This paper also adds to previous work in the field by studying HRM practice impact
on employee attitudes and behaviour in the hospitality industry. Given the overall
relevance of services to national economies, this makes a significant contribution. Our
findings indicate that higher levels of empowerment may lead to enhanced job
satisfaction, psychological empowerment and affective commitment, which mediate
the impact of organisational empowerment on customer-oriented behaviour.
Consequently, we suggest that empowerment could be employed by upscale hotels
as a means of reducing employee turnover through higher job satisfaction and affective
commitment and improving service quality through enhanced customer-oriented
behaviour, which in turn should lead to higher customer satisfaction and loyalty.