low levels of job
satisfaction and affective organizational commitment. These findings suggest that frontline
employees who report decreased satisfaction with their jobs and low levels of affective
commitment to the organization think about leaving the organization. In contrast, work-
family conflict was not found to have a significant positive relationship with intention to
leave. This finding is not consonant with that of Netemeyer et al. (2004).

6.2. Managerial implications

The study findings point to a number of implications for managerial action. First,
because customer satisfaction begins with employee satisfaction (Rust et al., 1996), and
because frontline employees are important in retaining profitable customers, managers
should aim to mitigate the adverse effects of work-family conflict on job outcomes by
establishing a family-supportive work environment. This might consist of flexible work
arrangements, child-care information services, on-site child care, and family-supportive
supervisors (cf. Allen, 2001).
Secondly, managers should consider the employment of mentors to assist employees
with problems associated with work-family conflict and emotional exhaustion. Those
mentors could arrange specific meetings with frontline employees and their family
members (and other relevant parties) to explore the difficulties—especially those as-
sociated with boundary-spanning positions. Those mentors could also hold regular
meetings with departmental managers (perhaps on a monthly basis) to discuss problematic
cases and to devise effective solutions whereby both the organization and the employee will
benefit.
Thirdly, managers could spend reasonable time with their frontline employees through
socialization and training. These efforts could help to minimize the detrimental effects of
work-family conflict and emotional exhaustion on job satisfaction, affective organizational
commitment, and intention to leave.
Finally, the results suggest that intrinsic motivation decreases emotional exhaustion, but
increases job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment. Managers should
therefore consider creating a pool of intrinsically motivated candidates by offering
attractive career opportunities to their prospective employees.
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6.3. Limitations and avenues for future research

There are several limitations to the present study. First, this study did test the effects of
work-family conflict, emotional exhaustion, and intrinsic motivation on affective outcomes
(job satisfaction, affective organizational commitment, and intention to leave). It would be
useful if future empirical studies could simultaneously investigate the effects of work-
family conflict, emotional exhaustion, and intrinsic motivation on frontline employees’
normative and continuance commitment and extra-role performance.
Secondly, the current study used only one service setting (hotels) to test the hypothesized
relationships. Future studies could test these relationships in different service settings (for
example, travel agents, airlines, and restaurants). Thirdly, the study lacked an in-depth
qualitative dimension. Future studies could use in-depth interviews as an alternative
approach to provide richer insights into the job outcomes associated with work-family
conflict, emotional exhaustion, and intrinsic motivation. Finally, the moderating role of
gender in this context deserves future research attention.

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